"I’ve trained five graduates with proceeds from roasted yam business"

A mother of nine, Mrs. Franca Nwosu, has narrated how she sponsored the university education of five of her children from the proceeds of her yam business.The Minna, Niger State resident, who sold roasted yam along the busy Shiroro Road, explained that the business was doing well in spite of the economic downturn in the country.

Speaking to Northern City News on Thursday in Minna, Mrs. Nwosu stated that she started the business about 15 years ago, noting that the trade had lifted her family above poverty.

She said, “I started this business over 15 years ago and with the proceeds, I was able to train five graduates. So, as far as I am concerned, the business is booming, no matter the hardship in the country, people must eat, you cannot avoid food.”

The trader said she opened for business by 7am everyday to serve her customers who comprised commercial motorcyclists, artisans, pedestrians and motorists.

She said she roasted no fewer than 150 tubers of yam each day, noting, however, that the economic recession had forced her to reduce the quantity to 100 tubers.

The middle-aged woman said her husband’s meagre earnings from his welding workshop was inadequate for the family upkeep hence her decision to engage in selling roasted yam by the roadside.

“My husband is a welder by profession but with the current situation of things in the country, what he is getting cannot sustain the family; so, I engaged myself in the yam roasting business to support him so that our family will not suffer,” she explained.

A motorcycle operator, Samuel, said he patronised her daily because her serving was affordable.

“With between N50 and N100, I can feed myself and this is far cheaper than eating at a restaurant where a plate of food would cost me between N300 and N400. Almost all the Okada riders in town have their lunch at her spot.

“I leave home early for my Okada business, so, most times, I have no other choice but to patronise the roasted yam seller because I cannot afford to go back home for a meal.”

Another motorcyclist, Abubakar Mohammed, also said that roasted yam was the cheapest food anyone could get in Minna.

“I patronise Madam Nwosu because I can afford roasted yam compared to other foods in town. We (Okada riders) are comfortable with her roasted yam; most of us eat there two times a day and she sometimes sold on credit to us, she is our ‘mother’ in town.”