A market place where food and other edibles are sold is expected to be clean and hygienic, but what exists in Lagos and environs often the opposite. Gboyega Alaka and Omolara Akintore report.
In Ikotun, the story is the same, if not worse. Just a few weeks before penning this feature, the market centre point was an eye-sore, with heaps of refuse threatening to submerge the market women. Of course, the stench perforated the whole market atmosphere, causing a visitor – at least one who is not used to the environment – to wonder if this was indeed a market where foods and other consumables are sold, or a sewage cistern area.
A couple of refuse evacuation vehicles were packed, rather aimlessly, with filth and grime spilling. Yellowish liquid, residue of decaying refuse meandered on the floor, making indiscriminate branching. Perhaps one of the worst sights for this reporter was an occasion when one of the roasted fish sellers spilled her wares and immediately bent and picked them, not minding the fact that a couple actually fell into the stinking liquid. A woman, not too far from this reporter grimaced in irritation, but virtually every other who witnessed the spectacle simply went about their respective business. Possibly, they’ve become so used to such sights that they needed not waste their emotions.
One of the traders said she could not tell if the refuse vehicles were functional or if they were going to be moved anytime soon, as they had been stationary there for days.
However, on a second visit, early December, the situation at the market centre earlier described, had significantly improved, though not satisfactorily. The mountain of refuse had been levelled, though the refuse vehicles remained, with the dregs and the stench. Green bottle flies also buzzed freely, compounding the rather dangerous situation. One of the traders volunteered that the market leaders asked them to contribute N6,000 each to clear the refuse.
Asked how comfortable they were sitting and trading in the sordid atmosphere, one of the traders, a fruit seller, simply shrugged and said, “Nothing. As you can see, they have cleared the refuse. If you had been here a few weeks back, you would have understood what I’m trying to say.”
When reminded that the stench and the buzzing flies could be as dangerous as the heaps of refuse that had disappeared, she simply shrugged and said, “I don’t think so. We even eat here and nothing happens to us. As you can see, we are here morning till night every day, sometimes on Sundays, and nothing happens to us.”
Another trader, a plastic seller, who was eating at the time of this visit, simply waved this reporter away, saying, “Oga please go, dirty no dey kill black people.”
One of the fresh fish sellers overlooking the refuse centre also said she didn’t see any danger in the exposure of her fish to the filth, since buyers would cook them anyway.
This is however contrary to the position of Dr. Chidinma Okafor, a Public Health Physician with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), who declared that “most diarrhoea diseases are gotten through this means. Lassa fever is a disease acquired from unhygienic conditions. Some of these food, apart from exposing them in the daytime, even when the sellers are going home, they still keep them exposed, and we know that Lassa fever is gotten from the excreta of rats. If it is a rat that has the virus, it automatically transfers it to human beings.”
Danger in the market place
Food safety has therefore remained a major concern, especially amongst health workers. The location of some restaurants and food processing endeavours has been known to contribute greatly to food poisoning. Madam Okafor Justina had gone for shopping in an open market on her free day. She planned to stock the home with food items – both raw and fresh. However, after having done with the shopping, she realised that she was famished and needed to eat. Some Good Samaritan directed her to a ‘bukataria’ inside the market. On getting there, Okafor discovered that a dumpsite was not far from the food vendor, but many people patronising her seemed less concerned. To them, satisfying their hunger seemed to be more important than whatever health implications the dumpsites may be posing.
Aside being essential for living, food provides nutrients for the body. Nutrients are substances that provide energy for activity, growth, and all functions of the body such as breathing, digestion and keeping warm. They also provide materials for the growth and repair of the body, and for keeping the immune system healthy.
On the other hand, fruits according to nutritionists are essential for preservation of the human body, and in assurance of good health as they offer vital nutrients needed for the body to function appropriately.
Lagos, no doubt is experiencing explosion in trade in food, particularly fruits and vegetables. Sadly, most of the avenues for dispensing these food items – particularly the open markets – are either situated in very dirty environments, in a sea of refuse, or on reclaimed wasteland.
A visit to markets such as Idi-Oro fruit market, Ketu/Mile 12 and Ile-Epo markets, among others reveals that they all share the same characteristics – environment of filth.
Some are so dirty that buyers go there with special protective gears, including, rain boots and nose cover. The detestable stench oozing from these markets as a result of decomposed food and fruits under high temperature is so upsetting that it takes a bold mind to shop in them.
This perhaps dictated the recent shut down of Oyingbo market in Lagos. The Managing Director of Lagos Waste Management Agency, LAWMA, had sited indiscriminate dumping of refuse and refusal to patronise the Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators
Heaps of refuse – fresh and decaying, are common and unending sights in Lagos markets. This complicates matters for traders and patrons as well as residents in the environs, as they are not safe from the stench and resultant air, pests and insect-borne diseases and possible epidemic.
Sikirat Abdul, who resides not too far from Ile-Epo Market on the outskirts of Lagos, lamented the improper handling of fruits and other food items in the market, which she said exposes consumers to avoidable diseases.
According to Biola Ashiyanbi, a biochemist, refuse sites harbor disease-causing bacteria, which can be dangerous to both buyers and sellers. “For instance when flies from such filthy sites perch on fruits, food and water, they can develop diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid fever, which can kill many people within few hours.”
One major barrier to food safety in most Nigerian markets is lack of proper waste disposal and toilet facilities. Most of the markets are marked by unsanitary conditions, such as poor drainage systems, overcrowding and poor waste disposal which leads to poor hygiene (personal and environmental). Of great concern also are the food ingredients and the source. Raw materials and ingredients are usually purchased from the open markets, where items are displayed openly on tables, on bare ground, sometimes muddy places and around filthy gutters. Also, buyers are mostly in the habit of touching the food stuffs with unwashed fingers either to feel the texture or to ascertain the fineness of the powder in case of grounded stuff.
This is in addition to hordes of flies that buzz all over and perch on the food items such as meat, fish, fruits and grounded food stuff such as garri, yam flour and co, posing potential danger of contamination.
Nigerian markets not the best for hygiene – Public health physician
According to Dr. Chidinma Okafor a Public Health Physician with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), generally speaking, Nigerian open markets cannot be referred to as best considering the unhygienic exposure of foods and fresh fruits.
“But in a place where we have proper regulatory services, where the markets obey the right standard, there is nothing wrong with open markets especially if those foods are not exposed to the hazards of the environment. There are so many health hazards to all these foods, starting from the diseases acquired from it. Not only are you exposing the food to dust alone but also to flies, which transfer diseases from one place to the other. A buyer gets to the market, buys the food without washing his hands, puts it in his mouth, and most diarrhoea diseases are gotten through this means. Lassa fever is a disease acquired from unhygienic condition, some of these foods apart from exposing them in daytime, even when the sellers are going home they still expose them where they keep them and we know that Lassa fever is gotten from the excreta of rats. If it’s a rat that has the virus, it automatically transfers the virus to human beings.” Okafor explained.
“Also, having dumpsites around open markets is dangerous. We are not expected to have dumpsite close to where foods that are uncovered are sold because the ease of transmission of diseases is much enhanced in those unsanitary conditions. Another is contaminants from dust and pollutants in the air, dirty water around that splash into the foods such as Garri, Crayfish, as well as cooked foods. There is also the spectacle of people coming to touch this exposed food with their soiled hands. Where the foods are covered, it reduces contacts; most of the meats, fish sold in open markets are also contaminated because you see millions of flies milling around them. All these pose infection to those that consume them. The danger is worst with cooked food, because the food is already made, and the buyer comes, buys the food and consumes directly into the stomach. So if the vector like housefly has transmitted any dangerous organism into the food, it goes right into the stomach and this can cause food poisoning which can lead to death.”
Asked how this situation can be averted, Okafor said, “Fruits can be protected by being put in serviceable cartons, and other foods kept in transparent cellophanes whereby people can see what is inside the nylons. This reduces the dangers of touching and the dangers of contamination from vectors around the place, as well as other pollutants in the air.”
She therefore advises that “individuals should be wary of where they get what they consume. People are advised now to go into subsistence farming, whereby they plant what they eat. But when we have the proper regulatory authorities they should be able to checkmate all these loopholes. Those who sell foods in the market should also undergo Food Handlers Test. These foods should also be tested before they are pushed into the market.”
“Finally,” she said, “public education is key. Giving people rights to life saving information will help, because this will increase their literacy level, promote their health and help them to live in a healthy way.”
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