The drizzle on this Tuesday evening cools Oke-Ado, Ibadan, but it can’t compete with the irresistible aroma of fresh roasted corn drawing passers-by to Mrs Lateef Rukayat’s roadside stall at a popular junction along the road to Molete.
Rukayat, a woman in her forties, braved the rain to keep faith with her loyal customers, many of whom have come to depend on her daily smokes of roasted corn.
Speaking to Tribune On The Street, Rukayat opened up about how she abandoned hairdressing for the corn business, the risks involved, the cost of setting up, and how the trade now sponsors two of her children in higher education.
Rukayat dismissed the popular notion that roasted corn is an easy venture requiring little capital, describing that idea as an outdated reference. She noted that recent inflation had made the trade difficult for people without strong financial backing, though prices have eased slightly.
“A few days ago, the price of a bag of corn reduced. Before this time, I used to buy a bag of corn between N30,000 to N35,000 and above. But, as the price reduced, a bag is now sold for N15,000,” she said in Yoruba.
Beyond the corn itself, Rukayat explained that other costs — transportation, charcoal, nylon and packaging paper — add up quickly. “These are all to consider in starting a roasted corn business. You now see that it’s not some kind of trade to just jump into,” she said.
A mother of six, Rukayat said she struggled to cater for her children through hairdressing alone, a situation that pushed her to explore alternatives. Unable to sustain her family from her salon proceeds, she made the difficult decision to leave the shade of her struggling shop for the open road — braving scorching sun and stubborn rain to sell roasted corn instead.
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