Even as phenomenally popular as it has turned out, you don’t want to see the hygienic stat of it source

“In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” So said Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of America, centuries ago. Were he to live in the present-day Lagos, he would have probably added Agege Bread to the list of certainties. In fact, Agege Bread is a phenomenon. From the young to the old, the poor and the reach, Agege bread is becoming something of an obsession to many a Lagosian. Cheap, fresh and undeniably tasty, it cuts across social-economic boundaries. Temitope Orelope, a Lagos based banker is one of them. “Agege Bread is the best in the world especially when eaten fresh. I often wonder why people go for more expensive brands of bread when Agege is readily available,” she says.

Jimmy Ubong, a native of Akwa-Ibom State has spent 10 years in Lagos. He caught the Agege bug when the family he stayed with introduced it to him. Since, his love for the bread has grown. “Whenever I travel out of Lagos, the one thing I really miss is Agege Bread. I don’t bother taking it with me because it is best eaten when it is fresh. I can eat it morning, afternoon and in the evening, why not,” the graphic artist confesses.

Several stories abound about the genesis of this bread. One version has it that the bread began to gain prominence in the early ‘70s. As the story goes, it was first produced in Agege, a suburb of Lagos. From there it eased its way into other parts of the state. Originally known as Ayokuno Bread, when it attained a degree of popularity, it became known as Agege Bread.

These days, other brands of bread dot Lagos State. Makers of these other refined varieties employ improved baking techniques backed with aggressive marketing drive, all in a bid to usurp Agege Bread. Still, Agege bread remains the king in Lagos and other South Western States. It is especially popular amongst low-income earners. But it is instructive to note that a significant proportion of the high earning class are very much consumers of this “folk” bread. For instance, a Lagos socialite from a very prominent family says, “it is Agege Bread or nothing.”

One reason for the bread’s continued dominance of the market could be because the bakers employ more modern techniques in the baking of their bread. According to Tope Adetola, who owns a bakery in Sururlere, “what we do is we now add flavour, preservatives, butter and other things that they didn’t add before. That is why it is even more popular these days.

In addition, Agege bread is not only a favourite with bread consumers. Bakers also find it cheaper to set up bakeries. Timi Ogundimu, who operates two of such bakeries, one in Surulere and the other at Egbeda, says the relative cheapness in setting up the bakery is one reason why people go into it. “You don’t need all the advanced equipments in big bakeries. In my bakeries, I use mud oven. This is what most other bakers that produce this Agege bread use. It is far cheaper to maintain as against electric oven and if properly taken care of, it can last for a long time,” he stated.

However, The Spectator’s investigations revealed that the hygienic state of some bakeries where this bread is produced, leaves a lot to be desired. Visits to bakeries in different locations around Lagos State, revealed the appalling hygienic state of some of the. Indeed, it does appear as if hygiene is the last thing in the minds of some the operators of the bakeries.

In one of them, the surrounding was so filthy that giant flies buzzed around in spite of presence of so many people. Workers mixing the dough were sweating so profusely but oblivious that they were dropping while kneading the dough.
When The Spectator talked to one of the owners of the bakeries, who simply referred to himself as Lateef. He was frank enough to admit that it was impossible for him to conform to the extent of hygienic details he was challenged with. “Look, you should understand that we are trying the best we can. I know that this bakery is not tidy but what can I do? We tried to get rid of the flies but they come back. I don’t have enough workers to produce bread and you are talking about making the place clean,” he complained. Lateef’s bakery produces about to10,000 loaves of bread daily.

Lateef improvised an old bathtub as his mixer. The setup is filthy and messy, yet he insisted that he cleansed it up once a week (on Thursdays during the compulsory environmental sanitation for market people) and that was good enough. The milling machine, which is also used to mix the dough into its smooth state, is an eyesore. Powered by diesel, the dripping machine contributes to the overall messy state of the place.

Especially worrisome is the handling of the dough by the workers in the bakery. They handle the dough with their bare hands, without bothering to put on gloves or any other protection for their hands.

According to Lateef, NAFDAC officials pay periodic visits to his bakery. “Actually, NAFDAC visits me once every month to inspect the bakery. The truth is that, I was ordered to coat the surface of the mixing bath with stainless steel but I don’t have the money to do that now. My landlord is not in the country so when he comes, we are going to discuss that.” Meanwhile, business continues in the filthy bakery pending the arrival of his landlord.

Lateef also stated that their association, the Lagos State Master Bakers Association, was regulating the activities of the bakers like him. He further stated that it was through the association that NAFDAC was able to orient bakers on the need to avoid using bromate and other flavours.

However, it is not all bakeries that are filthy. Tunde owns and operates a bakery in Ijesha that produces Agege bread. He manages to keep the operation spic and span. “I had to get gloves for my employees and I try to ensure that we treat the issue of hygiene as importantly as possible. I may be using a mud oven but it also important that we keep it clean also. It is not about having a big and sophisticated bakery. You should be able to maintain it even if it is as small as mine,” he says. I know that others may not be following NAFDAC’s regulation but we try in our way to do the right thing,” he stressed.

That assurance would do nothing to assure a section of Nigerians. Edith works in a boutique. According to her, she would rather be caught dead than indulging Agege bread. “God forbid! I won’t touch Agege bread at all. Not even with a long pole. The bakeries are so untidy and the people selling just handle it without considering that humans actually eat it,” she stated.

Chibuzor Okechukwu can’t stand the sight of the bread. “Agege bread? I would rather go for other loaves of bread than Agege. They are prepared in clean and hygienic environment.

Perhaps the conduct of the hawkers of the bread too contribute to the reasons why some people flee at the mention of Agege bread. The hawkers normally arrive at the bakeries as early as 5am for the bread. From that time they proceed to move around streets hawking the bread along their daily routes. As usual the bread is handled with their bare hands.

Silifatu, hawks Agege bread. Her daily route takes her through the streets around Maza-Maza. “Every day, I dey sell more than a hundred loaves of Agege Bread everyday. People dey rush am well well,” she states. Asked why she chooses to handle he loaves with her bare hands, she replied, “na so we dey do am. The people no mind.”

Reacting to the issue, NAFDAC, Lagos PR officer, Christiana Obiazikwor said the agency was doing its best in regulating the activities of the bakeries. “We take the issue of these bakeries seriously. You know, we are talking about public health, so we can’t take anything for granted. We try as much as possible to inspect the operations of the bakeries to the best of our ability. Don’t forget that these bakeries are springing up everywhere so we have the challenge of ensuring that they comply. Let me emphatically state that we do our best possible to carry out periodic checks on the bakeries in order to ensure that they do not pose any danger to public health. Yes, they may be providing food for the people but that is not enough reasons for them to give people unhygienic things to consume,” she said.

Continuing, she said that the Agency was able to stem the use of Bromate, which has proven to be harmful to human health. Corroborating her position, NAFDAC national Public Relations Officer, Abubarkar Gimba blamed it on the attitude of Nigerians. “Nigerians are difficult people. The problem is that, everyone wants to cut corners. But we, in NAFDAC, will continue to work on it.” He also stressed that NAFDAC’s ability to combat the malaise is hindered by the fact that the agency lacks personnel. “We are not equipped with enough personnel to handle this problem. I can guarantee you that NAFDAC officials will not deliberately leave their duties undone.”

Gimbar further called on Nigerians to patronize only registered bread sellers. “We have said it before, nobody should purchase bread without wrappers. We started registering bakeries two years ago and we are urging Nigerians not to patronize bakers whose bread has no wrappers but people are still not complying. It is not that NAFDAC is inefficient; it is just that we have lawbreakers. Although Gimba said his agency have been shutting erring bakers, it would seem that more drastic punitive measures are needed to show effectiveness.

Even as NAFDAC continues to grapple with the challenges of whipping bakers into line, it is remains to be seen how far they (bakers) have the stamina to go with the regulatory agency.

by HENRY OMOFEDEZ, The Spectator