TGIF! Why men patronise beer parlour after work

Pubs, popularly called beer parlour, is a thriving business in Nigeria which attracts patronage from a huge number of clients on a daily basis. A trip to some beer parlours in Lagos by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday revealed that men are the major customers when compared with women. Research has also shown that most men who do white collar jobs dominate 50 per cent of the beer parlours. However, some of their opinions are far away from the thinking of what most men go there to do. Most women think probably it is where their husbands take girlfriends to for relaxation and fun. Some others who usually visit joints after work told NAN that the purpose of doing so was to relax and get relieved of tension. Mr Saulam Ola, who usually visits a beer parlour in Ikorodu area of Lagos, said that he visits there to cool off from work stress before going home to face another family stress. “I prefer to stop over at beer parlour so that my wife and children would have slept before I get home. “Whenever I get home on time my family issues will be give me stress. So, I prefer to stay out late in beer parlour,’’ he said. Another business man, Mr Thomas Ojo, told NAN that he visits beer parlour to probably mingle with the right people to discuss the happenings both at home and abroad. “I usually go there to mix up with people of different calibre and status in order to know the happenings around me. “We discuss politics to catch up with the happenings in the country, so that we get the update of issues.” “If I decide to go home straight, there may be no light or probably my generator might be faulty and I won’t be able to listen to news,” Ojo said. Also, Mr John Taofeek, said that drinking beer makes him forget his problems because it provides him happiness. “I will rather go to beer parlour to drink before going home so that I can forget my problems; beer gives me happiness, especially the ones with alcohol. “Ordinarily, if I go home straight I will be thinking of bad things,” Taofeek said. According to Emma Noel, a businessman, going to beer parlour is because of his love for beer and nothing else. “I don’t have issues at home, but the truth is that I must branch at a beer parlour to drink and have fun,’’ Noel said. Mr Aliu Jimoh, an artisan, said he prefers to stop over at beer parlour before going home because he does not have a peaceful home. “I stop at beer parlours to avoid troubles at home. My wife is the nagging type who picks up quarrel with me at any given time. “I do not always want to go home early so that there won’t be issues; I always drink beer to stupor in order not to listen to her nagging,’’ he said. Mr Moses Matthew said he stops at beer parlours to drink before going home to avoid paying more bills at home. “When I get home early my children will bring unnecessary bills on my table, even my wife will be telling me of the “aso-ebi” she wants to buy. “I go to beer parlour to drink in order to get home late and by the time they wake in the morning I would have gone out.