The popular saying that your background will not make your back to be on the ground appears to be the reality for a group of young men from Okrika in Rivers State who seem to have proved to their kinsmen and beyond their shores that there is still hope regardless of how much the Nigerian economy has dwindled.

To get a hang on what they are doing, Kristina Reports on Saturday, January 7, 2022, tracked them to a settlement known as Tamuno-Ama (God’s town) located close to the famous Okrika Grammar School (OGS), Okrika behind the Zonal Hospital and Mortuary.

An age old institution, Okrika Grammar School, which has turned out some of the finest scholars from Rivers State, the Niger Delta and beyond, serves as a boundary between Daka-Ama and Ibuluya Dikibo-Ama.

Fishing activities are carried out by residents of the area in the river bounding this settlement. This is where these young men decided to make a living for themselves and their families by going out to cut logs of wood from the mangroves and the creeks, after which they use a canoe to ferry it to the land and source for buyers.

Speaking with Kristina Reports, one of the wood vendors, who pleaded anonymity, said that the business has been going on for years, saying they are very happy with what they are doing because patronage has been very good, explaining that “it’s an individual effort and not a collective one. So, anyone can do it provided you have a boat and you can paddle into the river and out of it”.

“The cost of each log is dependent on its size. The good people of Tamuno-Ama are at peace with the workers and so, it gives them the opportunity to get wood from them without pay most times.”

Kristina Reports checks reveal that patronage for this venture comes from bakery owners, food vendors, and other types of businesses that need firewood to thrive; and these include whole sale, as well as, retail buyers. Shocking, amongst our findings is the fact that most of these wood vendors left their former places of work to venture into this business because of its lucrativeness.

In a chat with Kristina Reports, one of the persons patronizing the business, Charity Peacemaker said that the business has really been lucrative and has helped to reduce the rate of criminal activities and movements in the area.

She informed that last year December happens to be one of the best because the youths have found better ways to make money rather than indulging in activities like illegal oil bunkering which has many a time led to several infernos and mass deaths, encouraging the youths to get something meaningful doing to help themselves avoid untimely death.

During the visit, Kristina Reports counted a total of 30 men at the site that day and also noted that some of the young women and children living in the neighborhood come around to help sell these woods, others buy from the men and resell it to the larger public.