Aba is a city in the east of Nigeria, in the state known as Abia state. Aba could be considered as south- east in that it shares borders with Portharcourt in Rivers state which is known for its role of administrating the largest pool of oil in the south of Nigeria. But in Aba, there are no natural resources yet it is regarded as one of the most industrious cities in Nigeria. It owes its activities and vibrancy to the highly-acclaimed Ariaria International Market which has existed since as far back as the 70’s. This market has, for long, been the centre of commerce and indigenous production in the Eastern part of Nigeria. The city literally revolves around this market; it feeds the city and all its inhabitants.
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What is baffling is that the term “commercialization” has a different connotation when it has to do with Ariaria Market. The process of transaction is deeply rooted in informal methods. The prices of goods are rarely fixed – the buyer and seller have to reach a common ground after rigorous negotiations and bargaining. And to come out of negotiations not “cheated” depends indeed on how smart each bargainer is – both the buyer and the seller. The price of a commodity depends so little on the cost/profit margins than it does on the physiological manipulation of the buyer. Every transaction is like a war of minds and requires each party to be quite “smart”.
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In this sense, the average mentality in Aba is one of an acute complexity; one that is less expected of such a small city. The inhabitants tend to stand out both in mentality and vigour from other cities of Nigeria. It is very easy to spot an « Aba boy » or « Aba brought-up » just by a mere word he utters or a gesture. It is the city of slangs and street languages, full of Ibo youths who will prefer to taste a poison and die later as opposed to walking away with an uncertain answer about the substance. They are mostly entrepreneurs- in all aspect of their lives, even in the way their home and family affairs are run. They are always on the move and never letting-go of the slightest opportunity to be « smarter » than the previous day. In attempts to put a word to that vigorous city, some people call it « Aba - the Small Lagos ».
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Arriving at the Ariaria Market, we were faced with more than our imaginations could decipher. It is true that we expected to see a large pool of hand-crafts men chiseling away consistently and producing, but it is easier said than seen. The level of handcraft was incredible. It is not my first time of being in the market, but it was the first time I had to be there with a great amount of attention and reflection towards all the processes taking place in the space. We have come to investigate or rather to understand the magnitude of the many transactions that has naturally created a trans-national network having its root right from that market. This is in the framework of the SPARCK (Space for Pan-African Research, Creation and Knowledge) project initiated by Africa Centre, and co-directed by Dominique Malaquais and Kadiatou Diallo.
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At first glance one feels that the impact of this constantly-productive space has been greatly undermined. So far we have been frequenting the Shoe Manufacturing section of the market because I have decided it would act as a representative of my research deductions for two reasons: (1) it is one of the most lucrative divisions of the market where immense production and transactions take place on a daily basis and in a transnational and (2) I am concentrating in the area of the shoe market with deals with women foot wears – a phenomenon which makes the demand and supply incredibly voluminous.
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When I spoke to some of the shoe makers, in a matter of few minutes I was already enlightened enough, beyond the stereotypical notion of poverty-stricken individuals trying to “put food on the table”, to understand them as creatively oriented people who through everyday living experiences are forced to constantly introduce new formulas to by-pass the difficulties suffered as a result of deficiencies of elements decisive for production. In a place like this, one sees only creativity at its crudest and most pragmatic form –improvisation seems to be the only and natural way to go. A formula is as good as the immediate problem at hand, and after that new methods are invented. I was amazed at the chain of events and its rigorous connections, from the shoe-maker man to the wheelbarrow man who wheels the fully-stocked bag to the nearest bus station, and all the way to the garbage man – everyone and everything is linked albeit informal but very cordially.
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Talking with Anthony the man who, with a completely dilapidated Peugeot 404 pick-up (a reminiscent of my father’s vehicle), takes away the garbage produced from a section of the shoe-making market, we discussed the value of labour. He seems to think that most of our Nigerian brothers abroad do the same kind of work as his (that is, taking away garbage). As a contribution to the conversation, I told him that abroad, I think those who take out gabbage are being paid quite higher than he would be paid in this market for taking away gabbage because in the West, labour is expensive – human labour is valued beyond the mass-production of the machine. Most middle-class people in Europe would compare the opportunity cost of painting their homes themselves to calling a painter to do it for them, because the painter would charge a labour fee that will require that they pay him quite substantially. But should they go and buy the paints and all the tools needed to do it themselves, they would be saving a lot more money.
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Anthony seemed to be surprised at my proclamations (just as I was surprised at how his car in its state –I mean the wind screen looked like it would fall off at any slightest move the car attempts– yet could still be used as a mobile object how much more for carrying anything). But this leads me to the issue of labour associated to the entire production force of the market in general.
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Today in the Western countries, anything hand-made is valued as rear and authentic therefore expensive. Even the top Fashion firms pride themselves on the quality that comes from their hand-made collections. But at the shoe - manufacturing industry of the Ariaria Market, the opposite seem to be the case. It is baffling that 98% of the production of any pair of shoe is strictly hand-made, and when there is any machine involved, this machine was also constructed or rather improvised in Aba. Though these shoes have a wide range of market and ceaseless influx of demand from such countries as Cameroun, Togo, Benin Republic, South Africa, Mozambique to mention a few, yet it is seen by most people as of inferior quality. The makers would need to tag it a “made in Italy” or “made in France” to be able to ascertain its authenticity.
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I am forced to believe that such phenomenon plays a very major role in the undermining of the true value that ought to be associated to shoe manufacturing in Ariaria. Indeed, there are other factors to be considered, but this, I believe is the point where all the efforts when in circulation tends to drain out like a puncture in a tube, preventing the closing of the circle of air flow. In the market, manual labour is everything, yet it is the least valued. As demand increases the weight on labour becomes heavier. It affects production both in terms of quantity and quality. In a bid to balance this loss, the makers are forced to ‘cut corners’ which sometimes includes a psychological one – the introduction of foreign labels and tags to support the authenticity. But in reality these shoes are usually not an imitation of a similar shoe in Italy or France, it only seems so.
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I am particularly interested in this paradox arising from under-valuing labour and the notion of a whole industry - with all the elements necessary for independence – being seen as the imitation of a foreign counterpart. In this project I will direct my efforts towards more enlightenment in this area, amongst other things. I will update this blog as the project unfolds and I will revisit some of the issues mentioned above with more details backed with facts. Untill then, happy reading.
