AN HONEST REVIEW OF ASWANI MARKET LAGOS- MY EXPERIENCE

Quote of the Day: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you.

Hi, dolls! Welcome to today's post. How are you doing? Forgive me for the long time no post here on the blog I've been very busy in the non-virtual world. If you follow me on Instagram you would have noticed the hiatus there as well. It's been one thing or the other for your girl Lily of Nigeria, but our God is faithful to the pulling down of strongholds.

Aswani is one of the most popular second-hand market (aka bend down select) in Lagos. My curiosity about Aswani market began last year when someone talked about it in a passing small talk. It wasn’t the first time I had heard of the market. I grew up(for a while in FESTAC town) so I knew the market existed, but I had never been there. I made up my mind to go and see for myself. You know your girl is a curious-kitty with a heart that constantly longs for adventures. So, I discussed it with a trusted family member, and I regretted it. She shot down every interest I had and shot down that adventure. Her words were “you, go to Aswani? Why don’t you explore Yaba, everything in Aswani is in Yaba or Balogun. Plus all those market boys will grab you! It’s very rowdy there o, and I don’t think you should go.” I almost died. It wasn’t a good experience for me, but it was a lesson to never discuss ALL my dreams with people, just God. I went to Yaba and Balogun quite alright, but I still yearned for Aswani.

Fast forward to March 2018 and I came across an old youtube video of Ozimama (that’s what I call her, in my head, I feel like I’m friend’s with this girl but I’ve never met her) and Denola filming in Aswani. I pushed the envelope by watching almost all the videos I thought were tangible about the market and bam! That dream was born again. Its shot down wings were healed and ready to fly, and fly they did because four days later, I was in a BRT bus on my way to Aswani market. I decided to go on a Tuesday which is the Aswani Market day. I heard that the traders usually open up new stock on Tuesdays.

WHAT I WORE
I wore a plain white tee shirt and a stretch plain blue pencil jeans trousers.

HOW I GOT THERE

I wasn’t about to drive there, long story short for now I’m not allowed to drive to the mainland. And, as someone with her money on her mind there is no way I was going to take an Uber or Taxify to that market, ain’t  nobody gat time for that. Anyway, if you live on the island, your best bet is to get a bus going to Oshodi. I took a Keke to Obalende which isn’t far from where I live and boarded a BRT to Oshodi. I went straight for one of the back seats because I love to people watch, surely I am not the only one, who else loves this?

Just in case you are curious, I paid the ticket mistress N150. There was serious traffic along that Anthony. Just before we got to the Oshodi terminal, I asked the woman in front of me for directions as to how to get to Aswani. She was kind enough to take me to where the buses going there were loading and told the bus conductor to drop me off at the Aswani junction, that I was her ward. Truly, kind people still exist. The foolish money gobbling conductor charged all of us going to Aswani from Oshodi N100 instead of N50 (I knew it wasn’t meant to be N100 because a seasoned Aswani market woman almost fought with him for her N50 change).

I had to cross the road and take another Keke to the first gate of the market. I walked in, and was completely taken aback by what I saw. I legit walked around for thirty minutes doing nothing but looking and taking it all in. It’s what Alice in Wonderland would have seen, and burst out saying curiouser and curiouser!

People of God, your girl saw THINGS. Human hair of N1500 to shirts that cost N30. Brand new swimming trunk onesies that cost N100, never worn office trousers of N300, and hose stockings of N50. I saw black office shoes of N1500, and new silk pillowcases that cost N50.

 I tried to take some pictures, I didn't take in most parts of the main market because I was afraid some was going to steal/snatch my camera.

WHAT I GOT

I bought some brand new white shirts, some were still with their tags for N300 each. And, I also bought two silk pillowcases, a pyjama shirt, two denim shorts. I bought two office trousers which I ended up forgetting at the shirt vendor’s shop, woe is me. Mainly, I just ended up walking about and looking around. I definitely satisfied my thirst for seeing Aswani for myself and ended up with an unwanted tan. One of the first things I was told when I got back home was "your face is darker than the rest of your body!"

My Verdict
I will definitely encourage you to go to this market if you want to see for yourself, if not don't bother. Especially if you are coming from a very far part of Lagos to this market, and have no intentions of buying to resell, or buying in bulk.

For my international readers, Keke is the Nigerian name for a tricycle. You know, the ones Bajaj makes in India. I love it because it gives you the opportunity to receive fresh air, people watch on fast forward, and meet different characters.

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This brand is based on Psalm 45:13.

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