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May 22, 2023

Onitsha: A City Blessed In Commerce

Historical fact Onitsha Markets refer to all the markets located in Onitsha

Historical fact

Onitsha Markets refer to all the markets located in Onitsha metropolis and adjoining towns, including Ogbaru, Obosi, Ogidi, Ogbunike and Nkwelle Ezunaka. There are over 86 markets of various sizes spread across the metropolis which are classified for distinct kinds of commodities. While Onitsha Main Market, the chief of all markets in Onitsha, is known mainly for clothing and other wares including household items.

The ElectroMart located some 1.5km apart from the Main Market, is for major dealers in electronic appliances. Food items are sold in Ose Okwudu and Ochanja Market, whereas traders in Relief Mar- ket uniquely deal on canned foods and drinks. Ochanja is also notable for shoes, other foot wears and groceries.

There is still the Electrical Market and the Spare Parts Market for old and new vehicles. Towards the River Niger is Bridge Head Market located just close to the Niger Bridge, Onitsha. It accommodates about five major subdivisions like Ogbo Osisi (Timber Market), Ogbo Ogwu (Drugs Market), Building Materials, Tools and Equipment; and Foodstuff Markets. Bridge Head Market is also home for many Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSEs): fabricators, artisans, furniture makers, welders, among others.

Remarkable features

Other distinct sections of the market include: Ogbo Efere (Cooking Utensils), Plastics Market, Stationeries & Computer Accessories, Aluminum & Glass, New Tire and Earth Moving Equipments and others. Onitsha-Market prides itself as the largest market in West Africa and could as well pass as the largest in Africa when all the markets are amalgamated.

The population of traders and support-traders in Onitsha-Market that made Onitsha the second most densely populated city in Nigeria after Lagos, numbers well above two million. "There are additional over half a million jobs provided in- directly by Onitsha-Market in the areas of SMEs, artisans, and direct labor haulage by hand/ head or by wheel barrow/cart, loading & offloading and others.

Transport businesses and a host of other support businesses are booming, thanks to Onitsha-Market. Undoubtedly, trade & commerce in Onitsha-Market dominates all other occupations in Anambra State put together. Government Internally Generated Revenue is boosted up to 60% by Onitsha-Market and Nnewi up to 30%.

Meeting point

People from all parts of Nigeria, Africa, Asia, Europe and America have one commercial interest or another in Onitsha. Several traders in Onitsha-Market are classified as importers & exporters; having direct contacts with world's renowned manufacturers in Britain, Germany, India, China, Singapore, Indonesia, South Africa and other parts of the world.

Many traders from Cameroun, Benin Republic, Ghana and South Africa get feeds from Onitsha-Market. It also feeds many markets in Nigeria, especially South-East, South-South and North-East, North-West and North Central parts of the country. However, Onitsha-Market also has many thriving industries; manufacturing shoes, clothing, textiles, drinks, plastics, packaged water, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, polythenes, cosmetics, aluminum products and several others.

Over five million visits are received in Onitsha-Market with over twelve million different transactions on a daily basis. Annual volume of trade in Onitsha-Market is in excess of $3billion with about 40% of this figure in constant circulation through the unbanked transactions. This translates that Onitsha theat Nigerian city with one of the highest GDP in Nigeria, which is evident in the fact that there is no case of extreme poverty in Onitsha.

Onitsha's growth

Onitsha Market may have started in the sixteenth century (1506) when Onitsha people settled near the bank of River Niger. The place known today as Ose Okwudu Market used to be the Palace shrine, where Onitsha people usually gathered for ancestral worship under the traditional leadership of Obi Oraeze.

A few paces away is the Otu-Nkwo Eze (the place known today as Main Market), a market opened only once in four days (Nkwo days), but later grew to operate on a daily basis. Then it was only trade-by- barter (exchange of goods for other goods) and traded mainly on food items. Later on, cowries served as medium for exchange but never eliminated trade-by- barter; and in fact cowries got phased out before barter.

In the early to mid-18th Century, when the Portuguese arrived in Nigeria, they navigated inlands of River Niger from the Atlantic Ocean and the first place they encountered human activities was at Onitsha; this attracted them. After the initial hostility showed to the foreigners, they later received acceptance and settled down for business.

They introduced missionary, hot drinks, cigarettes, clothing, guns and gun powders; and by barter they exchanged them for mainly slaves, whom they exported to work in their factories in Europe. They also got palm produce, ivory, and other raw materials.

Journey so far

In the twilight stages of the 18th century, Britain came in with intention to rule, sacked the Portuguese and established the Southern Protectorate after they had earlier established and consolidated the Lagos Colony; and then moved northwards to establish Northern Protectorate. The three regions were later amalgamated in 1914 to become today's Nigeria.

Onitsha again became prominent as a stop- over river port that serviced the northern protectorate since bigger vessels could not navigate beyond Onitsha. The British gradually introduced money; first coins and later notes as medium of exchange of goods and services. The Royal Niger Company also berthed in Onitsha in the late 18th century by the British colonial government brought modernization to the market.

Their subsidiaries; John Holt, Kingsway Supermarkets and others established their grounds for business in Onitsha-Market. People from South-East to the North and from the South-West to West Africa trooped to Onitsha for commercial activities.

Achebe speaks

The Obi of Onitsha had to move his palace to Enu Onitsha, now (Inland town) for a less busy environment. Onitsha became world news other countries soon had their interests registered for trade: France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and other countries exported their manufactured goods into Onitsha-Market.

Most of these non-British products were not allowed in the main market; and this led to establishment of a new market called Ochanja Market: Ochanja was Onitsha derogatory word for low value. As a matter of fact, one of the first post-independence government projects in Eastern Nigeria was the construction of the biggest market in West Africa, the Onitsha Main Market, by the Premiere of Eastern Nigeria, Dr. Michael Okpara.

The market was badly damaged during the civil war, but was re-built by Ukpabi Asika, the post-civil war Governor of the East-Central State. He however, ordered the relocation of timber dealers to Ogbo Osisi near the Niger Bridge to ease off the congestion at the Main Market. Ogbo Osisi later spread and accommodated other dealers to become the Bridge Head Market.

Later tragedy struck Onitsha-Market in 1984 when Main Market and Ochanja Market got burnt down simultaneously. Government of Anambra State in a bid to relieve traders of the untold hardship occasioned by the inferno; set a new place at Upper Iweka for those affected at Ochanja to begin again. It was named Relief Market, which became one of the fastest growing markets in Onitsha today.

Bridge Head Market and Relief Market expanded massively and today can compete with the Main Market in size and volume of trade.

The gains

Ever increasing commercial activities in all the markets saw the establishment of new mar- kets, mostly breaking out from the existing ones – Electro- Mart left Iweka Road (part of Ochanja) to establish at Km1, Onitsha–Enugu expressway. The Electrical parts market is now well established at Onitsha – Owerri Road having left Iweka Road partially.

Major dealers of building materials formerly located at Ezenwekwe, Afubera and Ozomagala roads came together to establish today's Building Materials Market at Ogidi International Market today". That is the level of organization, order and acumen deployed to make Onitsha the commercial nerve centre of the South-East and one of the largest thriving market towns in West Africa.