How peeling corn for roadside roaster turns new job for men who lost their jobs

There are no jobs in town. The labour market even gets swollen by the day as more and more of those who do even menial jobs, lose them daily and join the swelling numbers of job-seekers.

But some men, especially those with families have shoved pride aside to do just anything to put food on the table. Although most of the things they now engage themselves in are debasing of their statuses the bottom line is to keep the engine of life oiled.

You couldn’t have imagined a respected family man working for a roadside corn seller. But that is a common sight today. Just look around any roadside corn seller, the able-bodied men you see around them are neither their husbands nor sons. They are staffers whose job function is either to peel the fresh corn or wrap sold roasted ones for customers.

Mr. Abednigo Okpana, said he was a hawker but had to sustain himself and his family by working as a helper in corn roasting for his madam.

He said: “I hawk plantain chips for a living. The high cost of living which has also affected businesses resulted in my having low profit in the plantain chips business.

“I have to take care of my aged parents and my wife and daughter. So I decided to serve as a helper in the corn roasting business alongside hawking. Here I am paid based on the amount of corn I roast.

“Roasting five cobs of corn is N100. Then N1000 for peeling a bag of corn. I do my hawking in the morning and evening on days when my madam didn’t open for business.

“I plan on saving to start my own business because corn is a seasonal food. I cannot sustain myself and my family with it in the long term.”

Mrs. Judith Agbasi, a corn seller said: “It is not easy peeling and roasting corn for sale.

“Many women with various health challenges are trying to make ends meet, especially those who are the breadwinners of their family.

“That is why you see some corn sellers now employing helpers to do the roasting, peeling and selling to save them the cost of visiting the hospital every time.

“Myself, my children do come to help me with the peeling while I do the roasting and selling. I also boil corn for sale.

“Since it is a seasonal business, it is advisable to employ hands if you are situated in a place where business booms to save you from too much stress.”

Mr. Femi Olorunsogo said he was surprised to see a man helping a woman roast corn for a fee.
He said: “Right there at Ilasa, I wanted to buy corn. I was negotiating for two cobs to be sold at N300 but the man insisted on N400.

“He now asked the woman beside him if he should sell the cobs of corn for N300. She agreed. I was curious so I asked him if the business was not his.

“He replied he was not even related to the woman but worked as a helper who was paid after his job was done.

“I have seen men doing women’s business like frying akara, and roasting corn but a helper in roasting corn is baffling. That is what the economy of the country has made many hardworking citizens resort to for survival.

“How many people eat corn that this woman will make a profit and also pay a helper? Such a question begins to ring in your head when you encounter such a situation.

“But the fact is that people prefer to eat corn and coconut or pea than go into a canteen to spend thousands of naira for just a plate of food which won’t even hold you up to an hour. At least the young man is not stealing.” (Vanguard)