By EJIOFOR TOOCHI CYNTHIA
The Cane Village is a local craft Market located in Mende, Maryland. The market does not have a permanent location as it spreads beneath the Ojota link bridge. With cane, craftsmen can make chairs, tables, flower vases, baskets for hampers, swing chairs, magazine racks and others.
The Cane village has been in existence for more than forty years but is still not known to many people. Not only does it lack customers or tourists, it has also witnessed a drop in sellers due to the constant change of location.
The chairman of Cane Village Association, Mr Dennis Omadide in an interview with Ikejabird, recounted how they moved from Mende to under the bridge.
He asked that the government provide them a permanent place as under the bridge was not good for business, “We’ve met the Ministry of works before and told them to give us a place to stay.”
Asides the bad location, another challenge faced by the cane weavers is insufficient funds to get raw materials and transportation of raw materials to Lagos state. Seeing that the cane used for production is majorly gotten from Delta state, arranging trucks to carry them from bush to main road has proven difficult.
Lack of materials, funding and support from government has resulted in bad sales and poor awareness of their business. Who wants to visit a business situated in a poor environment? This has pushed quite a number of weavers out of business.
The Vice President of the association, Mr Clement expressed his displeasure at the drop in weavers, “We were more than four hundred, but shifting from different locations reduced us,” he, like many others, is hoping that the weavers return and revive the business.
Another cane worker with 30 years of experience, Benjamin Ovie, remarked, “If Cane Village was abroad, government would have made the place a tourist centre.” This demonstrates how, throughout the past years, the Lagos Government has paid them little or no attention.
To these cane weavers, ‘anything that you draw, we can make it,’ they’re skilled and willing to work but lack the resources. The Government should sustain Cane Village as a significant part of Nigeria’s art and craft. By doing this, they will be well equipped, improve their crafts, generate revenue and make the Mende Cane Village a reputable tourist attraction in Nigeria.
First time I’m hearing about the cane village and honestly I’m surprised. Most of these products are made there? Wow
I really hope they get enough supplies of raw materials so they can be able to produce more.
God bless Cane Village
The thought of the many creative things cane can create is so nice.
Love to visit honestly… brilliant exposition by the writer by the way 👍✨
I didn’t even know that a place like this exists in Lagos state!
Wow!!
Nice one
I never knew a place like this is in Lagos. I remembered when I was in secondary school, it was a blind man that was doing the weaving for the school to sell. He was a staff. I beg the Lagos state government to encourage them, and by doing that, more people will like to make it their means of livelihood because it is a lucrative business.
I don’t understand why the government won’t focus on things that actually matter. If they work on Cane village, people would troop in daily.
At this point I’m already extremely annoyed…like can’t the government see this would be a very good investment???
Honestly this is my first time hearing about them and they’ve been around for FORTY YEARS????
Not even only government sef…. rich civilians will not go and invest ni…Omo I’m pained
Do you get!!! It’s such a shame.
It’s very interesting to read about this dying creative subsector in tourism industry in Nigeria. They used to have booming business few decades ago especially during dry season but today the story is completely different due to the state of our economy and obscure location where they trade their wares. Indeed, concerted effort is required by all to create awareness to the door steps of concerned government officials especially ministry of Environmental and that of Industries in Lagos State. Our arts and crafts should not die !!!