Destination choice; Nigeria
State;Lagos.
Length of stay; a short ten days with an action packed itinerary befitting somebody with knowledge of and the means to get around Lagos; I didn't have either.
Areas of interest;the formal retail market (shopping malls) and informal retailing; Balogun and Mushin Market.
So how did my visit go? Firstly i must remark that the the temperature was excessively hot (not that i'm complaining now that i am back in the UK...) so i must commend the market traders who spend time in the heat day to day trying (and certainly succeeding) in making a living.
Having researched chosen destinations to visit whilst in Lagos using a number of websites and print media, including the Delta Airlines Sky Magazine, which interestingly is absolutely fantastic in their guide to visiting Lagos state (most of my destinations for checking out the Lagos retail market came from this site) i set about commanding family and friends to organise the logistics to get me to these destinations. Naturally, when you are not 100% familiar with a territory, one can be disillusioned into believing that destinations are relatively easy to get to, thinking the city is small enough to navigate around. So when i was met with coughs and splutters from family and friends to the requests of me needing to get to places such as Balogun, Mushin and Makoko, i was puzzled and saddened by their reaction. I was even warned against going to the markets for a number of entertaining reasons. I tend not to pay attention to warnings.
First destination on my itinerary was Balogun Market. A three hour taxi journey later i understood why my family and friends suddenly found themselves "busy". Speaking in a British (?) accent and probably paying over the odds for my taxi ride, i arrived at Balogun market to be greeted with a colourful chaos. Balogun is a textile market where allegedly you find all the best West African fabrics. The Delta Airways Sky magazine cites that if you visit this market you earn bragging rights for navigating it...so time for me to brag! It was an amazing experience! Among the hustle and bustle, people are making their money, although competition seems fierce as there is literally rows and rows of stalls selling similar or the same Ankara material and the like. Price collusion is rife; every stall charges the same price for fabric, or rather they did to me (British accent causing me problems). I had managed to persuade a friend, who had initially informed me that they had never been to Balogun before, to meet me at the market. Quite fascinating that they had not visited the market, despite the fact they lived less than 20 minutes away. I began to get the impression that the markets, or at least Balogun, were only for a particular type or class of Nigerian. Hmmmm.....
Market traders were jolly and enjoyed the fact that i was sweating profusely whilst trying and failing miserably to negotiate prices for materials. The market itself is HUGE and absolutely heaving with shoppers. It is however a health and safety nightmare!(see picture above) I wondered how much money was changing hands here, the total revenue incurred from this massive hive of informal activity. I also partially hallucinated (it really was ridiculously hot) that the market was indoors, where shoppers, such as myself of course, could bask in air conditioning whilst looking at all the lovely fabrics. Or at the least be indoors so that there was shade from the scorching yellow object in the sky. Thoughts of markets i have visited in Shanghai, China, popped into my thoughts, as they were indoors but still very much in the style of outdoor markets with each trader having their own stall. Anyway back to reality...scorching heat.
N.B:I later found out that there is indeed a mall recently constructed in Balogun but tenants are currently going through problems with the owners and have been evicted. Of course the mall can only house the select few who can afford to pay the rental cost so ultimately the outdoor market will prevail.
I was also impressed by the vast number of stalls selling womens clothing. Lots of on trend clothing imported, no doubt, from China, U.S or Europe. And there were lots of women buying. LOTS. The retail potential for Womenswear in Nigeria is ridiculous but yet there is clearly a lack of formal retail outlets and malls. Build a Mall of America, a Westfield, a Mall of the Emirates and fill it with a combination of western, Nigerian and continental wide African designers and watch the formal retail economy boost Nigeria's GDP...! A no brainer really.
Verdict: Overall, a successful and exciting experience. I left the market armed with two 6 yard Ankara print material and a feeling of pride of having negotiated/conquered this busy market, despite the warnings.
Mushin here i come!
