Roadside Chef – another occupation in Nigeria
Have you ever been hungry while you are outdoor? Then you find yourself looking for somewhere to sit down and get something to eat, but this time around you do not really want to go to a really expensive restaurant. These are the services the roadside chef offer for really affordable prices.
I got to understand that entrepreneurs in Nigeria aren’t only those that have concrete constructed offices, and stay within an air conditioned building. Entrepreneurs are those who try to achieve a goal no matter how small it may seem and most times, entrepreneurs are not really inspired by profit but they see it as standard for measuring their success.
The little discussion with the roadside chef I photographed shows who entrepreneurs are and how people make a living in Nigeria. He is an Indigene of Anambra State. He has great passion for cooking and he really loves doing his business. From the brief talk I had with him, I found out that he is a christian and he really dislikes any Hard job E.g Bricklaying, Welding.e.t.c ( but I wonder why he hates hard job, cooking alone is more like a hard job- but ,maybe he wouldn’t notice the stress in it because it is his passion. I guess this quote proves that right)
When I inquired about how he learnt his business, this was what the roadside chef said;
 Nobody taught me anything – cooking food is my talent! God reveals to make in the dream how to cook anything I want and when I wake up and try practicing it, it comes out really nice. There are so many hotels that I have called to employ me as their chef, but I declined because I need to continue doing mine.
No one taught you your business, God reveals it to you in the dream – that’s out of this world! Well, the chef started his business back then in the village before he presently moved to the city. He has done this business for about two years and with the profit he made, he is able to lay the foundation of the house he is currently building in his hometown(this is wonderful).
I wanted to inquire further and so I asked if his business was profitable and this was what he said
Yes! Of-course it is. The cost price of one tuber of this yam is around ₦200, but when I finish roasting it, I sell it to customers for around ₦450 – so as you can see, there is profit in the business. The thing is that people look at me as though I am not making money or I am so poor, but that’s not it because I make profit and it is the profit I use to carter for myself.
In conclusion, the roadside chef advised other Nigerians that they should find out what he/she likes doing and venture into it, because there is a lot of money in Nigeria. He said that Nigeria is a blessed country and once you know what you are doing, you will succeed at it.
#Advice
As Nigerians we should do what we want to do and try to tap into the abundant resources and opportunities that are available. It firsts starts with utilizing what you have before trying to do any other thing.
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