LIFE AT OKUN-ISE FISHING VILLAGE

OKUN ISE...a Lagos fishing village.This is lagos

LIFE AT OKUN-ISE FISHING VILLAGE

BY TOLUWANI ENIOLA

Unlike his peers in other parts of Lagos with big dreams, the ambition of Bello  Qudus, 17, is to become a fisherman.

Like other teenagers in Okun-Ise, a rustic fishing village in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, Qudus, a pupil of Okun-Ise High School, does not wish to further his education. He hopes to make a   fortune from fishing.

This is the dream of every youth in Okun-Ise, who joins the fishing business at 12.

Despite the modernisation of Lagos, life in Okun-Ise is still pre-historic, far from the megacity mantra of city dwellers.

Residents of Okun-Ise, a predominantly muslim community, are basically fishermen and they speak the  Ijebu dialect. According to history, they migrated from Ijebu land moving from   Epe, Ise, Imeru, Imusa, before finally settling in Okun-Ise.

The sight of half-dressed children in front of thatched roofs and bamboo huts surrounded by a cluster of palm trees bowing to the gust of wind greets a first timer to the village. The bustling lagoon, popularly called Okun, from where the community derives its name makes the village not only interesting, but a tourist attraction.

Varieties of fish, such as lobster, croaker, shinning nose, red snapper, soul fish and shrimps, are sold almost at give-away prices, because of lack of storage facilities.

With over 500 inhabitants, its residents survive on fishing. The women mainly engage in fishing activities such as picking periwinkles, fish mongering and crayfish business. Majority of the women also engage mainly in fish smoking.

The snag, however, is the rigour of hunting for the fish as the men embark on fishing expedition to the sea in the night, an indication that they need more empowerment.

When CityBeats visited, the village located about 50kilometres m from Ajah, still retains its serenity. Surrounded by other riverine villages such as Imusa, Imeru, Folu, it attracts traders, from the island and mainland who look beyond its rustic façade to add value to their bottom line through bulk purchase.

Youths in their hundreds thronged the sea shore to await the arrival of Waliu Hassan, who had left for the sea in the night. On sighting his canoe, they rushed to the sea to pull the canoe to shore and unload the fish.

Hassan, 35, who spoke to CityBeats,  said he had a good catch, but needed to sell them immediately so that the fish don’t get rotten. As the youths were unloading the fish, Hassan who gave the catch estimate  as N60,000  added that lack of  preservatives make them to sell the fish instantly  so as not to lose their money.

Findings revealed that the fishermen have been experiencing losses because they do not have the means to preserve their fish.

According to Hassan,to prevent the fish  from getting spoilt, the fishermen dispose of their  catch to middlemen  at cheap price.

 The middlemen rake in thousands more than the fishermen who toil in the night. The middlemen can preserve the fish when they get to their base in Lagos and sell at good price.

Mrs  Folake Yinusa, 44, regularly visits the village  to buy fish in large quantities to sell at Epe. She said he had built a house from the business apart from financing her children’s education.

“Apart from building a house from this business, I have children at the Lagos State University (LASU), whose fees are being paid from the proceeds of the business.”

According to her, a kilogramme of fish in the village goes for N400. She can get this sold for N3,000 at the market.

Another buyer, Sadiat, mother of three, from Badagry, said the fish business is very lucrative in Lagos. She said she comes to the village because she buys the fish at extremely low prices.

Rabiu Bello, 68,  a third  generation fisherman, who has  been fishing for 50 years, told  CityBeats  that  fishing  has fetched him  a lot of money. He said a trip can fetch as much as N100,000.

He said fishing is done in the night when the fish normally come out, each making peculiar noise that enables the fishermen to trap them.

“I have been on the waters since I was 10. Then, we used to have a big catch, more than what we have now. We normally leave the village for the sea around 12 am and we work on the sea till dawn. We normally use the torchlight to guide us. You can make as much as N100, 000 depending on the catch you make. There are also some times that you would not get a good catch.

“One of the problems we have is that fishing equipments are too expensive to acquire for peasant farmers. In this village, only 10 people were able to acquire outboard engines, despite the number of fishermen that we have. This is because an outboard engine costs about N350,000.”

Among other   challenges, according to Hassan Kareem, who has been fishing for 40, years is  owning  a canoe as it costs about  of N80, 000. “Those that have canoes also assist those who don’t have and the proceeds from the joint catch will be equally shared.

“Another problem is the constant break down of the outboard engine that propels the canoes. It is stressful to repair the engines and involves a lot of money.”

But in all of this, the business is very lucrative and with a much lesser risk attached, a fact he said has made the business very attractive. “Sometimes I make as much as N100,000 from a trip, at times I make more. And it is also possible not to make any catch at all from a trip,” he said.

 He said some of the fishermen have been able to access soft loans from the government, adding that the government through the FADAMA helped them with two thirds of the total costs.

Despite the risks involved, he said there has never been any case of casuality because the fishermen go fishing in groups. According to him, Olokun, the river goddess is appeased yearly, making the fishermen achieve success.

 The Baale of Okun-Ise,Chief Rauf Bello, spoke in glowing terms on how visitors admire   the aquatic splendour of the village when they visit. Recounting his most memorable day on the sea, he said: “I remember a time when I got missing on the sea. A mighty tornado swept my canoe. For five days I was marooned on the sea and later found myself in Rivers State. I later came back to Lagos.

Bello listed many challenges facing the community such as lack of a standard primary school and health centre.

He said:”There is no primary school here. The nearest one is in Akodo village. That is where every child attends school. There is also no standard health centre here although the government normally sends doctors regularly to assist us.

 “The Lagos State Government has been meeting our needs one after the other. The chairman of Ibeju-Lekki council has also been supportive. The government bought a 500KVA transformer for this village. It was installed about four years ago. When the transformer had a problem,it was replaced. This year the government donated a dashboard engine.

“Another problem is the issue of refrigerator. When the fishermen take longer than expected on the sea, some of the fish get rotten. Lack of adequate storage facilities is a major challenge. We have been asking the local government to help us with freezers. We are also rich in coconuts and palm kernel. We are also asking the government to help us with an engine to thresh the palm kernel.

“This is why I am appealing to Governor Babatunde Fashola to assist us with more refrigerators to preserve the fish. We also need more outboard engines. It is too expensive to afford one.