When an Igbo businessman opens shop in the
morning, he has one purpose in mind. When a prospect walks in through the door,
his purpose is still the same. When he uses polite addresses like ‘Sir’ and
‘Ma’ for a customer younger than him, his purpose still hasn’t changed. As he
offers the customer a seat and turns on the fan to make them comfortable, he is
still pursuing that purpose. When the haggling gets hard to the point of
irritating him, he maintains his cool for that purpose.
When he has to run a whole street in search
of change, his purpose has begun to
materialize. In fact, Igbo traders distinguish themselves by their willingness
to humbly go from one shop to the next, looking for change, no matter how
negligible, to satisfy the buyer.
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| Trade Fair Complex, Lagos |
They’ll politely pack the customer’s purchase
into the shopping bag, while squeezing a business card into the customer’s hand
and asking him to come again for even better bargains. They understand that the
customer is a roving king who can take his business elsewhere.
It is not until the
customer finally parts with his money in exchange for the goods, that the Igbo businessman’s purpose is finally achieved.