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Secrets of Success: Uncertainty, Profits and Prosperity in the Gari Economy of Ibadan, 1992–94

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2023

Mimi Y. Wan
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Abstract

Competition, success and secrecy are fundamental characteristics of the local food economy of Ibadan, Nigeria. With the growth of the processed cassava, or gari, trade throughout this area, these characteristics are revealed in a number of contexts in the food trade. Traders and shopkeepers circulate their wealth and plough profits back into a range of trading items to obscure their exact economic status from other traders and their families. Success in this context entails secrecy in a number of respects. In relation to buyers in the gari trade, secrecy entails the obfuscation of whether the trader deals retail or wholesale, what she is worth in terms of food stocks and her personal wealth. Successful traders also invest their earnings in social celebrations, in their children's education and in personal homes that all work to foster and enhance their social status and validate their wealth.

Résumé

Concurrence, succès et secret sont les caractéristiques fondamentales de l'industrie alimentaire locale à Ibadan (Nigéria). Avec l'essor du commerce du manioc transformé (ou gari) dans toute la région, ces caractéristiques se révèlent dans plusieurs contextes de l'industrie alimentaire. Les négociants et les commerçants font circuler leurs richesses et réinvestissent leurs bénéfices dans des activités commerciales diverses afin de cacher leur véritable condition économique aux autres commerçants et à leur famille. Dans ce contexte, le succès implique le secret à de nombreux égards. Concernant les acheteurs de gari, le secret consiste à ne pas révéler le fait que le commerçant négocie au détail ou en gros, ni la valeur du commerçant en termes de stocks de produits alimentaires et de richesse personnelle. Les commerçants prospères investissent aussi leurs revenus dans des festivités sociales, dans l'éducation de leurs enfants et dans des résidences personnelles, éléments qui contribuent tous à entretenir et à rehausser leur statut social, ainsi qu'à valider leur richesse.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , June 2001 , pp. 225 - 252
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2001

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