Kolanut Trade, Traders, Trans local and Transnational Networks in Ore Town, Western Nigeria, 1970-2011

Taiwo Olubunmi Olaleye; Titilope Olusegun Olalere

doi:10.56201/jhsp.vol.12.no7.2026.pg144.149

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Kolanut Trade, Traders, Trans local and Transnational Networks in Ore Town, Western Nigeria, 1970-2011

Taiwo Olubunmi Olaleye, Titilope Olusegun Olalere

Abstract

This study examines the kolanut trade, traders, and trading networks in Ore Town, Western Nigeria between 1970 and 2011. Using oral history methodology, the paper draws on interviews with Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and international traders in Ore to reconstruct the evolution of Oja Obi, the kolanut market. The study identifies four grades of kola in Ore: Goria, Menu (small nuts), Saara, and the ritual Obi Abata. It argues that Ore became a major node in Nigeria’s kola economy due to its location on the Lagos-Benin highway, year-round supply from surrounding villages, and the expertise of Oniteeku and Dilali traders in sorting, pricing, and preservation using Tari (local preservation liquid). The paper further demonstrates that from the early 1990s, Ore’s market attracted direct buyers from Benin Republic, Niger, Cameroon, Ghana, and even Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Sudan. Price dynamics between 1960 and 2011 were shaped by three annual harvests, macroeconomic policies, and demand from domestic and international networks. The absence of formal price regulation was compensated by trust, reputation, and ethnic brokerage systems. The study concludes that between 1970 and 2011, Ore transformed from a local market initiated by five women into a transnational hub linking Yoruba producers to West African and Middle Eastern consumers. Kolanut thus functioned simultaneously as commodity, cultural item, and source of local government revenue.

Keywords

Kolanut tradeOre TownInternational networksOral historyYoruba economyWest AfricaCommodity marketsNigeria Word count: 198 JHSP P-ISSN 2695 2416

References

Akinbode, A. (1982) Kolanut production and Trade in Nigeria. Ibadan: Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research Berry, S. (1993). No Condition is Permanent: The Social Dynamics of Agrarian Change in Sub- Saharan Africa. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press Ibrahim, H.D., Ogunwusi, A.A. & Olife, I.C. (2016) Economic Potential of Nigeria’s Indigenous Stimulants www. researchgate.com Lovejoy, P. E. (1980). Caravans of Kola: The Hausa Kola Trade, 1700-1900. Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University Press, Ojo, S.O. & Ehinmowo, O.O. (2010) Economic Analysis of Kola-nut Production in Nigeria Journal of Social Science 22(1) 1-5. Oral Interviews Oral interview with Chief Mrs. Isikatu Adekemi Aged 54 in Ore on 10th March 2021. Oral interview with Mr. Johane Paul Aged 54 at Sabo market in Ore on 15th September 2021. Oral interview with Mr. Philemon Osei Aged 48+ at Sabo market in Ore on 1st October, 2021. Oral interview with Alhaji Dagobiri Muda Aged 64+ in Ore, on 8th August 2021. Oral interview with Alhaji Sani Bashir Aged 60 at Sabo market in Ore on 8th August 2021. Oral interview with Pa Sebastian Nwosu Aged 85 in Ore on 14th July 2021. Oral interview with Mrs. Grace Adedeji Aged 58 in Ore on 14th March 2021. Oral interview with Mrs. Abike Ajimore in Ore, on 14th March 2021. Oral interview with Madam Mary Ninalowo Aged 60 at Sabo market in Ore on 19th March 2021. Oral interview with Mr. Adisa Kunrunmi Aged 59 in Ore on 10th March 2021. Oral interview with Alhaji Taofeeq Okinbaloye Aged 62 in Ore on 14th March 2021. Oral interview with Alhaji Abiodun Badamosi, Aged 72 at Mulekangbo village, near Ore town on 20th March 2021. Oral interview with Mallam Idris Abdoulaye Aged 55 at Sabo market in Ore on 17th November 2021. Oral interview with Alhaji Hussein Baa Aged 52 at Sabo market in Ore, on 1st October 2021 Oral interview with Alhaja Fatimat Bello Aged 48 at Sabo market in Ore, on 1st October 2021

Kolanut Trade, Traders, Trans local and Transnational Networks in Ore Town, Western Nigeria, 1970-2011

Abstract

Keywords

References

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