There are no jobs in town. The labour market even gets swollen by the day as more and more of those who do even menial jobs, lose them daily and join the swelling numbers of job-seekers. But some men, especially those with families have shoved pride aside to do just anything to put food on the table. Although most of the things they now engage themselves in are debasing of their statuses the bottom line is to keep the engine of life oiled. You couldn’t have imagined a respected family man working for a roadside corn seller. But that is a common sight today. Just look around any roadside corn seller, the able-bodied men you see around them are neither their husbands nor sons. They are staffers whose job function is either to peel the fresh corn or wrap sold roasted ones for customers. Economy&Lifestyle discovered that some of these men get paid daily, weekly or monthly. Mr. Abednigo Okpana, said he was a hawker but had to sustain himself and his family by working as a helper in corn roasting for his madam. He said: “I hawk plantain chips for a living. The high cost of living which has also affected businesses resulted in my having low profit in the plantain chips business. “I have to take care of my aged parents and my wife and daughter. So I decided to serve as a helper in the corn roasting business alongside hawking. Here I am paid based on the amount of corn I roast. “Roasting five cobs of corn is N100. Then N1000 for peeling a bag of corn. I do my hawking in the morning and evening on days when my madam didn’t open for business. “I plan on saving to start my own business because corn is a seasonal food. I cannot sustain myself and my family with it in the long term.” Mrs. Judith Agbasi, a corn seller said: “It is not easy peeling and roasting corn for sale. “Many women with various health challenges are trying to make ends meet, especially those who are the breadwinners of their family.
How peeling corn for roadside roaster turns new job for men who lost their jobs
