Homes and Kids
Coverage of all Social Events and Ceremonies
Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Alhaji Hassan Salau Oranre, A Factorial Mobilizer & Ododo's Clarion Call
Tuesday, 18 March 2025
UNPLANNED TRIP AROUND KARA MARKET IN AJASE IPO*: The Needless Wonders...
It was a journey from Odo Eri in Kogi State to Ilorin, the capital town of Kwara State and I had sat in a shop, near the federal road dressed in a sport top.and blue jean, to take a vehicle for that purpose. I had good guys around me, helping to track down any passing one.
There were fewer vehicles plying the route for three (3) obvious reasons, the hike in price of fuel, insecurity resulting to kidnaps and of course, the use of the other road, in Ekiti axis considered saver notwithstanding the fact that, it's a longer route, that surely consumes more premium motor spirit.
When it comes to the state of the road, I almost don't know which to rate as worse any longer, for I only both, depending on where the driver chose to follow, because both roads have terrible spots here and there and as the rain sets in again, it will both, surely become impassible somewhere around Aiyedun Ekiti, Iyamoye on the Ilorin- Ekiti- Kogi axis and same around Eruku, Isanlu Ijagbe end and of course shortly before Aiyetoro on the Ilorin- Lokoja axis, safe for the fire brigade effort of the self made hard-labour Julius-berger emergence engineers, who will mount such spots and make some money for themselves, helping people to pass through and of course likely, intervention by NASS members who will come and "dress" those spots for that season.
Meanwhile, the Sharon I joined, have just two (2) passengers there in, or should I say three, because, one of the two female passengers carried a baby boy, who obviously didn't pay any fare, and in his seven (7) months, handsome and playful infant; so friendly until the heat started having its toll on the boy plus the _jagajigi_ rythm dance on the seats, of the many potholes, without coordinated sound instruments.
We have travelled to as far as Eruku the last town and border town with Kogi at the Kwara end before we met these four (4) people who waved us down, for what I later understood to mean, lifting and shifting their cows, four (4) to Ajase Ipo, a connecting town on that route from Osun to Kwara.
The truth is, I was not comfortable with that, but obviously the driver and the bus and his other two (2) people were coming all the way from Okene and Kabba with no other passenger, until I joined them at Odo Eri in Yagba West.
The bargaining was done and a friend whom I saw in Eiddi who came for his own business told me, they bargained for fifty five thousand naira (N55,000) after the driver refused the initial offer of fifty thousand naira (N50,000), and so, a guy was brought in to remove the seats at the back to create space for the cows, now, the driver is playing with his teeths as he opened them wide, happy to have struck some good deals, which he did and that was the first round of fight, he was given one thousand (N1,000) to the screws' remover and all hell was let loose, until the Baba Oja, I later understood is the head of the market, wielded his power to chase the guy away, asking him, If he is the one to move the cows, and wondered why he will calculate his own payment based on the fact that, four (4) cows are to be shifted, power is well used in these local settings o, as he could willingly have pounced on the guy and nothing will happen, others stood gazing at the market commander dishing out orders, lol.
When the loading was done, we embarked on our journey after about an hour plus of waiting for bargain, loading, seats removal and repositioning of our luggages, as none allowed his luggage to be left at the mercy of the obviously angry looking but silent cows, which am made to understand are small cows.
Meanwhile, I was well seated in the front before the overloading started with the pitty of " _he didn't see perssengers_ " , an emotion that later became a wreck for all of us, who should have abandoned that bus for another, God help us we find one!
So, we moved and the Soldiers and Police had a field day collecting money on the cows, some a thousand naira (N1,000), some five hundred (N500) and the Cow leader(sic) said, if it was Lokoja axis it is one thousand (N1,000) per cow and so on. The driver is not pay, they deal directly with the cow owners, it's an arrangement known to them.
When we got to Ajase Ipo Kara market, the driver was asked to go inside, so they can off load. The sight of the very dirty market that greeted us and all "manners of human beings" moving around there, should tell you the stench oozing from that place, I reached for my handkerchief to protect my nose, at least a little, before we could meander through both human and vehicles either going in or out parked wrongly and those fighting each other over wheel barrow and so on, infact, one head bleeds as he is rushed out of the market soaked with blood and that assailant being battered to the ground, by those who looked like market forces, this too is like twenty (20) minutes to.get a space to manage a park.
When that was settled and we had a place to hang-park, the Revenue guys came asking for money from the driver and asked him to also produced the owner whom, we can't find as at then, well the Revenue people with their tax-collecring bag hung to their necks, rested on their stomach and looking wild too, stood bent on the Sharon boonet and driver side door, with their heavy sticks to their hands, one of them told me when I inquired, what the sticks, like 3 inches in radius are meant for, he said and I quote "the misbehaving cows and likely their owners", wow! I said and moved like twenty (20) meters back, I didn't fail to advice the elderly woman and the woman with a baby to do same, of course they complied.
The worst scenerio here is, we have to wait for the cow owner to get the money for the driver, this is where I lost my cool, asking the now tensed driver, why he didn't take his money before moving after loading, he said and those at the Kara Market corroborated him that, they the (cow owners) don't pay until they get to Kara Market, then I told him he is a "fool hardy"; because he is not a truck driver, driving vehicles lifting cows who had no passengers inset, he admitted because of course eyes were red already and the environment charged, the revenue guys despite saying that is the practice took action to get the money out for him on time. All they did was hitting two cows madly and the owner appeared in a jiffy.
At least fifty thousand (N50,000) was brought and the driver went berserk, saying it was fifty five thousand they bargained, then they started the _roforofo_ fight and it took the Revenue boys' intervention and another Market Head to get additional three thousand (N3,000) naira for the driver. Imagine, them.determining when to pay, despite their inability to.move the cows to the desired location, yet they didn't want to miss the.waiting market, bad I said to those drivers, who obviously are.nor thinking, now he is cheated.
The driver, said he is not moving, so I jerked him at that point for my own money to complete my journey to Ilorin because we were already tracking 7.35pm, I needed to break my lenten stuff, so he started reigning curse on them as mallams calmly adjusted their cows to a standing position to go tie them as we left.
Before we left what I saw is horrible, seeing a woman with baby strapped to her back and mallam, hitting her buttock, in the name of playing with her and one of the guys their told me to come and I carefully followed him, now with a big stick iny.own hands too, he showed me where they even sleep with some women who have lost values from when they grew breasts, he asked me to try and tarry more to the night and I will see wonders.
I put it to him that, why are they trading in the night, why not in the day time, he answered that some even stays two night there, some will arrive a night before, and be there the night of the trading.
I then inquired if guns were sold or exchanged there, he stepped back took a close look at me and asked me, "abi you be Police ni?", I nodded no, and he took off, that made me walk a little around towards the dark.points still with my big stick, as I saw weird looking people sitting down with nothing in their front, but sacs and other covered items, who said they are not guns or explosives in the name of night market?
I do not see a simple reason for their so called Kara Markets at all, why not revert back to the ideas of going to buy from them, where the cows are kept or simply place orders for what you want, _a stitch in time saves nine._