The War Zone

The last time I visited Lekki Market, the market most convenient to our home, I had a bit of a disturbing experience. Since I frequent this market weekly, I mentally prepared myself for aggressive stall vendors vying for my business and the mob of boys hoping to carry my purchases, for a small dash of course. Not seeing my usual helper, Sunday, another eager boy quickly took his place and we headed toward the produce section. Cilantro, limes, and bell peppers... my list was short and specific.

Lagosian markets conveniently are organized by sections (plastics, produce, nonperishables, tchotchkes) making it easy for oyibos like me to navigate. However, once you enter a particular section all rules are off. One vendor might sell tomatoes, bell peppers, and yams; another may sell yams, pineapples, and plantains. Because of this inconsistency, and the fact that fellow vendors are also hoping for your business, each will coerce you toward their own stall whether you need their products or not.

But coercion is an understatement as my friend Eko sees it. "Marketing is war. They do not want a relationship with their customers, just their money." And he couldn't be more right. On this particular day, I had just entered the row of stalls and eyed a vendor selling herbs. Before I could enter, a large woman in traditional clothing and gele gripped my hand tightly and led me toward another row of stalls. Having my bearings, I planted my feet and said "No, do not touch me," which did little to loosen her grip. I looked over my shoulder hoping to find refuge in the stall behind me -- after all, it is basic vendor etiquette to leave the customer alone once they've entered a neighboring stall -- when another woman, seeing me eye her produce, grabbed my other hand and started pulling. So there I was in the middle of Lekki Market standing with my arms spreadeagle as these women fought over me and my potential naira.

Eko sees Lekki Market as the central war zone for marketing. "Their eyes are too big there," he notes of the Lekki Market vendors whose customer base is almost entirely oyibo. They refuse to price fairly hoping for unusually big profits, and will go to great lengths to get them as I found out first hand. So if you ever find yourself visiting Lagos, don't worry too much about the police on the street with AK47s...but Lekki Market, that's another story.