Working Lives: The Hunter Who Loves Delivering Preorders for Monkeys

Working Lives: The Hunter Who Loves Delivering Preorders for Monkeys

“I don’t think since I came to Lagos I have fallen sick. I just make sure I buy agbo once in a while to keep myself fit. I randomly buy antibiotics and use because we expose ourselves to a lot of germs out there in the bush”.

Where are you from?

I am from Kano State. We are all from Kano State.

When did you get to Lagos?

My boss actually brought me to Lagos. He was also an hunter back home in Kano and we were always going to hunt together back then. So when he got to Lagos and was able to carve a niche for himself in the hunting business, he told me to come down. And that was how I got to Lagos in 2008.

Did you go through any form of education?

I attended Government Secondary School In Kano up until JSS3 and that was it. I did not go further. My parents could afford to sponsor me but I knew schooling was not for me. I knew I could not cope. I decided to drop out and started doing odd jobs in Kano. I washed people’s cars, picked scrap metals to sell and many more.

Tell me about your family?

My dad works as a gateman at a steel manufacturing industry in Kano. My mum sells food just beside our house. I have 7 siblings.

Where do you live and how much is the rent?

When I left Kano in 2008, I came down straight to my boss’s place in Mile 12. We were just four then living together. But there is about 17 of us living together now. It is a face-me-I-face-you house. My boss rented 5 rooms there.

What were you doing before you started hunting in Kara?

Immediately I got to Lagos, I started working the following day. I already knew what I was coming to do in Lagos. This is what I was doing back home in Kano while I was still doing other odd jobs alongside like I said earlier.

How did you start working as an hunter?

In Kano? It was like a normal thing in our village then. Every adult and teenager was always going to hunt. We did that to get extra cash. We hunted animals and took them to the city to sell.

Did you go through some sort of training before you could start hunting?

Just on basic ideas of how to handle a cutlass or any sharp object. And then the only thing the older ones were always telling us was to be brave. That is all. There is no special training.

How do you get the guns?

Back home in Kano we make the guns locally. The only thing we do is just inform the police and do some sort of registration. We have just one gun for the whole group. Only my boss handles the gun. When he is not hunting with us, someone else does. The people in the area where we hunt know us. My boss pays the locals N5,000. Sometimes the greedy ones insist on more and he pays them N7,000. There are tiny settlements around the forest. You would think no one would care about you going into the forest. But there are always people who will ask you questions-who are you, what are you doing here and so on.

Read: Working Lives: The Hunter Who Used to Sell Handkerchiefs in the Traffic

For how long have you been hunting in Kara?

I got to Lagos in 2008 and I have been hunting since then.

How do you sell the animals you kill?

After we finish hunting for the day, we either take it to our designated customers or we take it to the market and sell. Some customers actually put a call across and book for certain animals before we go hunting. Some of them use the animals for rituals. We sell big grasscutters for as much as N30,000.

What’s your best day like hunting?

My best days hunting are days when we get animals that customers have preordered. Customers may request for monkeys, so we spend more time looking for monkeys. We make more money when we deliver the orders. I sometimes make up to N5,000 after such hunting trips.

How much do you spend in a day?

I spend N1,000 at most. And this is on days when I need to buy personal things like brush, soap, barb my hair and stuff like that. We don’t really spend so much, we live rent free.

How much do you spend on medication when you fall sick?

I don’t think since I came to Lagos I have fallen sick. I just make sure I buy agbo once in a while to keep myself fit. I randomly buy antibiotics and use because we expose ourselves to a lot of germs out there in the bush.

Do you have savings and how much do you save in a month?

And I save weekly depending on the amount of money I get after we sell the animals. The highest I save in a week is N5,000.

Are you married ?

Yes, I am married. I got married just last year. My wife and two kids are back home in Kano. I hope to see them by December. This is why I am saving so I will be able to take money home.

Any other job or business you would like to venture into?

Nothing really, this is the only thing I am good at and it has been sustaining me ever since. If the something happens, I would just go back home and continue hunting. The only difference is that I will have to go to the city to sell unlike Lagos where customers are readily available.