‘OLOWO NII DERI’: THE AKURE-BASED SUCCESSFUL CAP SELLER
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‘OLOWO NII DERI’: THE AKURE-BASED SUCCESSFUL CAP SELLER
By Seun Adetola
The nature of his business demands that he treks some distances up to kilometers to market native caps which has a lot of implications on the dressing of an average Yoruba man.
Sometimes around early 70s, he came from Ile-Ife on a weekly basis to carry out his trade in Akure and major towns in Old Ondo State.
Alhaji Salman Akanbi popularly known as ‘Olowo nii d’eri’ , meaning cap is meant for the honourable hails from Ilorin but later settled with his uncle in Ikire where he began to do the trade.
He moves round Akure the state capital, visits event venues like seminars, workshops, national and international conferences holding in his environment.
He has also become the official cap seller to teachers across Nigeria. How?
He has been traveling to every National Conference of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. ‘Olowo nii deri’ was part of the last one held in Uyo while he also prepared to be part of the Rivers 2016.
On a normal day, Alhaji Akanbi treks round Akure the Ondo State capital as well as other major towns. He even travels to Benin-City and other state capitals which include Port Harcourt.
For those who were regular visitors to the defunct Owena Motels at Alagbaka, present location of Akure Shopping Mall ,he is the man with varieties of Yoruba native caps by the entrance of the motel. He spent about a decade in the place.
You could have also met him or even bought one or two caps from him. He is an example of an individual who can be described as a confirmation of the phrase “hard work pays”.
A lesson for today’s youths who have become tools of destruction they call “politics” in our society.
A man who started selling native caps with periodic visits to Akure about 50 years ago now has his own house in Akure while his immediate family members are also based in the capital city of the sunshine state as no single tenant exists any more among them.
Each of his children working in are well to do while the last one is in the University.
The wife is a successful business woman in the state capital.
When next you see baba Alhaji Salman Akanbi, appreciate him and what God has done in his life.
First Published in 2016
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