By Ibraheem Abdullateef
Economy matters a great deal. Once a state economy falls apart, the path to development becomes blurry. Kwara has began enumeration and data collection to give petty traders Owo Isowo, a program designed to support them financially so as to make businesses flourish. As I write, about 4 wards in Ilorin West have been captured and I was there to see firsthand how the market people feel about the scheme.
From the horses’ mouths
Mustapha Suleiman, an ND2 student in Kwara Poly selling meat at Oloje market holds a strong view on the scheme. Born into the business, Mustapha started professionally three years ago. He uses that as a supporting mechanism for his schooling. When engaged, the young man expressed satisfaction with Owo Isowo, saying it couldn’t have come at a better time to give start-up traders like him a sure footing in the business. “It seems to be business unusual. Government no longer gives clothes and seasonal bags of rice. Nothing can be better than giving us money to trade. If people get their daily bread, who will wait for Manna from heaven? Owo Isowo is our Lord’s prayer,” remarked the brilliant student-trader.
With a different iro over the buba, Mama Ayomide’s blackened hands darted left and right as she tried to tighten a big sack of charcoal after taking some out of it. She is a mother of three who returned to her husband’s family house after his premature death. She began a small scale charcoal business 8months ago. Her passion got to me enough, to prod a conversation. I asked if she didn’t feel that taking Owo Isowo cannot help her.
“Haa, kinni e tun wi yii (what did you say again) ? Most of us are into many schemes already. Those that are with high interest rates. The government coming up with this is an opportunity to make us less indebted to these people. I don’t think a loan scheme can get any better. Paying back #10,000 in three months seems the best one can get anywhere,” She said as she draped mucus off the nose of her 4year-old daughter.
Mariam Mekori sells pepper at Ogidi. She finished her NCE program in 2017 and was primarily helping her mother before she died. Mariam comes to the inherited shop three times in a week. She minors as a woman labourer at construction sites to augment her business. After telling her I used to work on sites and we exchanged stories, she told this writer that she would have stopped if she could get a loan to run the business. She wouldn’t believe anyone could say #10,000 is a small amount of money.
“Uncle, you better don’t tell some of us here that such an amount is small. I sell pepper. What I have here now is not up to #10,000. That means if I can get another #10,000, my business would grow. Same goes for Iya Raliat, she sells plantain. Look at that girl, her mother is my friend. To start the pure water business they don’t need more than that. We live by this money. It is the honour of going out and coming home at night that keeps people going. If the government will loan us money,what will traders be doing not collecting it?”
Thinking Mariam spoke like that because she is educated, this writer moved further down the market. I wanted to be sure the traders have a clear understanding of the scheme. So I met Memunat AbdulGaniy, a middle-aged palm-oil seller on the Oloje- Ogidi road. It was in a bit to ascertain the repayment success.
“I learned about the program on radio. They said the government wants to help us with money for our businesses. That is good. Since they never said it is for free, and we would make profit from selling, we would definitely pay back. The people taking our names and pictures even said when we pay back on time, we would get more and more. That is very okay with me o.”
Thereafter, I met with the Team lead, Enumeration in Ilorin West Mr Bashir Mohammed to get a vivid picture of the selection process. He felt surprised with the acceptance the scheme received from the people.
“Since we began, the interest has only risen. I think the traders get to hear more about it on radio on a daily basis. And that is good for participation. We have a guidestyle for enumeration. It is strictly for petty traders regardless of politics or anything. Once we see one qualifies to be captured, we explain the scheme and get one’s details. I am not a politician and can’t even know who supports who. Or have you seen anyone tele guiding us? The people can bear witness. Their enthusiasm showed it all,” Mr Bashir ended as market women from different sides tried to call him at the same time to their stands to continue the exercise.
The picture
Owo Isowo is a great social and economic scheme. It is a clear-sighted plan to redistribute wealth. One can imagine the multiplier effects of over 30,000 market women (for the first phase) getting financial support from the government. The economy will be driven in favour of all– and not some few privileged individuals. I could see and tell the happiness on the faces of these women. They felt remembered and given priority. They would be left off the hook of all these unhelpful roadside money-lending schemes. There are perhaps fewer and better approaches to make dividends of democracy trickle down to the people at the local level. The joy in all of this is the government paying minimum wage soon. That, in addition to this, may be the jigsaw to the state economic puzzle. Owo Isowo, in every sense, will give Kwara traders a lifeline.
Ibraheem is a social and community development advocate from Ilorin. Tweets @egghead_1995