Amigo Supermarket held a reputation of being one of Abuja’s busiest spots known to sell a variety of items unique to them or whose qualities couldn’t be found anywhere else. Today the once bubbly and crowded shopping destination now wears a desolate and abandoned look. Residents have transferred their loyalties to other business outfits following its closure due to terrorism related allegations against its co-owner Mustapha Fawaz.
Amigo Supermarket, located on the ever busy Adetokumbo Ademola Crescent, used to be one of Abuja’s most shopped at spots. But following its closure last June, the once jam-packed and usually over crowded shopping arena now wears a dejected look as individuals and cars which usually streamed there merely just go by.
Visiting to the Federal Capital Territory without marking one’s presence at the Amigo Supermarket could be regarded as having made an incomplete visit to the nation’s capital. It was a beehive of activities every single day they were open with thousands of customers trooping in and out en masse.
The premises now wears a new look. A desolate and military one, as armed soldiers can be seen patrolling the vicinity as they stop and ‘search’ vehicles which go through there, especially at night. Usually lit up at night with nice aromatic clouds filling the atmosphere as chickens were barbecued, popcorns burst, sharwamas were rolled up and colourful ice cream and fresh juices jars further enticed prospective customers and passersby.
Following recent investigations which linked the Lebanese owners to terrorism activities including providing cells for Hezbollah terror group in Kano, the Supermarket was shutdown.
Weekly Trust observed some individuals shake their heads in what seemed like they empathized over the calamity which has befallen the Supermarket whilst some others recounted good buys and experiences they had while Amigo still functioned as a reliable and dependable friend.
Reputable for the quality of its shawarma, frozen foods and other unique items, residents have had to find other avenues to satisfy their needs. No one knows when the supermarket will be reopened as the court case continues.
Mrs. Amina Yusuf, a housewife who usually made two trips a week to Amigo, has had to find other avenues. “As far as I remember since I came to Abuja, I’d never seen it shut. I never even knew what they gate/door looked like until June. It was very strange for me when I did. But as they say, one must move on. I now go elsewhere to buy the things I need even though I still miss certain items Amigo provided.”
For Kadijat Abubaker it’s unjust to close the place up. “From my view, it’s unfair to it down because they have products that one cannot get anywhere else but there. Those of us, Wuse II residents are now forced to go to the market even when it’s not worth going there for.
Quick to adjust to the situation, Abuja residents have shifted their loyalty to the regular markets and other supermarkets they disregarded in the past. And it’s not all bad as they initially thought.
Mr. Ben Udensi says, “I now go to Wuse Market and I find that a lot of the things I preferred to buy at Amigo I get here and even at reduced rates. The market is just as organised as the supermarket. For the exclusive items I don’t find there I go to Exclusive or Park ‘n’ Shop or any of the other ones.
The story is the same for Zainab Ibrahim, whose house is a trekking distance to Amigo Supermarket. “There is hardly anything that one cannot buy at Amigo, from perishable food items to sports wears and house and office furniture. The government should have done something reasonable rather than to just shut down the place.”
Others like Kenny Lawal don’t feel their absence. “It has not affected me in anyway; they found guns and explosives in his house. So am doing am shopping somewhere else till they resolve the case,” she said.
Yet still, some FCT residents like Moh Hassan didn’t even know the place had been closed until they had to respond to questions from Weekly Trust. Hassan said, “I had no idea that Amigo has been closed down. O knew Wonderland was but never associated them to be owned by the same people.”
Even the usual businesses which exploited the huge traffic to the place to sell their wares mangos, DVDs/CDs, books and magazines among other items have now deserted their usual spots. For fear of being harassed by the soldiers one of the book and magazine sellers, Dan said he has had to find a location not too far off from his old spot so that his customers could easily locate him or he spot them whenever they drove by.
Weekly trust
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