Abdullahi pushes his metal cart down the street, its load bearing rusted components of a microwave oven and a condemned Philips pressing iron. He strikes the cart's metallic surface repeatedly with a rod — a habitual gesture, though he no longer needs to advertise his presence. He and fellow scrap metal scavengers have become fixtures of everyday urban life. Still, he belts out the familiar refrain: "iron condemn, aluminium condemn."

His friends call him "Camry" because he has vowed to one day earn enough to buy the Toyota model himself.

"With which work?" this reporter asked.

"Walai, money dey for this market oga," he replied succinctly.

The scrap metal industry has produced billionaires, lifted ordinary people out of poverty, sustained thousands of families, and built businesses that the next generation is eager to inherit. In a country where the informal sector accounts for a substantial share of employment, the trade represents one of the few pathways to upward mobility available to people with limited formal education.

A Family Business at Owode Onirin

Edozie, a 21-year-old, helps his father run their scrap iron business at Owode Onirin Metal Market, along Mile 12 in Lagos. He has been involved since secondary school and, upon completing his education, chose to focus on the venture full-time.

"I like doing it. I have no mind of changing business or schooling for now because if you are doing this business and you know what you are doing, there is money in it. In a good week, I make in excess of 1 million naira after expenses. In a bad week, about 900,000. So in a good month, give or take, I can be making 4 million or more," Edozie said.

The Industry's Hierarchy

Despite Abdullahi's optimism, street-level scavengers occupy the lowest rung of the value chain. They move from street to street with pushcarts, collecting used metals and paying small fees for them. At the end of each day, they earn between N5,000 and N12,000.

Above them are junkyard owners, who fall into two categories:

• Street-based operators who purchase from scavengers, electricians, and other repairers
• Operators in and around large electronics and auto markets — such as Alaba International and Ladipo — who buy from traders

At the apex sit the scrap metal merchants: dealers operating in markets like Owode. They purchase from all the dealers below them and also pay for exclusive rights to scavenge demolished buildings and structures for metals and other recoverable materials.

Some junkyard owners accept upfront payments, secure metals, and supply them to merchants. Merchants also buy from large corporations and factories when they dispose of aging hardware and equipment.

"Some companies do clearance of their equipment every year and sell it as scrap. They sometimes ask for as much as 50, 200 or even 500 million. Only the big 'ogas' (merchants) can afford that. We even collect money from them to buy so that we all make a gain," said Inuwa Ibrahim, a scrap metal dealer at Alaba Arago.

Companies That Control the Market

Two types of companies dominate the industry. The first recycles scrap metals — primarily iron — to manufacture building materials such as steel bars, rebars, iron nails, coil screw iron wires, and structural components. Examples include Hongxing Steel Company (Amuwo-Odofin), a subsidiary of Inner Galaxy Group; Landcraft (Ikorodu); and Monarch Steel in Ogijo. These firms supply Nigeria's construction sector, where demand for locally produced steel has grown alongside urbanisation and infrastructure development.

The second type purchases other metals such as copper, brass, and aluminium for export. Steel MAX SMS is one prominent example and ranks among the largest such operations in the country.

Scrap metal encompasses various types, all consistently in demand. Steel and iron are the most common and among the least expensive. Merchants currently buy iron for between N700 and N800 per kilogram. Aluminium costs N2,000 per kilogram, and brass about N8,000 per kilogram.

Copper ranks among the more valuable metals. A kilogram currently sells for between N14,500 and N15,500, depending on quality. Armoured cable — the highest grade — commands N15,500 per kilogram. "Neat" copper fetches N15,000, while mixed copper, the lowest quality, sells at N14,000 per kilogram. Copper's high value is driven by its critical role in electrical wiring, electronics manufacturing, and renewable energy infrastructure worldwide.

While merchants negotiate with scavengers and junkyard owners, they do not ultimately determine selling prices. The recycling and export companies effectively control the market; without their factories, the entire scrap metal ecosystem would collapse.

How Companies Set Prices

Chuks, a merchant at the Owode-Onirin scrap market, explained that each company sets its own buying price.

"There is a group chat which is updated every day before 7 am with prices of each company. So it is up to us, the sellers, to decide which one is better. There are also other factors to consider. Some companies will give you a good price, but their checking system is so strict that they won't buy some of your wares. But some other company's price may not be as good as the first, but you know they will buy more of your goods because they are lenient with their checks," he said.

He noted that companies do not pay upfront; settlement occurs only after delivery.

"I buy in bulk, and I buy cheaper, like 14,000. Then, I target when the price is high on the company side. Then, I sell everything. There are a lot of people who buy and sell as they get. Maybe that is what works for them," Chuks added.

Processing and Manufacturing

After verifying scrap metals, companies carry out a process known as "sweeping," sorting materials into ferrous (iron and steel) and non-ferrous (copper and aluminium) categories. The metals are then fed through a mill — a large electric machine that melts them into liquid at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius. The molten iron is purified and poured into moulds, where it cools into solid forms called billets. These billets are reheated, compressed with heavy machinery, and finally stretched into finished products such as iron bars, nails, and metal pipes.

For export processing, Wallid Kasim, Assistant Manager of Steel MAX SMS, described a similar but distinct procedure. After sweeping, metals are separated into copper (the company's staple), brass, aluminium, and foil. Rejected metals and sand are removed. Copper and brass are then fed into a compressing machine that moulds them into export-ready shapes.

Foil quality depends on the presence of water, oil, sand, and dirt. If free of these contaminants, the foil is deemed high quality and compressed into box shapes for export. Aluminium processing is comparatively straightforward: the metal is processed in an automated furnace burning at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, and the resulting liquid is left to solidify for export.

Demand Outstripping Local Supply

Demand is so substantial that the domestic scrap metal market cannot fully satisfy it. Some companies resort to imports to sustain operations — a demand level that has kept the industry thriving and enriched many participants. The gap between local supply and industrial demand reflects Nigeria's broader manufacturing landscape, where domestic raw material production has historically lagged behind consumption needs.

"We buy large quantities of copper and cable, sometimes 40 to 50 tonnes at once. Sometimes three truckloads. 150 tonnes of copper and UPC cans, aluminium and foil, in one day. In a month, we buy up to 500 tonnes. The largest trailer costs about N400 million. Total copper in my factory alone is about three million dollars. We have almost 10 items. And we export everything to China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and others," Wallid said.

Evaristus, who has operated in the market for over 20 years, corroborated this assessment: "It is profitable. That is why I have remained in it. It is buying and selling, and as long as there is a willing buyer, there will be business."

Regulatory Environment and Challenges

Merchants confirmed that apart from periodic visits by government officials, there is minimal government interference in the industry. However, they expressed frustration over constant harassment by police and other law enforcement agencies, who frequently confiscate cargo and extort drivers before releasing them.

"They always stop my trucks. Last week, my truck was in police custody for about 4 days. They said we should go and bring receipts for the scrap. We eventually have to pay," Chuks reported.

Rising Competition

As the scrap metal market expands, internal competition has intensified. In an economically volatile country, many new entrants vie for the same limited supply of scrap, driving prices steadily upward.

"Many people are now in the business. Now, when you deposit money to buy from suppliers, someone goes back to offer them a higher price. Then, when you go to get them, they will tell you they have already sold them. This has happened to me a few times, and it is quite bad," Evaristus said.

New Opportunities in Rare Metals

Younger entrepreneurs are also uncovering new opportunities. Chuks, for instance, has turned his attention to silver — a rarer metal that few among his peers can identify in scrap piles, with most mistaking it for brass. It took him five years to reliably distinguish genuine silver.

"We used to find them among brass and copper, and we sell them together, not knowing it is silver and costlier. I'm not even sure the companies we sell them to know what they are. They probably throw them away. But one gram of it is about 1500 naira. For one kilo, we are talking about 1.5 million," he said.

According to Blueprint, scrap waste in Nigeria is currently valued at approximately N200 billion. The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment oversees industrial policy relevant to the sector.