Muktar Abdulhamid’s family are sitting together to talk about the man who left it all to make his fortune in the city.

“We don’t have money to eat, so we had to send the boy to go look for money,” says his sister Ramatu Abdulkarim.

“He is getting a little bit every day, just enough to survive, thank God. Sometimes he sends us 40, 50, or 60,000 Naira,” Muktar’s sister says.

That’s between $110 and $165 (£85-£125), equivalent to two months’ worth of the annual income the family makes from farming maize, rice, soya or chillies.

“We use the money for the farm and for buying food and clothing for the children – he also sent money for [his wife] Ramatu.

“She’s not comfortable that he’s not close to her. And he’s not happy that he’s far from her.”

Ramatu Muktar, 22, nods in agreement as one-year-old Abdulhamid plays on the floor – the whole family are praying Muktar will do well and take them both to Lagos to be with him.

She’s shy and says little, but Muktar’s good friend and cousin Saidu Yahaya says it’s all about having money – to improve life and plan for the unexpected.

“They are making money there, but you know how things are, it’s meagre money. You have to manage the little you have for survival,” says Saidu.

About 150 young men from Yanoko are also trying to get work in Lagos – and the road to town is only going to get busier.