The trailer business surprisingly is a very profitable business to start. I never knew this was possible here in Nigeria considering bad roads, lack of spare parts for these trailers, and so on until I stumbled upon the Potiskum trailer business in Yobe state, Nigeria. A brief introduction to this historical town will be needed before I dive proper into the Potiskum trailer park.

History Of Potiskum Town

Potiskum is the largest city in Yobe State. It is a local government and the main residents in this area are the Ngizim, Kare-Kare, and the Bolewa people.

Potiskum, long before the amalgamation of this town to the Northern protectorate, has been known as a commercial town. Potiskum has been a thriving trade hegemony in Yobe state because of its generalship position as a centre of commerce, learning, and spiritual and cultural revival.

Neighbouring states like Borno, Bauchi, Jigawa, and Kano and numerous citizens from Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Central Republic of Africa all have stakes in the ‘biggest cattle market in sub-Saharan Africa’ which is located in Potiskum.

At present, the Potiskum town is well known for the trailer business that has brought in a lot of investors and businesses to that town, thereby making it a landmark for trailer businesses.

The Potiskum Trailer Business

The Potiskum trailer business started as an agricultural delivery business. The pioneers of this business were initially, buying the trucks purposely to transport their agricultural products within Nigeria and across to neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. They later saw the need to tap into the opportunity of haulage business.

A resident of  Potiskum made it known that there are over 700 trailers in the town because there are individuals with fleets of 50, 30, 40, and 20 and those with the least have 5. More than two-thirds of the town’s population rely on the haulage business as means of livelihood. 

The resident also went on to say that a chairman, who owns 15 trailers, said they were first to implement 30 thousand nairas, and recently approved minimum wage on their drivers with arrears. The chairman made it known, that on every trailer, they employed a driver, a spare driver, and 2 assistants. The drivers also collect 30 thousand naira allowance per trip and 40 thousand nairas accident-free bonus every year.

How Much is A Trailer Sold?

This sort of business entails a lot of start-up capital. To start a trailer business in Potiskum you would need a minimum of 20 million naira. This is because to buy a whole trailer costs around 18-20 million naira.  The head of a trailer is priced at around 5-10 million naira depending on your trailer dealer and the body costs at least 6 million naira.

What some trailer owners do is they buy the head of a trailer and rent the body of a trailer for about 6 months paying a minimum of 250 thousand naira monthly. Some may think this is cheaper, but then it all depends on if you have the start-up capital of 20 million naira to start the business. You should also know that the price of a trailer depends on your trailer dealer and also what works for you.

The thing with this information is that a lot of people purchase these trailers at this price and the trailer turns out to be very faulty. This just makes these people sell their trailers at an even cheaper price.

How Profitable is the Trailer Business?

This business is among the most lucrative businesses in Nigeria, and it is very profitable, either as a trailer owner or as a trailer driver. It is a good business I would advise anyone and myself included to start.

The competition in this business is surprisingly very high. Young men and women own a trailer in Potiskum! And this trailer business is excelling. I’m sure you may be wondering how they got this amount of money, well this is how they do it.

Some of these present trailer owners started as trailer drivers. If they were to deliver goods let’s say, from Potiskum to Lagos, they would be paid a sum of 1 million Naira. 600 thousand n=Naira for fuel, 100 thousand Naira for maintenance or anything else along the journey, while the last sum of 300 thousand Naira is theirs to keep.

Most of these trailer owners would have known their drivers well enough to send them on long journeys like this. Sometimes if the job is done well, these drivers get tipped with extra money. They can also go for longer distances like from Lagos to Kano. in that case, they would have to buy fuel of at least 700-800 thousand Naira. The drivers go home with a minimum of 100 thousand Nairas.

Some of these trailer drivers work for 7 months, some less, while others more, depending on your luck. Then they get their money and also start their own trailer business in Potiskum.

The Potiskum Trailer Park

The construction of the Potiskum trailer park, which started in 2019 is still ongoing. According to the incumbent governor of Yobe State, the park is meant to bring trucking business in the state under one roof and provide the opportunity for expansion and more wealth creation. Upon completion, the project will create 5000 direct jobs.

The truck transit park will also help decongest and clean up Potiskum and provide a modern business environment in which the town’s bourgeoning parking sector will thrive and expand.

With the construction of the Potiskum trailer park, not only will there be truck drivers, and owners, there will be other professions like spare drivers, and their boys, mechanics, spare part sellers, penal beaters, and other apprentices.

One of the reasons why the Potiskum trailer business is excelling is because it started a long time ago with very zealous and hardworking men.

As I’ve said earlier, the pioneers of this business primarily started the Potiskum trailer business as an agricultural delivery business, where they buy trucks and send their agricultural products to neighbouring customers.

Pioneers of The Trailer Business in Potiskum

• Late Alhaji Barau Potiskum.
• Alhaji Hamza Dan Agalam.
• Late Alhaji Babayo Dan Soja.
• Alhaji Yusuf Maidabino.
• Alhaji Hassan Bogocho.

These men were the main dealers of the Potiskum trailer business and till today they are the talk of the town. These men were one of the people who made Potiskum town a landmark. You cant go to Potiskum and talk trailer business and at least one of these names won’t pop up during a conversation.

Conclusion

The Potiskum trailer business has trained and exposed a lot of people to other businesses. It has also created the opportunity for the craftsmen to venture into the construction of wheelchairs for the physically challenged and iron doors, among others.

The Potiskum trailer business is a very good business to engage in at any time of your life. It’s a business that you should start with large start-up capital. Most of the people who indulge in this business, don’t take it as a side hustle. Instead, the owners of these trailers give full time to this business.

This business is a profitable business for anyone looking to get into the Potiskum trailer business.

FAQs About Potiskum Trailer Business

Is the Potiskum trailer business only for men?

The business isn’t gender-based. The only thing is that there are more men than women in this business, but it doesn’t mean a woman cant start this business.

Is the Potiskum trailer business secure?

The Potiskum trailer business can be secure, only if you take the main repercussions. Like, To make sure your trailer is licensed, your drivers all have a drivers’ license and NIN and also a tracking device on each of your trucks.

Is the Potiskum trailer business profitable?

This business surprisingly is very profitable. A trailer owner generates at least 5 million naira yearly.