A day inside Ibadan mega malls

The three years you have spent in Ibadan, you have not been to any of the Ibadan mega malls before. On a weekly basis, you see these malls and pretend they do not exist. But they do. Ventura, Heritage, Cocoa and Palms malls are unmistakable landmarks that have shaped the face of the city and its socio-economic landscape. Yet, you have not been inside one of them before? Well, there is always a first time.

You are from the Niger Delta, and there is a popular saying there that: Who no go, no see. This first Saturday morning of August, you woke feeling bored, longing for new things, new places and new stories. Today, you decided to tour the four malls and see what the experience would look like. You put some money in your pocket and hit the road for a tour in the liveliest places in Ibadan with bright lights, colourful things and beautiful smiles.

You started with Ventura Mall in Samonda because it is close to where you live in Agbowo. At the gate, few metres from your right, were children outdoor game facilities like Train Ride, Bouncing Castle, Slides, Basket Ball, and Bowling, among others, which cost 1000 naira per child per forty-five minutes to play with any of them. As you approached the automated glass doors of the mall, the water fountain greeted you with its pristine waters. You could not wait to enter  inside and begin the fun of the day.

Ventura, which opened for business four years ago, is a three-storeyed, grey-and-red, 14-store complex owned by Stella Vera and managed by Globe Williams. As you entered, the bright lights graced your eyes. At the basement floor were two UBA ATMs, Airtel, and Latitude, an exotic lounge and café, whose aromatic cuisines satiated your nose.

You took the stairs to the ground floor that houses Vanguard Pharmacy, Strands, Luxe and Elan, Polished, Europa, Morning Star, Lily Textile, Pixels, and Chrysalis. There is also Wakanow, a travel agency that made you thought of leaving the country. Many of the stores on this floor are boutiques and beauty salons. They made you thought of your mother, sisters and girlfriends, and how the designer wears and Jewellery would look on them. Unfortunately, you could not afford them. But, there is nothing wrong in window-shopping.

The first floor houses only Cube Arcade, an indoor game house. You stood, shock and awe,mopping at the cutting-edge game facilities you have not seen before. You were amazed how children were manoeuvring these futuristic toys with ease. What made Arcade more interesting was the disco music and its café loaded with candies, chocolates and drinks that made you salivate. The prominent games here are PS 4, Dirty Driving, Fast and Furious, Super Bike, Dancing Game, Virtual Reality, Terminator, Genesis, Table Tennis, Snooker, Falgas Car, and Carousel Bee.

After contemplating the one to play among the sea of games, you settled for Fast and Furious. Due to certain reasons, you could not operate the game because it was your first time of play it, one of the staff chose a red sport Chrysler for you. You started playing, bumping the car into obstacles and falling from terrible heights. You did not know what you were doing, but you were happy playing the game. Some minutes later, your game time elapsed.

You took another stairs to the second floor that houses Filmhouse Cinema. The movie on the screen was Teen Titans Go, which did not sound interesting to you. So, you left for your next destination.

From Ventura to Cocoa Mall in Dugbe was 80 naira away in a taxi ride. You arrived at Cocoa beside the ubiquitous Cocoa House skyscraper by 1:20 p.m. The music and dance display by two clowns in green-and-white costumes in front of the mall made you laugh. Children and their parents were dancing to the beat. But you had to move on. The fun inside would be greater than the one outside.

Commissioned on October 2013, the two-storeyed Cocoa Mall, which houses up to sixty stores, of which forty are currently occupied, is owned and managed by Top Services Limited.

Now on the ground floor, you could not help but absorb the grandeur of colourful things and smiling shoppers. The major stores on this floor are Shoprite, Foodco, Wema Bank, Pep, Apple World, Essenza, Montaigne Place, and Paddy Art Gallery. The wonderful paintings and artworks in the art gallery made you thought of having a portrait of yourself. Perhaps, you would give that thought some consideration on your next visit.

You took the spiral stairs to the first floor. Here, the lights were empowering and the stores were irresistible. Had it been you had all the money in the world, you would have expended it on everything here. Again, you resumed your window-shopping. The major stores here are Health Plus, Sweet Scent, Sweet City, Office Everything, Podarock, The wotch, Solat Telecom, Casa Bella, Richie, Da Viva, Ynorth, Eternal Gems and Forever Young. There is an indoor game house with car, train and airplane electronic toys. Also on this floor, is Exodus Travels, a travel agency that made you fantasise about Dubai.

Prior to this moment, you thought everything in mega malls is not free, but Health Plus proved you wrong. Just as you were about to leave, you heard that Health Plus was offering free basic medical tests and advice. You were amazed by this munificence. Out of the many tests, you did blood pressure, blood glucose, blood cholesterol and body mass index tests, and your test results were within the normal ranges. You thanked Health Plus and promised to visit next time. Who does not like free things?

You were surprised that Cocoa Mall and Heritage Mall share the same building and corridors. Had it been you did not observe properly, would not have seen the roller shutter, which when closed, separates them. Heritage is arguably the only mall in Ibadan with a basement car park. Since you did not have a car, you took the stairs, two steps at a time, to where the fun was bubbling.

Opened for business in 2013, Heritage Mall, Dugbe, a two-storeyed, 40-store complex, of which 23 stores are currently occupied, is owned by Odua Investments and managed by Global Property and Facilities International Limited.

Out of the many stores on the ground floor, the only two that are occupied are Cash ‘N’ Carry and Busen. On the first floor, you could see Mark-Dyna Party Plus, 9Mobile, Gif, Airtel, Mefosi Lingeue, and Fresh2go, an indoor game house for both children and adults. You briefly watched the children as they played the games while their parents ate takeaway junk food. Children of these days are lucky, you thought. In your childhood days, luxuries like these were yet to be conceived.

You rode the escalator, for the first time, to the second floor. The major stores here include Smile, Nadabi, Ada Bella, Prank Fabrics, Idea Konsult, Phurlash Liquid Zone, Champ House Restaurant, The Hub, Blossom Delight Fast Food, Figures Studio, and Film house Cinema.

You checked the movie synopses on Film house’s box office and learnt the next movie on queue was Antman and the Wasp. The movie seemed like an animated science fiction. You do not like animated movie. So, you left.

Hunger caught up with you. You walked into Blossom Delight and bought a soft drink and sausage, and savoured them in front of a flat-screen television displaying an action movie that featured Will Smith. Around you were people chatting, laughing, eating and drinking. It was a good feeling, even therapeutic. You watched the Will Smith movie for five more minutes while your lunch lasted. The time was 3:10 p.m. when you left Heritage and walked into the sunny streets of Dugbe.

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From Heritage to Palms Mall at Ring Road was 60 naira away in a taxi ride that a Good Samaritan you sat in the front seat with paid for your fare because the driver did not have enough change for him. It was good to know that generous people still exist. From a distance of hundred metres, the most spacious and biggest mall in Ibadan loomed in a blue-white horizon.

Outside the hall was a hive of activities. Posh cars loitered everywhere. Music was blasting. Shoppers were rolling trolleys here and there. Children were all over the outdoor game sections playing and shouting in delirium. At a point, you wished you were a child. But, again, there was no time for reminiscence or nostalgia.

Opened for business on July 2014, Palms Mall, a ground-floor and basement edifice, which houses 72 stores, of which 52 are currently occupied, is owned by the Piesianas Group and managed by Aria.

You walked into the ground floor/upper level of the mall and it seemed as if you were in a different world. Given the gigantic size of Palms, many stores in other malls are found here. On the upper level are Shoprite, Grandex Stores, Gold Stone, Vava Furniture, Sport World, Kid Me Not, House of Tara, Pep, Hair Sense, Max, Invivo, Pandora, among others.

Also on this level is Ride for Fun, a children indoor game section that owns six animal scooters that take children around the mall. These scooters include lion, tiger, elephant, chimpanzee, leopard and kangaroo. It cost 500 naira per child per 10 minutes to ride on any of them. You rode on the chimpanzee with a 7-year-old David for some minutes and took a photograph with him and the chimpanzee to remember this august moment.

After the ride, you descended into the lower level that houses KFC, China House, Neptune, Mozaya Classic, Ultima, Apollo, Anis Dego, Viva Cinema, among others. Apart from Viva, virtually all the stores on this level are restaurants. You could not help but, with your nose, relish all the food in these restaurants. They tasted good.

You walked into the ticket and refreshment section of Viva and paid 1200 naira for Mission Impossible Fallout scheduled for 5:50 p.m. This would be the first time you are watching a movie in a modern cinema. Some minutes later, you sat in front of a wall-to-ceiling IMAX screen, in the second row of the stadium-like seat, watching Tom Cruise and his IMF team hunt down terrorists. The cinema was a world of its own, a small community of movie-lovers, whose reactions and comments on the movie made the experience worthwhile.

By the time you stepped out of the bright lights of Palms to the darkness of Ring Road, the time was 8:20 p.m. You doubted if you had enough money on you to take you home. On your way home, in a taxi, you passed Cocoa, Heritage and Ventura malls, and wished the night did not engulf you and the city. However, the experience was memorable.

You have gone out there, and you have seen things. You have seen new things in new places, and you have told new stories from new experiences. Above all, you have learnt that you do not have to be the richest person to enjoy the best things of life. All you need is an adventurous mind, little money in your pocket and someone to share the story with.

Kingsley Alumona is a writer and a reporter with the Nigerian Tribune