The University of Calabar (UNICAL) has ordered traders to stop trading in classrooms and hostels and move into the newly completed shopping plaza. Some have moved; others won’t, alleging high rents and slow trading at the plaza. EMMANUEL SHEBBS (Graduate School) and IKECHUKWU OFILI (300-Level Public Administration) report.
It was conceived as a solution to indiscriminate trading and hawking at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), but it is generating ripples.
The need to tackle the menace made the former Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Bassey Asuquo, to think of building a shopping plaza.
But, he could not complete the project before his tenure ended. His successor, Prof James Epoke, continued with the project.
Last month, the plaza, located close to the Halls of Residence, was opened but many traders refused to move in, alleging high rents.
Some of the traders, who initially occupied Malabo Complex, had wooden kiosks and shanties. Others used corroded zinc sheets, tainting the campus’ beauty. Those, who could not erect makeshift shops, stayed in hostels’ corridors and walkways.
Before the plaza’s completion, Malabo area was a beehive. An old student, Gabriel Akam, said: “Malabo area was a noisy place. One could hardly read in the hostel because of market activities and the traders’ noisy generators.”
Because of the belief that business booms there, some traders in off-campus location moved to the hostels. One of them, who simply identified himself as Chike, said: “Malabo is a good place to make sales. Students patronised us very well, especially during Christmas. There is no holiday here. I made quick turnover and big profits.”
On assuming duties, Epoke evacuated the traders from Malabo and the use of generators was controlled. The traders were not happy; they were forced to relocate to the plaza, which was then under construction.
They were allocated uncompleted shops but some of them rejected the allocation, citing low patronage. They preferred to hawk around the hostel corridors. Students also complained that the plaza is far from their hostels.
Despite the complaints, the management stuck to its guns.
It appears the traders have complied with the directive. When CAMPUSLIFE visited the plaza, activities were in full swing, with students doing their shopping.
A trader, who did not mention her name, said trading is booming contrary to the belief that students’ patronage would be low at the plaza. She said: “The new environment has been favourable for business.”
Ms Archibong, who owns a grocery store, told our reporters: “Commercial activities have taken off competitively. The patronage has improved. Students have started coming in and this place is more comfortable than the former place.”
But, some complained that people come into the plaza to pilfer their wares when it is dark. Effiong does photocopy. He said his properties usually get missing.
“The other day, I lost my generator. I left it in the corridor, but when I came back the next day, someone had cut the chain and taken it away”.
A barber said: “The plaza is safe. The structure is constructed in a way that makes burglary impossible. Nobody can break into the wall and the metal doors.”
Yet, some traders are found around the hostel. Our reporters saw some of them selling pawpaw, oranges, pineapples and cucumber, among others. Some underage bread and groundnuts hawkers were also seen around the hostel. They came from outside.
One of them, who brought fruits, said the plaza is not fit for her kind of goods. “What I sell here are perishable food and fruits. They cannot be preserved. For instance, if these peeled oranges and pineapples are not sold today, I would be at a loss. I cannot go inside the plaza to display them. That place will not help me because students cannot see what you have until they locate you there. I pay for this place (the hostel corridor). I don’t stay here free of charge.”
Prices of goods at the plaza are now expensive, John Okon, a final year Education student, said. “Initially, a plate of food is sold for N150. Previously, you could negotiate with the seller and go for ‘no-meat’, which went for N100. The food vendors in kiosks sold cheaper food before moving to the plaza,” John said.
The high cost of goods and services in the plaza, Mr. Praise Mfonobong, a trader, said, may not be unconnected with the high rent. “We pay higher rent in the plaza than when we were in kiosks. The management told to pay N60,000 per annum,” he offered.
Another trader, Mrs Lucy Eka, blamed the high prices on inflation. “Things are very expensive these days in the market. You cannot expect me to sell lower than my cost price. The problem is from the government and not our fault. I have my children in the university here. I will have to take care of them. Fuel and transport are costly. So I have to make profit to augment my investment,” she said.
A student in the Faculty of Management Science, Ben Ikashi, urged management to check high prices in the plaza. “The management should not allow the traders to exploit students,” he said.
But a trader, who simply gave his name as Mr. Samuel, said: “It is not the duty of the management to decide how we sell our goods. The school has collected its rent at its fixed rate; we must be allowed to sell at whatever price we wish. The students are buying and they are happy.”
The Director of Welfare of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), John Alawa, assured students the union would issue a pricing document before the expiration of its tenure. “We will work with the campus Task Force to ensure prices of goods are controlled,” he said.
