In most remote township settlements in Nigeria, you’d hardly find spectacles that could incite feelings of intrigue; but if you were to visit the far-flung town of Ayingba, I am sure the Roundabout Market would catch your fancy.The traffic circle turned marketplace is one big circumference of unconventionality. In it are a great number of different stalls for buying and selling. With a diameter of some thousand feet, you'd find displayed all the basic features of a regular market, with almost every commodity that a typical townie might need.
Within the traffic island is the typical air of hustle and bustle familiar to most markets. Even from a distance, the boisterousness of the market traders going about their business is most palpable. And with the familiar ritual of haggling and persuasion, you’d see the sellers actively making customers of both motorist and pedestrians as they go round and round about the market.
On inspecting goods on display, you could acquire, though for just a moment, the lofty title of Oga-madam or Oga-sir. In fact, if anyone were in need of sycophantic praise, the roundabout market would be more than ready to oblige, “Oga-madam, come buy my tomatoes wey fresh and fine like you”. As long as you are buying something, you are special.
The uniqueness of the marketplace is further heightened by the oddities of its people. Various kinds of folks give their own colour to the place. Brightly clad in yellow and blue, the market constable braces with a stance enough to scare any of the hooligans or pickpockets. The urchins, though mischievous, are ever ready to lend a hand of help in carrying your load of goods for a little remuneration; but interesting of all are the antics of Bullah, the town beggar. Crippled on a skate-like rolling board, he rides energetically round the market accosting passersby for some coins. And with queer comedy, he cajoles even the most miserly of men to part with their hard-earned money. Well, most markets do have them.
But then again, unlike the well-aligned bazaar sort of North Africa, the circular market is a sight of positive disarray. Scattered all about the place are tables of various shapes and sizes, bearing the burden of different articles of trade. However, contrary to its appearance, it’s said that the spherical ground is neatly divided into various sections for different assortments of wares. Yet, like broken rules, the allotted spots are not recognized.
However, in validating firmly its status as a genuine place of commerce, the round market boast of other things besides the necessary farm produce. Very much available in the area are boutiques that have everything from casual jeans-wear to official suits; also, spare parts' booths that would readily give original replacements for your Peugeot or Mercedes Benz.
For the foreign observer, the icing on the cake for his fascination will come from the view of a local monument. Fixed in the centre of the circle, standing about 14 feet tall and carved in some abstract form, it bears on its top in bold metallic letters, an ironic name for the traffic junction: “Igala Unity Square”.
Never intended for recreation, least of all for a marketplace, the central island partly lives up to its name in the sense that it unites the people commercially; but to call it a “square” is another matter entirely.
*pictures from Google images
