bokku! Supermart: A child of partnership gone wrong
There is a recent trend on social media in Lagos where netizens are debating over the best bread makers between Jendol and bokku!.
Both brands are now among the top supermarkets, with outlets in almost every part of the state.
While many may know that an accountant named Dr. Mark Akhabue started Jendol Superstores, the ownership of Bokku remains a mystery to most Nigerians.
Dr. Akhabue, a native of Iruekpen Ekpoma, a clan of the popular Ishan Tribe in Esan West Local Government of Edo State, South-South region of Nigeria, is married to Oluwakemi Akhabue, who is also the Executive Director of the company.
He started his career in 2000 with Rail Ad Limited as a finance manager, then moved to Virgin Nigeria Airlines Limited, and then to Advantium Oil & Gas Nigeria Limited. He left Hygeia Nigeria Limited (Lagoon Hospital) in 2016 after spending four years as Financial Controller to form Jendol.
But for bokku!, the story is not so straightforward.
There is talk about how the brand emerged from a partnership gone wrong before gradually becoming a household name.
Once upon a time, two friends went into partnership to start up a superstore, let’s call it Business E, with a special kind of bread that became very popular in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
One of the partners, let’s call him A, had the funds, while the other, let’s call him B, had the popularity. They came together to do business.
Partner A provided the funds, while Partner B managed the day-to-day activities of the business.
However, several years later, problems arose over accountability. Partner A decided to allegedly abandon the business and start a new one with his wife.
With the ambition to ensure the new company surpassed Business E, the couple started bokku! Superstores.
So you can imagine someone with such a fresh ambition will surely produce a bread fresher and better than any other bakery in Nigeria, Jendol inclusive.
bokku! is a grocery chain, owned by Atreos Limited, started in Nigeria on 30th of September 2022. It is designed after a similar model of hard discount chain in Germany.
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Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
