What others ignored and declared a dirty and menial job -corn roasting – adjacent to the gate of a tertiary institution of learning in Makurdi, Benue State, has turned Mr Godwin Chaga, a 63-year-old civil servant, into a happy and responsible father.
Instead of relying on his monthly salary, which hardly meets the needs of his household, Chaga now makes bisk sales daily by selling roasted fresh corn to his ever-growing customers in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, a proud and fulfilled Chaga, said, “Now, I can easily put food on my family’s table.”
Chaga narrated how he entered the corn business four years ago, following the country’s persistent economic hardship.
He said, “It is thinking outside the box that brought me into the business of corn roasting since my salary could no longer cater for my family’s needs.
“Depending on salary only at this time will ridicule you in the face of your family members because before you collect it, you have already spent almost all the money, but with this business, we are moving on salary or no salary,” he said.
Chaga said he was no longer ashamed of going into the business after being in it for four years, and “it is putting food on the family’s table.”
He expressed gratitude to his customers, colleagues, and university students for encouraging him to continue despite the initial derogatory remarks from those who felt it was not the best thing for him.
A father of four and grandfather of six, who hails from the Konshisha local government area of Benue State, continued, “I am happily married with four children and six grandchildren, and I have been working in the college for the past 12 years as a driver.
“I woke up one day and asked God to direct me on how to complement my salary to enable me to feed my family in this difficult time, and what came to my mind was the roasting of corn. I don’t know whether it was because I like eating roasted corn
“I came to the office, and when I was free, I went round the vicinity to see whether there were people roasting corn, and I found none. That was when I put the necessary things in order and commenced the business,” he said.
Elder Chaga, as he is popularly called, dresses well whenever he turns up to carry out the business of the day.
He, however, expressed sadness over the discouragement from a few people who always tell him that he is too old for the business and that he is a disgrace to his friends and family.
He added that many others also encourage him to continue, especially his colleagues at work, adding that they patronise him as a demonstration of their approval of what he does.
“I am ready and willing to do any business that will fetch me money to cater for my family as long as it is not stealing or fraud,” Chaga said.
When our correspondent visited his sales point, only her daughter, Nguveren Chaga, was on duty. When asked about her father’s whereabouts, she said that because it was office hours, he could not leave his work until after 4 p.m., when he closed from work.
Thirty minutes later, Chaga came to join her to continue the day’s business.
In the ensuing interaction, Chaga said, “I work with the College of Health Sciences, Benue State University. So, during office hours, my daughter comes around to help me, and when office hours are over, I join her in the business. We close here by 9 p.m.
Asked whether he gets the corn from his farm, Chaga replied, “No. We buy it from the farmers and one bag costs N17,000. When you add the cost of charcoal and transport fare, it goes up to either N18,000 or N19,000 depending on the distance of the market.”
On how much profit he makes daily from sales, Chaga explained that for every bag he buys, he sells up to N25,000 and above. After that, he subtracts the cost of buying corn the next day, and the balance will be used to service the home.
Speaking on why he settled for roasting corn, Chaga said, “I like roasted corn, and when I discovered that no one was selling it around and within the college and many people loved it, I took the bold step to start the business. Because of the economic realities, I am happy to say that I can put food on the table for my family.
“I hate stressing my children with my needs, my eldest son is in the village farming, but I cannot depend on him because he has a family to cater for, he is married with four children, so I am roasting corn to complement my salary and I am good to go, irrespective of my age.”
About the feelings of friends and family members on his choice of business, Chaga said, “My family is in support of it, that is why you see my daughter who would have ordinarily felt ashamed of coming close here as other children may do, is always around me to help. Although a few friends are against it, some say at my age, roasting corn is a shame and that I shouldn’t have engaged in this kind of business, but I usually tell them that as long as I am doing something that will not land me in jail and my family is in support, I am contented.
“I want to tell you and the whole world that I am not ashamed of roasting corn as a business. I feel good and great because of the patronage I receive from my work and others. Age does not matter in business as long as God gives you strength and direction, so no regrets at all.
“I am calling on the Benue State government to help me with farm inputs so that by next season, all the corn I will be roasting will come from my farm. With that, I will make more profit and even have enough food to eat as well,” he said.
Chaga said he sells the corn for between N150 and N200 each depending on the size.
For her part, Chaga’s daughter, Nguveren, said she was proud to help her father in the business and does not care what her friends say. She added that as long as they are making a profit, she would continue to be at her duty post.
According to her, she graduated from the College of Education in Akwanga, Nasarawa State in August last year, and since then, she has chosen to join her father in the business instead of roaming the streets and looking for men to meet her needs
She said, “I am not ashamed of what I am doing. My father is a very focused and determined man who does not play with whatever he does and that is what he taught us, I like it, although most of my friends are not coming around again because they are ashamed to see me roasting corn with my father, what they don’t know is that I am also using what my father gave to me from the profit to meet my needs and I also adhere to his advice that I should not go out to look for men.
“My intention is to further my education. This August 2024 marks exactly one year since my graduation as a National Certificate of Education (NCE) holder, but I have not gotten any work, and I cannot sit at home to watch my father struggling to feed us.
“I also believe that the savings from the corn business will one day take me back to school for my degree programme.
“My advice to young ladies is to engage in a trade to earn money and turn their back on unserious men,” she said.
