A widow in her early 50s and a mother of four, Fatima Abdullahi, has found succour in selling beans cake popularly known as akara.
Rather than resort to begging for alms as is common with aged women in some parts of the country, she now makes an average of N5000 daily from selling akara and koko (pap) to make ends meet.
Abdullahi did not require intervention funds from the government or access to micro-finance funds for her efforts and determination to succeed.
The enterprising woman, resident in Rigasa, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, told the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Wednesday that she started the business about 10 years ago after the death of her husband.
She said that although she was left with no one to help her and her kids, she disliked the idea of begging and decided to use savings to start the bean cake business.
“I started with as little as N3000, and gradually expanded the business by adding sweet potato and now I make an average of N5000 daily, about N150,000 monthly.
“Although the business is stressful and dangerous because you have to sit by the fire every day, it is helping me to pay the bills, take care of my children.
“At least I can afford to pay school fees for my children and medical bills when the need arises,” she said.
The entrepreneur’s business area is usually filled up by customers mainly passers-by, residents of the area and others who find the delicacy satisfying.
Abdullahi called on women to make necessary effort to be self-reliant rather than going around the neighbourhood begging for alms.
“Whether a widow or housewife, you can start a business, no matter how small, so as to have financial freedom,” she said.
She decried the practice whereby able-bodied women took to begging for alms to survive, adding that Islam does not encourage the attitude.
