Skip to content

Calitown

News, Here, Everytime!

  • Home
  • News
    • Cross River News
  • Features
  • Community
  • Inspirational
  • Toggle search form
  • Otu Appoints Francisca Bassey As Unicross Substantive VC Cross River News
  • “I Am A Proud APC Member”: CR House Of Reps Member Refutes Link To ADC Cross River News
  • Death Is Sweeter Abroad: A Satirical Allegory On The Nigerian Political Condition! Features
  • CR Senator Maintains Buhari Was A Steadfast Patriot Cross River News
  • Man Electrocuted, Dies Trying To Steal PHCN Cables In Calabar South  Cross River News
  • Gov Otu Mourns Buhari, Says Nigeria Has Lost A Towering Symbol Of Discipline & Integrity Breaking News
  • Cross River Born Abuja Based Pastor Shocks Widow With 4-Bedroom Bungalow Gift Cross River News
  • UNICAL: Shock As 300 Dental Students Discover Dept Had No Accreditation  Cross River News

Welcome To ‘EFAK SATAN’… Calabar’s ‘Satan Street’

Posted on September 21, 2013 By Admin 1 Comment on Welcome To ‘EFAK SATAN’… Calabar’s ‘Satan Street’

Those who say a market is where to buy and sell may have had a huge challenge trying to draw up a list of what can be bought or sold. The reason is simple, there are some things you don’t reckon can be an item on someone’s shopping list because of their extra-ordinary nature, the bizzare benefits they are touted to bring or even for the reason that such items can give you goose bumps on a normal day. Pause here and fast forward to Calabar’s Watt Market.

“Watt” like the locals call it, is a very vibrant market in the other half of Calabar, christened Calabar South LGA. It sits pretty, close to the Bassey Duke roundabout, considered the ‘centre’ of Calabar and dominates with a hustle ambience that is both annoying and exhiliriating. The same locals have ‘elected’ to call a section of the market “EFAK SATAN” (Satan’s Street), and it is where calitown.com is headed to find out why satan receives a bold mention in a market as popular as Watt.

It is already afternoon when we make our way into the market. Our guide, a lady has taken great pains to arrange that we spend a couple of hours in the market to see things for ourselves. First we ask directions to the place, get that, take a few turns, right and left and then the first shop calitown.com sees makes an unsettling impression. As we approach from the Nelson Mandela axis of the market, part of what we think use to be a human skull, hangs on the wall. The smell of burning incense is noticeable as are the chilling chimes of hidden bells. It is a long and eerie line of shops with esoteric wares on display. The place crawls with funny looking individuals who promise to help you attain success through any means necessary. Two shops away from where we stand, a thoroughly bleached woman draws our attention to a yellow container in her hand with the inscription, “Six Flowers Ointment”, it can guarantee, she tells calitown.com that “women will fall over each other to have you if you use this ointment on your face”. It is absurd and laughable but like someone reading our minds, she tells us in pidgin, “una go doubt me but people wey don use am dey always come back”. We find that incredible. Soon after, we arrive at the shop of one woman who has agreed, for a fee, to be our inside source. We are offered a squeaky bench to sit on and kolanuts. On the mat close to where we sit, a little boy is chopping a tree’s balk into small pieces and putting in a black pot. Reluctantly, we take the kolanuts and look around, without asking questions.

“You people should not mind what all these people call this place, we registered this line of shops as ‘Efak Ikpot Eto'(Stems and Roots Line), but people who don’t want us to progress now say it is Satan street”, our source begins.
Scary 2
We look at her table and lots of her wares are not from stems and roots. They are owl and vulture feathers on the table, feline whiskers, native eggs, a white, red and yellow length of cloth, strung together, a mazy strand of beads, seven wooden carvings as well as several putrid jars of slimy ointments, among others. It doesn’t take long before a young lady in her twenties walks in with a list. Oblivious of who we were, she drops her list on the table and exchanges pleasantries with our source and it is obvious she frequents this place. Now, boldly written as the header on the piece of paper on
the table is “ASSIGNMENT THINGS”. Listed as needed for the ‘Assignment’ are, six red candles, six packets of incense, six bottles of anointing oil, one breakable plate, a six-inch red cloth and other items that we can’t see. We are soon blown out of the way when we ask a seemingly harmless question. “What are the things for?”, we ask. The young lady looks our way and without thinking twice responds, “na for una burial”. You need no prophet to tell you that it was a wrong move on our side.

Our source reminds us that we have not eaten our kolanuts and like zombies we grab generous bites, munch at it and just hope it will not be a ‘meal’ to regret.

Several ‘customers’ come and go, making purchases that can daze even the strongest of men. At some point, throughout the time we sat there, it looked like male and female ‘customers’ were trying to outdo each other making purchases. As our source notices that our time is almost up, she goes behind her table and insist on handing us a white smooth stone. “If una carry this stone for pocket, anybody wey try una na rock e go jam”. It is such a well packaged attempt to introduce us to ‘African science’, something we politely turn down. “Ok-o, na so una wey don go school no dey ever believe us”, she continues, but we assure her it is nothing to do with education but a resolve to refrain from this art form.

Gratefully, we leave “EFAK SATAN”.

Share this post:

Share on X (Twitter) Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Email Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram
News

Post navigation

Previous Post: “LG Elections Will Hold”… Otu
Next Post: “CR Will Be Biggest Oil Palm Producer Soon” -Wilmar Group

Related Posts

  • Listen To The Audio That Sacked APC Candidates In CRS Cross River News
  • ALERT: N198 Million Scam Hangs Over CR AG’s Office Cross River News
  • Policeman Detains Calabar Female Pastor, Demand 15 Litres Of Petrol Bribe! Cross River News
  • Wife, Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law, Doctor & Catholic Priest Bag Jail Terms Over Lawyer’s Murder In Akwa Ibom News
  • Cross Riverian Offers Ayade Advice On 10 Ways To Make Cally Air Work Cross River News
  • “General Iron” Begs For Forgiveness, C’Riverians Insist He Must Face The Law News

Comment (1) on “Welcome To ‘EFAK SATAN’… Calabar’s ‘Satan Street’”

  1. Jenny Ubi says:
    September 22, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    Please oh, never go there again, I have always heard about this part of Watt Market, funny, eerie place as you describe.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Comments

  • Kelvin hart on UNICAL: Shock As 300 Dental Students Discover Dept Had No Accreditation 
  • Anonymous on UNICAL: Shock As 300 Dental Students Discover Dept Had No Accreditation 
  • Etim Maxwell on 45 Prison Inmates Regain Freedom As C’River Gov Grants Them Pardon  
  • Ekubi Bassey on Wife, Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law, Doctor & Catholic Priest Bag Jail Terms Over Lawyer’s Murder In Akwa Ibom

ADVERT: Click to Watch!

https://calitown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/VID-20170928-WA0003.mp4
  • CRS: The Rise And Rise Of Insecurity Features
  • C’River Legislator Sponsors Bill For Retirees, Says Bill Will Guarantee Prompt Pensions & Gratuity Payments  News
  • Police In Calabar Nab Kidnapper Disguised As Driver Cross River News
  • “God Deserves Credit For Gov. Ayade’s First Term, He Will See Him Through His Second Term” – Chief of Staff Breaking News
  • BREAKING: Bomb Scare At CR PDP Secretariat Cross River News
  • EFCC Quiz Unical V-C, Bursar Cross River News
  • Ayade Inaugurates Ndoma-Egba Led Committee To Tackle Boundary Disputes In Four CR Communities Cross River News
  • Merry Christmas and Happy New Year News

CALITOWN
...News, Here, Everytime

Quick Menu

  • Home
  • News
    • Cross River News
  • Features
  • Community
  • Inspirational

Copyright © 2021 calitown
172 Greenwood Avenue , Hull. East Yorkshire. HU6 9NY

Powered by PressBook News WordPress theme