From Iya Ijebu’s shop to Igbo market: ethnicity and the transformation of Mushin leather market in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Leather markets are critical nodes in the leather industry value chain. They attract manufacturers and small and medium enterprises that facilitate social interactions and opportunities, leading to increased availability of finished leather goods. This study explores the social transformation and organization of Mushin leather market in Lagos megacity based on data collected through observation and in-depth and key informant interviews with traders, association and community members, transporters and customers in the market. Mushin leather market evolved from a shop owned by an indigenous woman known as Iya Ijebu (Ijebu woman) into a leather trading community. State and local governments intervene minimally in the market affairs through sanitation rules and revenue collection. Routes to market socialization include mentoring and apprenticeships, with visible gender disparities. Associational membership guarantees full integration to traders. Strong business, personal and group networks structure ethnic dynamics and occupational specializations. The article reveals the inherent interdependence of social institutions in understanding the organization of the leather market, particularly in terms of how capital, associational norms and networks shape the formation of a heterogeneous market in an indigenous Yoruba community. Mushin leather market is transforming the domains of ethnic trade speciality and patterning intergroup social relations in Lagos megacity.

Résumé

Les marchés au cuir sont des maillons essentiels de la chaîne de valeur de l’industrie du cuir. Ils attirent des fabricants et des petites et moyennes entreprises qui facilitent des interactions et des opportunités sociales, conduisant à une disponibilité accrue d’articles en cuir finis. Cette étude explore la transformation sociale et l’organisation du marché au cuir de Mushin, dans la mégapole de Lagos, sur la base de données collectées par l’observation et des entretiens approfondis avec des informateurs clés auprès de commerçants, de membres d’associations et de la communauté, de transporteurs et de clients du marché. Le marché au cuir de Mushin, qui n’était au départ qu’un magasin appartenant à une femme ijebu autochtone connue sous le nom d’Iya Ijebu, est devenu une communauté de commerçants du cuir. Les administrations centrales et locales interviennent de façon minimale dans les affaires du marché, en matière de règles sanitaires et de perception de recettes fiscales. Parmi les voies de socialisation au marché figurent le mentorat et l’apprentissage, avec des disparités visibles entre les sexes. Une affiliation associative garantit une pleine intégration aux commerçants. De solides réseaux professionnels, personnels et de groupe structurent les dynamiques ethniques et les spécialisations professionnelles. L’article révèle l’interdépendance inhérente des institutions sociales dans la compréhension de l’organisation du marché au cuir, notamment dans la manière dont le capital, les normes associatives et les réseaux façonnent la formation d’un marché hétérogène au sein d’une communauté yoruba autochtone. Le marché au cuir de Mushin transforme les domaines de spécialité du commerce ethnique et modélise les relations sociales intergroupes dans la mégapole de Lagos.

Resumo

Os mercados do couro são nós críticos na cadeia de valor da indústria do couro. Atraem fabricantes e pequenas e médias empresas que facilitam as interacções sociais e as oportunidades, conduzindo a uma maior disponibilidade de artigos de couro acabados. Este estudo explora a transformação social e a organização do mercado de peles de Mushin, na megacidade de Lagos, com base em dados recolhidos através da observação e de entrevistas aprofundadas a comerciantes, membros da associação e da comunidade, transportadores e clientes do mercado. O mercado de couro de Mushin evoluiu de uma loja pertencente a uma mulher indígena conhecida como Iya Ijebu (mulher de Ijebu) para uma comunidade de comerciantes de couro. Os governos, estadual e local intervêm minimamente nos assuntos do mercado através de regras sanitárias e da coleta de receitas. As vias de socialização no mercado incluem a tutoria e a aprendizagem, com disparidades visíveis entre os géneros. A filiação associativa garante a plena integração dos comerciantes. As fortes redes comerciais, pessoais e de grupo estruturam a dinâmica étnica e as especializações profissionais. O artigo revela a interdependência inerente das instituições sociais na compreensão da organização do mercado do couro, particularmente em termos da forma como o capital, as normas associativas e as redes moldam a formação de um mercado heterogéneo numa comunidade indígena ioruba. O mercado de peles de Mushin está a transformar os domínios da especialidade comercial étnica e a modelar as relações sociais intergrupais na megacidade de Lagos.

Introduction

The leather industry is a major industry with great impact on the global economy. Leather as a widely traded commodity plays a prominent role in the world’s economy. The 2019 macro-economic outlook report of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) projects that the Nigerian leather industry will generate over US$1 billion by 2025 (Okafor 2019). The availability of leather materials in Nigeria has had positive impacts on the Nigerian finished leather goods (FLG) subsector, with increased production of FLG, while also enhancing their competitiveness against imported ones, especially from China (Ogunbanwo 2018).¹ Important FLG markets in Nigeria, situated mainly in Kano, Onitsha, Aba and Lagos, serve as distributors to other areas of the country and also export goods to neighbouring West African countries (GEMS 2012). These markets are an important part of the informal economy and serve as a pool of raw material resources for manufacturers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that deal with leather and leather goods.

Many scholarly studies have been conducted on different aspects of the leather industry. Some have examined the emergence of the leather industry (Sharma 1998), the use of indigenous technology in leather manufacturing (Sujatha 2002), comparative advantages (Abtew 2015), and trends and development (Onicra 2014). Others have examined trade union participation (Bose and Mudgal 2012), value chains and actors (China and Ndaro 2016; Memedovic and Mattila 2008; Mokhothu-Ogolla and Wanjau 2013; Umar et al. 2015; Yusuf et al. 2016), export performance and constraints (Amakom and Ezeaku 2006; Gebrewahid and Wald 2017; Junaidu et al. 2012; Sinha and Sinha 1991), and competitiveness (Shafaei et al. 2009). Studies also exist on waste management and health hazards (Ozgunay et al. 2007), problems, challenges and opportunities (Abadi 2000), and value addition issues in the leather industry (Akanni and Ibraheem 2008). However, few scholarly explorations have been conducted to understand the social transformation and organization of leather markets in a city context, especially how historical, ethnic, cultural and sentimental cleavages shape the market space and drive traders’ occupational paths, relations, networks and business success.

As in other sectors of the economy, markets are an important node in the leather industry value chain. Nigerian markets are spaces of economic and social relations of exchange (Adekunle 2014; Omobowale and Omobowale 2019); they attract physical development which leads to growth in the area where they are situated (Adekunle 2014). Markets also constitute systems of social rules, norms and stable relationship patterns, which, while being embedded within a broader social context, also involve people who relate with one another based on trust, friendship, power and dependence (Storr 2008). Furthermore, markets ‘forge links between people of diverse ethnic groups, racial backgrounds and cultural traits; serve as meeting places for socio-cultural, religious and political activities’, and thus provide a physical setting for interactions (Adekunle 2014: 2). Encounters between actors in markets thus lead to numerous forms of continually changing social interactions (Ikioda 2012). Existing studies on markets provide a general framework for thinking about markets of varied kinds. Yet, leather markets have not received due scholarly attention.

This study fills the research vacuum by studying Mushin leather market in Lagos, focusing on its social transformation and structure. Specifically, it aims to understand the social structure and organization of the market, exploring how it transformed, how it is socially organized, the nature of market socialization, roles and networks, the organization of relations among market actors, and the norms and practices that shape their relationships. This study is significant because of the important role the leather market plays in local commerce and economy. Situated at the intersection of industrial development, informal economy and market space relations, the study adopts a sociological lens to reveal the inherent interdependence of social institutions in understanding the dynamics of social processes and organization in the market. In addition, the study provides evidence on the social context of market structure in making sense of the leather industry in Nigeria.

Market path dependence in Nigeria

This study adopts path dependence epistemology as a guide. Path dependence explains the continual existence of social structures and the use of practices and actions based on historical preferences. Thus, the outcome and outlook of things remain more or less the same. Mahoney (2000) argues that path dependence allows historical events to determine the reproduction of institutional patterns and practices. The theory of path dependence situates seemingly new and continuous developments and revolutions in the histories of earlier realities and occurrences that have informed new and contemporary trends. Events, developments and revolutions do not happen suddenly and in isolation from the past, irrespective of the extent and appeal of the new discoveries, developments and revolutions. Hence, it is misleading to assume that any development occurs in isolation from memories. Mahoney and Schensul (2006) rightly submit that the industrial revolution in England followed path dependence, that it was not necessarily inevitable, and that the gradual ascent into a modern technological breakthrough that achieved the revolution is also traceable to the invention of the first steam engine in 1712. Still, the invention of the steam engine is also traceable to other earlier technological processes that enhanced the production process. A path dependence understanding of the industrial revolution must account for the earlier processes that evolved the steam engine and subsequent processes that the steam engine influenced, alongside other associated factors. Developments and contemporary realities are products of earlier and later happenings throughout the ages. For a proper understanding, no development nor reality must be taken in isolation from the historical memories that have informed it.

Human organizations and communities also follow path dependence. Path dependence epistemology in organizational and community studies therefore traces the phenomenal: ‘cultural, economic, philosophical, technological, and political “macrodynamics” of formative historical contexts’ for contextual and wholesome understanding (Sedgwick and Jensen 2021: 47; see also Brouder 2020; Inglehart 2020). The structures, institutions, rules and values (among other important attributes) that bring about order and concretize social and organizational sustenance and perpetuance are sequenced by path dependence. The saying ‘Rome was not built in a day’ affirms the place of historical developments in tracing the path dependence of human societies and organizations. As such, Mushin leather market has followed a path dependence of gradual development from an almost inconsequential trading spot to a major informal leather market in Nigeria.

Markets are essential parts of the commodity distribution chain, which strengthens the economic base of a town, sustains its tax base, and provides social interaction opportunities (Adekunle 2014) that are often shaped by trust, friendship, power and dependence (Storr 2008). Due to the heterogeneity of market spaces, proper management is pertinent for equilibrium, functioning and interactions between actors. Market activities are thus coordinated by different groups to guide the operations and interactions of all actors in the market space. Market spaces in Nigeria are subjected to the rules and regulations of several structures that operate within and outside the setting where they are situated (Ikioda 2012). They are thus systems of social norms and stable patterns of relationships embedded within the broader social context (Storr 2008). Marketplaces are constituted through interactions that are shaped by governments, laws and larger cultural understandings to guide exchange relations and facilitate trade (Fligstein and Dauter 2007).

Markets are further characterized as either formal or informal. According to Langyintuo et al. (2003), formal marketplaces are managed by the government and generally support licensed businesses and the trade of legal goods. Further, there are orderly financial arrangements for the payment of taxes and revenues by traders to government institutions or market associations. In southern Nigeria, many market spaces are established, structured and administered by the government with the support of market associations – a group of elected officials who oversee dispute resolutions, standardize trading techniques and maintain security (Cohen 1965; Lawal 1997). However, some informal markets are recognized by the government and subjected to taxation but with minimal structural and management interference by the government. And there are those characterized by self-provision of shelter in which traders trade in goods and services outside formally designated trading locations, with features including non-payment of taxes and other government levies (Langyintuo et al. 2003). Other examples of informal markets are street traders and hawkers along major highways and some forms of night markets.

Meanwhile, social networks in markets connect people, organizations and opportunities that attract economic gains. These include loan facilities, partnerships, mentoring and even personal relationship benefits. Yussuf (2011) and Cohen (1965) state that ethnic or religious networks are important in providing contexts of cohesion, shared norms and an economic infrastructure capable of coordinating trading operations. These networks are often characterized by informal associations, grassroots organizations and communal networks, independent of the state and able to respond more effectively and democratically. The nature of encounters between different market actors also brings about the realization of numerous forms of continually changing social interaction, including friendships, business dealings and trust networks (Ikioda 2012). Furthermore, it is important to note that the social networks, rules and contexts that remarkably accentuate the trade and uniqueness of any informal market are also traceable to path dependence. Market path dependence reveals the history, cultures, ethnicities, socialization, apprenticeships, practices, norms and values that shape market structures and institutions over time (Omobowale and Omobowale 2019; Omobowale 2019; Ünlühisarcikli 2001). The present realities of informal markets are the totalities of the histories that have evolved and sustained them over time.

Mushin leather market has evolved significantly from a small trading spot to a major market. The path dependence of the market has resulted in it being a predominantly Igbo leather market space, following the pioneering effort of a certain female shoe materials trader, popularly called Iya Ijebu, from Epe² in predominantly Yoruba western Nigeria in the 1970s. This research examines Mushin leather market’s development and structure using the theory of path dependence.

Notes on methodology

The study adopted a qualitative exploratory design and data was generated through thirty in-depth and eighteen key informant interviews, as well as observation (participant and non-participant). Data was collected between May and July 2018 and in December 2023. From May to July 2018, one of the authors (Ayomide Adebayo) doubled as a mentee with a female Igbo leather trader in the market. Ayomide worked at the shop from 9 a.m. until it closed at 6 p.m., often spending time on routine tasks such as tidying, hanging samples of items available for sale, and sorting leathers and leather linings. Other tasks included attending to customers and helping with the daily packing and storing of goods at the close of business. Apart from serving in the shop owned by her mentor, Ayomide ran errands for other traders, buying food and drinks, recharge cards and collecting goods and cash from traders when needed. Sometimes, she managed the shop alone. These interactions were productive for observing a broad spectrum of interactions and networks, including those related to the structuring of relations in the market. Besides, being available to traders outside the immediate mentoring arena opened up a space to participate in discussions and cultural dialogues between traders and customers.

Interviews were conducted in English, Pidgin English, and Yoruba; they were tape-recorded and transcribed in English. Participants were interviewed at their duty stations at scheduled times. The interviews, lasting about forty minutes on average, covered questions around the administration of the market; norms and rules guiding interactions in the market space; and roles and networks of relationships and socialization processes in the market space. Notes were also taken to record observations in the field; these were later used in interpreting interview data. Analysis was conducted using manual thematic and content analyses and reported through ethnographic summaries and direct quotes.

The geographical setting of Mushin leather market

Mushin leather market is situated in the Zone D area of Mushin local government area (LGA) in Lagos State. Mushin hosts the second major leather market in Nigeria, after the Ariari market in Aba, Abia State. Situated in one of the populous megacities in Africa, Mushin leather market is a major centre for the purchase of leather materials and accessories in the south-west area of Nigeria. In terms of physical organization, the market is located in a residential neighbourhood and extends from a main road into several adjoining streets: Wey, Ladipo, Imasuem, Odulana, Abongbon, Dakobiri, Buhari, George and Oluwole streets (see Figure 1). The leather market comprises several sections where leather and other related materials used in making footwear, bags, belts, garments, upholstery products, accessories and tailoring materials are sold.

Although traders are recognizable with their distinct commodities, there is no rigidity in how they inhabit the market space: traders generally rent shops wherever they are able to find an allocation. Some areas, however, are known to sell particular items. For instance, Wey Street, which is the longest and most populous area of the market, is known for shoe, bag and tailoring materials, while Odulana, Abongbon, Imasuem, George, Ladipo, Oluwole and Buhari streets are popular with sales of upholstery leather. Interestingly, Dakobiri Street is the only street known to be based mainly on leather. The market is structured in such a way that traders specialize in several items that all work together and form a central whole to satisfy the needs of customers, and that promote solidarity and interdependence in the market space.

The history and formation of Mushin leather market

Mushin leather market began to operate on a large scale and became popular between 1997 and 1998. Before the boom of the leather business, the area was said to be solely residential and had only Ojuwoye market, where staple foods were sold. The Baale³ of Oke-Mushin who observed the evolution of the market affirms that the leather market started to flourish when real estate developers began to demolish old houses and replaced them with shops and plazas, which traders leased. One ‘omo onile’⁴ who witnessed the evolution of the market also confirms that ‘the market was not as big as this in the past; it grew bit by bit and expanded into what we have now’.⁵

The first time shoe materials or leather were sold in the area was traced to Wey Street in 1975. The leading trader at that time was a Yoruba woman from Epe, popularly called Iya Ijebu (now deceased). Iya Ijebu’s son⁶ stated that Iya Ijebu was famous for selling shoe-making materials, accessories and leather processed in Nigeria during the early years and was known for having customers from southern and northern Nigeria as well as from neighbouring West African countries. He stated further that the market expanded through Iya Ijebu, who rented the five shops and stores in her building to Igbo traders. These Igbo traders sold imported leather and other related materials that Iya Ijebu was not selling in the early 1980s. In fact, Iya Ijebu’s building still houses Igbo leather and traders’ accessories. House owners and developers also influenced this expansion by making their buildings available to traders who were willing to rent shops or market stall spaces. More Igbo traders arrived in the area with more business activities, leading to an expansion of the market to other streets adjoining Wey Street, such as Oluwole and Imasuem streets. The increasing number of Igbo traders and the diversification led to a sprawl that extended gradually and increasingly, evidence of the growth of sales of leather materials in the area.

Conversely, according to the Igbo traders, the leather business was started in the market between 1988 and 1989 by two Igbo men, Sir War and Emma Igwilo (both deceased), who they refer to as founders. According to reports, these men started the business in a bid to replicate the diversification of the business in Ariari market in Aba, Abia State, in the south-eastern part of Nigeria. They were also responsible for the expansion of the market by bringing in apprentices and other Igbo traders and they started the Shoe/Tailoring Materials Dealers Association (STMDA) and the Upholstery Materials Dealers Association (UMDA).⁷

The two accounts of the history of the market establish that sales of leather and related materials in the market began in the late 1970s and early 1980s with a few individual traders. However, apart from the increased availability of shops through building by developers, the networking and mentorship relationships common among the Igbo people significantly influenced the diversification of business and facilitated further expansion of the market. These observations are explained further in a subsequent section.

The structure of Mushin leather market

Mushin leather market has existed, evolved and been sustained since the early 1980s. However, it has been considered atypical because it operates in a residential area; this is uncommon for Lagos megacity markets. Sustenance of the market is achieved through administration processes that occur at governmental, community and associational levels.

Government administration

Mushin leather market is under the administration of Lagos State and Mushin LGA but is directly managed by the Zone D area of the Mushin LGA. The state and local government (LG) work together to ensure taxation, law enforcement, sanitation and the regulation of space in the market. However, the LGA has a direct administrative role in the market as it oversees trade permits, extensions, lock-up shops, sanitation, park and pay, and loading and offloading revenues. The park and pay, loading and offloading revenues are jointly coordinated by the LG and the omo onile.

The state Ministry of Environment, alongside some LG officials, ensures sanitation of the market by supervising the market on Thursdays between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.; this period has been set aside for environmental sanitation in the state. When the traders breach sanitation laws, their goods are seized and, in extreme cases, the market is sealed. One such extreme case happened in Wey Street some time in March 2016. In addition, the state enforces the rule of not displaying goods over the drains and on main roads in the market area through intermittent visits to the market and the seizure of goods. To repossess their goods, violators must pay a fine that may be fixed or negotiated by the market association administrators or the LG. The relationship between the government (state and local) and the market is thus based on laws and revenue.

As far as the LG is concerned, however, the market does not have official approval. This position appears contradictory, at least as presented by an informant quoted below:

It [the market] is a settled market … and they have settled for a long while. And they make the organization and orientation by themselves. We are not doing anything for them; they rented the place. Most of the people there, maybe they even buy [sic., bought] the buildings. And if they have any problem within [sic., among] themselves, they will only call their executive members and … inform us; and it is not all issue[s] that we can feel concern on it [sic.], because it’s not a market that the local government approved.⁸

The puzzle resolves itself when we consider that neighbourhoods and markets in Lagos enjoy equal sanitation services, provided the service is paid for, and that the LG participates in the coordination of sanitation. A similar logic applies to the parking, loading and offloading fees the LG coordinates with the omo onile: businesses using public spaces and infrastructure to earn a living are subjected to some form of levy, either (un)officially or (in)formally. For the LG, their relations with the market apparently stem from the government’s public order responsibilities, accommodation and tolerance, as the market serves a social and economic function, especially in revenue generation for the government. Therefore, traders and the government have a relationship that enables them to engage in and negotiate issues involving law enforcement and revenues, although the government does not hesitate to exercise its power when the traders breach the law.

Community administration

The host community is also involved in the administration of the market. The market is divided into streets headed by community development associations (CDAs) and overseen by the Baale. The community’s interference in and administration of the market is, however, minimal, because they believe that traders have bought or otherwise have a valid lease for the spaces they occupy. The community engages the traders in security and environmental sanitation issues by inviting them for CDA meetings, coordinating to enforce payment of security levies, and driving participation in community-led environmental sanitation activities. The traders are also required to adhere to rules of not fighting and not operating late into the night or during festivals and the Mushin Day⁹ celebration, which the traders are invited to participate in.

Figure 1. Map showing Mushin leather market area.

Aside from the aspects mentioned above, the market serves as a source of revenue for the community. The community bills traders for every offloading of goods that takes place in the community based on an omo onile system, which involves a hierarchy. According to one of the omo onile, the bills are allocated to four levels: king, Baale, CDA and youths of the community. Fees for offloading and loading at the community level differ from those stipulated by and paid to the LG for the same purpose. These findings on the administration of the market by the government and the community align with the position of Langyintuo et al. (2003) on the administration of quasi-formal markets, as well as the submission of Ikioda (2012) that the market is a place of trade subjected to the rules and regulations of a variety of structures, operating within and outside the market setting.

Administration by associations

Cohen (1965) and Lawal (1997) stated that market associations are pertinent in the administration of traders and in maintaining stability in interactions, relations and other exchanges that structure the market. Mushin leather market is managed by associations formally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, an organ of the government. The market has three functioning associations that preside over the three main sections within it; the associations were established based on the need for cohesiveness and representation of the traders. The STMDA is the administrative body for the traders selling all materials used in the making of footwear and some for bags. The UMDA is the administrative body presiding over those selling materials used for upholstery. The third administrative body is the Gum Sellers Association (GSA), which presides over traders selling adhesives, building materials and other petty items. The executives and principal officers of the associations preside over the affairs of the market and administer members according to the provisions of the constitutions and norms that guide them.

Of the three associations, the STMDA and UMDA have similar organizational practices and codes of conduct as well as a similar composition of members – Igbo and a higher proportion of male to female members (60:40).¹⁰ Conversely, the GSA is an informal association composed of Yoruba women exclusively. The composition of the associations reflects the gender and ethnic dynamics and pathways of entry of the different socio-demographic groups in the leather market. For instance, gum and other petty material business is dominated by Yoruba women operating on a small scale, while shoe/tailoring and upholstery material businesses, which are more capital intensive, have more Igbo male traders. The lopsidedness of ethnic composition and trade speciality in the market cannot be disentangled from the fact that many importers are Igbo and members of the STMDA and UMDA.

The STMDA and UMDA were formally registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria in 1994, necessitated by the need to be orderly, as the population of Igbo traders increased.¹¹ They have similar codes of conduct enshrined in their constitutions and rules agreed upon in the early 2000s. The constitutions aim to cater for the welfare of members, foster unity and progress, safeguard the rights and interests of members, eradicate dishonest practices in obtaining shops, promote trade, and contribute financially towards the building of Nigeria.¹² Both associations follow these aims judiciously, but the STMDA is stricter in its procedures. The associations have secretariats and established offices for elected principal officers and appointed subcommittee members, who are inducted every three years, renewable for a second tenure. These similarities were found to result from the fact that there used to be a single association before it was divided for easy administration and specialization purposes in the early 2000s. On the other hand, the GSA was established in 2010, to promote representation, cohesion, competition and preservation of the interests of members, especially in competition with Igbo traders, who are better established in the market space.¹³ The GSA, unlike the STMDA and UMDA, does not have a written constitution but is organized and administered through social norms and guided by a woman leader, secretary and elders, who are selected informally. Leaders in the three associations emerge based on good personal attitudes, discipline, bravery and long tenure in the market and in business.

Entrance and socialization process

The acquisition of space to do business is the main prerequisite to becoming a member of the market. However, ‘politics’ is involved in acquiring space, as the UMDA and STMDA have positioned themselves as unofficial gatekeepers in charge of most of the newly developed plazas in the market. Because market space such as shops and stalls is a scarce and valuable resource, to gain further access, control and power over space in the market, STMDA members contribute money to developers in advance for the construction of shops which they allocate to their members. By financing such developmental projects and expansion of the market, they control access to valuable resources and the loyalty of members. Hence, proper integration into the market is dependent on membership in any of the presiding associations. Exceptions exist only for old buildings, roadside spaces, or the frontages of houses where the landlords decide to oversee the leasing.

Furthermore, associations employ exclusion as a means of expelling¹⁴ traders in their sections who do not identify with them. Traders who acquire shops in buildings where landlords refuse STMDA and UMDA access and oversight are also ostracized. The associations direct their members to dissociate traders in such buildings; hence, no buying or selling activities take place with them. In fact, any member occupying such a building before a (futile) negotiation with the landlord will be enjoined to vacate the building. This practice is adhered to strictly by the STMDA, but traders evade exclusion through trading by proxy. A Hausa trader in the shoe/tailoring materials section who has been in the market for over thirty years shared his experience of exclusion and how he circumvents it after his landlord refused the STMDA access to the building where his shop is located:

So, they said they won’t have anything to do with anyone in this particular building, not to buy from anyone selling here. For me to buy goods in this market when I don’t have enough money to go to the island, I have to send someone. They don’t buy or sell to me; before I can get goods from them, I have to send someone. But if I go myself, they won’t sell to me. You know there are some people from my place who come from far places to buy goods from here, so if I see someone going to buy, I give them my money to buy for me.¹⁵

Association members who do not adhere to the ‘exclusion’ process and associate with excluded members are fined stipulated amounts for a period before they become excluded too.¹⁶ Proper integration into the market thus requires coming to terms with the association that presides over the section where traders are involved in the market.

Trade socialization processes

Apprentices in the market are inducted through two main procedures: master–servant relationships and mentoring. Males predominantly go through the master–servant relationship, in which they are called ‘Nwa-boyi’,¹⁷ while females are mainly socialized through mentoring. The master–servant process involves young, especially teenage, males and is practised by the Igbo traders exclusively. This process is guided predominantly by traditions, social norms and networks and perceived as a process of learning specific skills and empowerment among the Igbo people. This process conforms precisely with the submissions of Adeola (2020) and Oyewunmi et al. (2020) in their descriptions of ‘the Igbo traditional business school’. This process involves two families rather than two individuals, as in the case of mentoring. Young boys from south-eastern Nigeria come to learn a trade, assist and live with established traders in Lagos, after which they will be ‘settled’¹⁸ after an agreed duration. The start-up funds are sometimes supported by the Oga¹⁹ with acquisition or rental of a shop at the expiration of the service year. This process takes about five to ten years, with reduced duration for family members.

This socialization process involves several expectations on the part of the Oga/Oga-madam²⁰ and the Nwa-boyi. The Nwa-boyi, or trainee, is expected to be well behaved and obedient in running errands in and outside the market and in performing any duty the Oga sees fit. A male leather trader who went through the Nwa-boyi process for eight years described the expectation of the trainee as follows:

It’s like you are a servant to a master; you are required to obey the rules and regulations of your master. You don’t steal his money, you respect him; in the shop you make sure you are a good servant, attend to customers politely. You wake up in time to open the shop as at the time you are supposed to come and sample the goods and [you] labour to make sure the shop is increasing and not decreasing. And at home you do your housework as a servant, like fetching water, taking care of the house, putting things in order, making sure everywhere is neat as a servant. Sometimes, if the Oga does not have a wife, you cook and make sure everybody in the house eats.²¹

Mentoring, on the other hand, takes between one and eighteen months, depending on whether mentees are convinced that they are able to start their own business. This socialization process is flexible and commonly followed by traders who have been engaged in other businesses and therefore have prior and requisite business experience. The success of this process is dependent on the ability of mentees to garner as much knowledge and skill as they can within a short period, as well as on the generosity of the mentor in revealing, transferring and teaching skills and knowledge about the trade and introducing procurement sources and networks to the mentee.²² An important feature that distinguishes mentoring from the master–servant process is that mentees are not entitled to any form of settlement in the form of cash or goods from the mentors, nor are they expected to live with the mentors, unlike Nwa-boyi. The contract in this process is only to teach mentees about the trade; however, some kind-hearted mentors go the extra mile to aid in the process of acquiring space or they loan goods to mentees.

Meanwhile, apprentices are introduced to trade associations and registered with associations during their training period and are required to become members when they start their own businesses for stability purposes and to avert trade errors that could lead to the loss of capital and profits in the market space. The importance of trade socialization is echoed in the statement of an Igbo female leather trader who has successfully mentored four traders:

You will learn how to measure … how to do when you go to [the] warehouse, calculating price and cost price, see the different leathers and qualities, because there is synthetic inside it. If you did not learn well, you will not know. You will learn all that so you will not make mistakes when you start your own.²³

Socialization into trade and the market cuts across all sections of the market structure and relations, with accompanying rules and regulations relating to operating hours, the duration of apprenticeships and mentoring, and mentoring fees. Charging for mentoring, however, depends on individuals and is prevalent in the gum section, where Yoruba people are dominant. The Igbo traders, on the other hand, do not charge for mentoring because they feel that it is a form of empowering people; mentees in return take care of the mentor’s shop, run errands and voluntarily give gifts to mentors after they have completed the process.²⁴

Networks of actors in the market

There are two main types of networks in Mushin leather market: business and personal/group networks. Personal and group networks are affiliated to lineage, co-residence, religion, ethnicity and associational membership. Traders who have access to these networks have access to opportunities, people and organizations that attract economic gains and advantages (loans, credit facilities, connections to importers and introduction to new goods) that help their business and their stay in the market. These group networks are intangible resources that play significant roles in the success or failure of an individual’s business or enterprise. Often, these resources are formidable paths to desired entrepreneurial outcomes. For instance, family members, close relatives and traders with personal links and connections get goods from importers before other traders. Traders outside this network are informed at a later stage when the leathers that remain are of lower grades and in smaller pieces. This was found to be a major reason why the Yoruba traders sell leather pieces.

Furthermore, associations in the market are metaphorical umbrellas under which members are sheltered, and their interests and aims are protected so that they can thrive in the market space. In addition to economic advantages, networks provide interdependency and reliance of exchange in the cash economy. This network transforms into mutual obligations – for example, watching each other’s back, and the circulation of information, credit and trust. Also, many traders loan goods from neighbours for an agreed period. In addition, members of associations gain access to social capital, embedded in trust, norms, social relations and networks for the facilitation of cooperation, mutual benefits and the navigation of resource constraints (Bauernschuster et al. 2010; Bhandari and Yasunobu 2009). For instance, the GSA interfaces with suppliers to supply goods at cheaper rates to members during meetings,²⁵ while the STMDA and UMDA negotiate with agents and landlords to acquire space. Importantly, social capital is essential for Igbo traders as they navigate their networks to access importers for sourcing of goods.

Group networks are thus essential in the acquisition of shops in the market, with the UMDA and STMDA the best networks for such purposes. Through this process, these two associations have entrenched their dominance in the market; this is a reason why many Yoruba and Hausa traders have no shops and instead use containers and set up their counters by the roadside. Nevertheless, non-members can get access to shops the associations did not fund and over which they have no control, which are few and hard to find.

Business networks, on the other hand, involve business transactions only. In the market, there is a network of individuals with different roles who make businesses thrive and run smoothly. There are formal and informal positions with expected roles: traders (importers, wholesalers and retailers), truck pushers, off-loaders and loaders, transporters, and the customers. These actors interact to facilitate business transactions and survival through the distinct roles they play. The importers, who are mainly Igbo traders, import goods from China, Spain and Italy and relate directly with the manufacturers of the products as well as with the traders who buy from them (wholesalers, retailers and even customers who use the materials directly). These traders relate with and depend on end-use customers (shoemakers, bag makers and furniture makers) as they are the major category of actors to whom they sell to earn profits in their businesses. Customers, in turn, depend solely on the traders for materials they use for production of their goods.

Another link in the business network in the market is the transporters, as vehicle owners or truck pushers. The role of vehicle owners is to transport goods from one location to another within or outside the market, depending on the quantity of goods: from the wharf, from warehouses within the market or Lagos, and from Aba. Truck pushers, on the other hand, move goods within the market; they help traders move goods to places where vehicles cannot reach. The last set of actors in this category are called the cargo men; they usually exchange goods between customers and traders in different locations outside the market, especially between Lagos and Aba.

Other notable actors in the market are the off-loaders, whose role is to offload goods from vehicles, especially containers and big vehicles containing a large quantity of goods. This role was created and standardized by ‘area boys’ in the community, with fixed prices for different sizes of goods and vehicles. This group of actors forms a body that cannot be easily replaced because it could lead to chaos. This role has also curbed incessant taxation and conflicts with traders in the market.²⁶ Furthermore, many of the area boys, indigenes, truck pushers and off-loaders double as errand boys for traders, display goods during opening hours and pack them up at close of business. The indigenes, especially area boys, also watch and secure their environment to ensure that traders are comfortable and their goods intact because they also depend on them for survival and revenue.²⁷

These networks are distinct and interconnected, with actors having access to more than one network and drawing on them as needed to advance their business. Further, they determine interactions that exert enormous influence over businesses and relationships in the market.

Associational networks and ethnicity in Mushin leather market

Associational and ethnic-based networks in Mushin leather market breed a form of ‘us and them’ feeling as a result of ethnic cleavages, composition, specialization and dominance in the market space. Consequently, this has led to differentiated roles and economic competition among groups in the market. While many of the traders exchange pleasantries with each other, they have different perceptions of each other, which sometimes hinders cooperation and joint membership in the associations. For instance, many Igbo traders perceive their Yoruba counterparts as saboteurs²⁸ and disorganized; while some Yoruba traders perceive Igbo traders as bossy, greedy and selfish.²⁹ Hence, joint participation in the same association was perceived as potentially disorganizing. On the other hand, Yoruba traders feel threatened by Igbo dominance. One of the executive members of the GSA explained:

We are just doing the association so that the Igbos won’t cheat us. We are in the midst of Igbos and if we don’t unite ourselves, they can be toying with us. They can just cause issues by saying they don’t want someone – for instance, one of our members could put her counter somewhere and they can be causing problems that it must be removed. So, for us too to be able to have a say, as one – that’s why we are doing the association.³⁰

These perceptions partly explain why the traders’ associations are mono-ethnic: the STMDA and UMDA comprise Igbo traders – except for one Yoruba trader in STMDA – while the GSA is exclusively Yoruba. This economic competition between the ethnic groups is evident, as it necessitated the creation of the GSA to resist Igbo dominance in the market.³¹ It is worth noting that ethnic politics and competition and confrontational relationships in markets are not novel. For instance, Cohen (1965) revealed that the Hausa and Yoruba in the cattle market in Ibadan had mutual but ethnically mediated relationships and had confrontations when agitated over issues. Ethnic differences aside, some ‘freedom-seeking’ traders avoid associations in order to be free from regulations and the intrigues that come with expected and conflicting membership allegiances. A Hausa trader expressed this when asked why he was yet to join the association presiding over his section:

Yes, I am selling shoe materials, but I did not join them. I am not Igbo, and even if I am a Christian and I am Hausa I don’t want to join. Because as I am now, any day they want to have a meeting they will all close their shop, but you will meet me here, it doesn’t concern me.³²

Many of the Igbo traders, however, believe it is compulsory to join associations because they have come to trade outside their homeland or place of birth or origin, and associations are pressure groups that protect group interests. One of the female leather traders explained:

They always say omo Igbo; they like all that tribalism things. So, we don’t force anybody, like all these Yoruba, to join us. You know, if you ask them to join, they will say it is their father’s land. But if you are willing, you are welcome, but once you are Igbo, you must join the association. Because you are a foreigner in another man’s land even though we are all Nigerians, in case of one thing or the other.³³

Another view on ethnic differences and composition in associations was highlighted by one of the administrators of the STMDA. She explained that Yoruba traders cannot be forced to join them as they might feel cheated due to the required levies as compared to their petty businesses.³⁴ Still, some of the traders think that ethnic groups in Nigeria dominate different trades. For instance, Hausa men are perceived to dominate trade in onions and yam, while the Igbo dominate in other areas of trade. It is true, however, that the Igbo are well represented in other sectors of the Nigerian public and private sectors, including public service, teaching, the military, the downstream oil sector, banking, manufacturing, and hotel and tourism services, among others. Scholars, however, have asserted that the Igbo people are significantly culturally entrepreneurial and have an ardent itinerant trading culture predating the colonial era (Chinweuba and Ezeugwu 2017; Northrup 1972; Olumba et al. 2021; Olutayo 1999).

However, some traders believe that ethnic dominance along trade lines is a result of interest, capital capacity and ability to compete, as the leather business is capital intensive and requires courage to venture into. As such, lack of capital and inability to compete have been identified as major factors hindering most Yoruba traders from delving into the leather business. The only Yoruba trader in the STMDA, who replaced his father who was part of the group who started the trade long ago, explained:

There is nothing in the market that Yoruba can’t sell. But the Yoruba just see it as something they cannot sell – I mean Yorubas around here. Although there are some that sell these shoe materials, but not in this market; they come to buy here and sell out there. The business is capital intensive, but you can’t say there is no Yoruba that will have capital to sell; I just feel they don’t have [the] interest. Yoruba people just picked the easiest part of the business, and even the gum you see, maybe they buy a tin and start selling in small containers. Then they do the offloading, loading, and packing of goods, agbero ³⁵ and menial jobs. So, we don’t really count them as people in the business like that.³⁶

It was revealed, however, that business is not so easy for individuals who engage in trade lines that differ from the area where their ethnic group is dominant. They face a great deal of competition to keep up in the trade and sometimes have to go further by investing significant capital and improving customer services.³⁷ Culturally institutionalized apprenticeship systems and business finance among the Igbo have played a major role in the emergence of the Igbo as the major players in Mushin leather market.

Conclusion

Mushin leather market is an organized social space and the product of enduring businesses, social practices, values and patterns of behaviour that guide the nature and social organization of businesses and the relations of actors. The market is administered by the government, Mushin community, and by trade associations whose members and codes of conduct for traders are guided by norms, rules, regulations and longstanding practices. The market space generates revenues for the government and the community, formally and informally, which aid development in the social, economic and political sectors and ultimately add to the national economy.

The Mushin leather market space, although atypical, has endured and has remained on the same path of business – leather and associated materials – that it started with in the 1970s. It shows further that ethnic, cultural and sentimental cleavages exist in the market space and traders have to navigate different levels of interconnected networks that influence their businesses’ performance and success. These navigations and negotiations enable the continued existence of Mushin leather market and consequently the provision of various opportunities for market actors, permitting business exchange, making leather materials accessible and providing jobs.

Through the traditional Igbo apprenticeship system and the social capital of association membership, Mushin leather market has expanded and is dominated by Igbo traders. While Yoruba and Hausa traders remain in competition with the dominant ethnic group, their business, training and association patterns and practices are not as robust as those of the Igbo traders, thus limiting their capacity to build access, social capital and pathways to challenge the dominant ethnic group in the market. Certainly, the robustness and unique structure of the Igbo traders have enabled them to strategically navigate ethnic and business cleavages in a way that promotes economic production and intra-ethnic business success in the market. Yoruba and Hausa traders in the market can improve their competitiveness through inter-ethnic learning, cultural exchanges and collaboration. Also, future studies should explore non-Igbo ethnic success in Mushin leather market in order to identify outlier experiences and their context beyond the path dependence standpoint. Another area of interrogation in future research would be the structure and operation of local, transnational and translocal supply networks in the leather importation value chain and how they drive Igbo dominance in Mushin leather market.