Founder, Military Barracks Mammy Market, Mammy Ochefu Dies At 86
By Tom Okpe
The founder, Mammy Market in Military barracks across the country, Mrs Maria Mammy Ochefu, is dead.
Mrs Ochefu, according to her son, Prof Yakubu Ochefu, passed on in her sleep in Makurdi, the Benue State Capital on Tuesday after been hospitalized for an ailment for few days.
Aged 86, she was married to a young soldier, Anthony Aboki Ochefu, who later became a Colonel in the Nigeria Army, and Governor, East Central State between 1975 and 1976.
In one of her interviews, few years ago, Mrs Ochefu narrated how she started Mammy Market, which later became a household name in all Military Barracks’ across the country.
During the interview, she mentioned two past Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon, Rtd, and former President, Maj Gen Muhammadu Buhari, Rtd, as her customers.
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The Professor of History, confirming the mother’s death on Thursday in Makurdi to newsmen said: “Yes, Mama passed on, Tuesday in Makurdi in her sleep.
“She had been a patient at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, and she would have been 87 in April this year.”
The Idoma woman, from Ugboju, presently in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, founded the Iconic ‘Mammy Market’s in Nigeria Military Barracks.
In every Nigerian Military Barrack today, there’s a hub where soldiers and residents go to eat, drink and shop for their daily essentials.
This place, known as the ‘Mammy Market,’ is named in honour of this woman, Mammy Maria Ochefu.
While they were stationed at the Military barracks in Enugu, Mammy sought to keep herself busy and earn an income by selling soft drinks and a traditional beverage called ‘Kunu, Enyi’ in Hausa and Idoma, respectively, which she made. Her drinks quickly became popular among soldiers, who frequently visited her home to enjoy them.
However, her business faced a setback when complaints about flies gathering around the drinks led to her being asked to stop production.
But the demand for Mammy’s beverages didn’t disappear. Encouraged by her loyal customers, a certain Colonel of the Hausa extraction, took the initiative to allocate a special section behind the barracks where Mammy could continue her business in a more suitable environment.
A tent was set up, and with that, Mammy Ochefu’s enterprise blossomed once again.
Inspired by her entrepreneurial spirit, other women in the barracks also began selling their goods in the section, originally built for Mammy.
This small market grew and became a central part of life in the barracks, officially earning the name ‘Mammy Market.’
As Colonel Ochefu was transferred to different States, Mammy took her market idea with her, setting up similar markets in every Barrack where they lived.
Before leaving for a new location, she would entrust the market to other women, ensuring that the name ‘Mammy Market’ was preserved.
Eventually, these markets became a permanent feature in Military Barracks’ across Nigeria.
Mammy Ochefu’s legacy lives on in the markets that serves the Nigerian Military community to this day.
After her husband’s retirement, the family returned to its hometown in Otukpo, Benue State, where they resided until the demise of Col Ochefu, many years ago.
Mammy Ochefu’s story is an example of ingenuity and resilience, leaving behind a legacy that continues to thrive in Nigerian Military life.
She has finally gone home to reunite with her husband, who brought her to limelight, after marrying, in her teens’, and taking her out of the village of Ugboju, decades ago. Adieu Mama.
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