Ekondo Titi’s own fuelling industry

BY ATIA TILARIOUS AZOHNWI

In Ekondo Titi, like in all of Ndian Division, there is no petrol station.

The absence of filling stations in Ekondo Titi does not suggest that there are no vehicles in the subdivision that serves as one of the gateways into the oil rich Ndian Division of the South West Region.

There are generators, motorbikes, vehicles and several other devices that require the use of petrol.

Fuel hawking or petrol peddling has hence become a very lucrative sector in Ekondo Titi. The industry has of recent witnessed an influx of newcomers, probably enticed by the brisk business it generates.

Most of the petrol sold in Ekondo Titi is brought in through the high seas from Nigeria, as Ekondo Titi is a border town, with its frontiers washed by the sea.

Though the fuel imported is largely not well refined and as such illegal, it is, however, flourishing despite the odds and even the potential danger of peddling with such highly inflammable liquids.

The main street of Ekondo Titi is lined up with those in the petrol hawking business. They have their tables placed along the roads. On the tables are litres of petrol, classified according to the brand.

Brands of petrol in Ekondo Titi include ‘fungui’, ‘gasoline’ and ‘super’.

Various points where petrol is sold are considered as petrol stations and as such have varied names such as KG Texaco, Fungui Yes, Petrol Station, and American Station among several others.

To set up a business, one is required to pay a registration fee of FCFA 50,000 to the Ekondo Titi Petrol Sellers Union.

Mr. Ambang Patrick, president of the Ekondo Titi Petrol Sellers Union, explains that “along with the FCFA 50,000 registration fee, a would-be member of the union has to also provide drinks to the members, usually to strengthen the sense of belonging and as well introduce the newcomer into the line of business.”

He goes on to add that such money is kept in the coffers of the union and used to assist members who are in need of financial assistance. Describing the business as one that is booming, he insisted that order must be instituted. Though he could not readily give us the exact number of persons involved in the petrol selling business within the subdivision, he, however, put the number at well over 50 persons.

One of those involved in selling petrol along the streets of Ekondo Titi is Mr. Emmanuel Chia. He told The Sun that he has been in the business for only six months and testifies that the returns are something to smile about.

 Mr. Chia, a driver by profession, told The Sun that after an accident he had, he was advised to stay off the roads for twelve months.

For fear of being idle, he entered the fuel business and it is with proceeds that he takes care of his wife and three children who are all going to school and assists his family members and others.

“... a 280 litres container full of ‘Fungui’ is bought at FCFA 135,000 from the Nigerian businessmen who sell fuel at the Ekondo Titi beach. We sell a litre of Fungui petrol at FCFA 600. The Fungui super sells more because a litre of Cameroon Super is sold at FCFA 700 here,” Chia told The Sun.

Chia Emmanuel, just like most of his peers in the business of hawking fuel, agrees that the business is very profitable. “The turnover is fast. I sell a drum of Fungui super in less than three days,” Chia hinted.

He went further to suggest that he makes at least FCFA 50,000 as profit a week.

With FCFA 300,000, it is possible for one to start the fuel hawking business in Ekondo Titi. The hawkers told The Sun that they pay the sum of FCFA 12,000 as taxes to the council.

As advice to the jobless youth in Ndian Division and Ekondo Titi in particular, Emmanuel Chia says they should hurry up and join them in the fuel business. He says he has bought land and is planning to construct for himself a house after doing the business for barely six months.

Though the hawking of fuel in Ekondo Titi has a huge take-home, those involved in the business say it has its own disadvantages.

Just like car owners, the Fungui sellers hold that the fuel, especially Fungui gas destroys car engines.

“This thing is not really good. I know that good petrol should be clean,” one of them affirmed to The Sun.

Emmanuel Chia confessed that he once sold Nigerian gas to a car owner and it destroyed the man’s car engine. In fury, the said man caused his arrest and detention. He said he was only released after he accepted to bare the full cost of the repairs and maintenance works on the damaged engine.

As lesson he has learned, he tries to sieve the fuel using fine cloth before filling any engine, especially cars. “I’m very cautious now. I no longer sell Nigerian gas,” Chia said.

Even as the selling of Fungui is sustaining livelihoods in Ekondo Titi, the administration has advised those involved in the trade to prepare to shutdown. The sellers told The Sun that they have been on dialogue terms with the administration and that they have enough security, reason why there is hardly any case of theft.

Despite the security mentioned here above, there is, however, the insecurity of a fire disaster, given the way the fuel is peddled.

The population of Ndian and those of Ekondo Titi are still waiting for the creation of a fuel station. As they wait, the about 1000 motorbikes and other vehicles that serve as a means of transportation will still have to use Fungui.