Though the state government has been trying to stop hawking of wares in traffic for very obvious reasons, buying and selling in Lagos traffic have come to stay. To some people, it is a delightful experience; to others, it is repulsive. They see the practice as a sort of social menace, TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.
Though traffic snarls abound in many other urban centres across the country, that of Lagos appears intractable. In spite of concerted efforts by the Federal and state governments to address the daily agonies of both motorists and commuters, there appears to be no respite in sight.
This is understandable. Lagos is a city most sought after for the listless opportunities that abound in it for skilled and unskilled, literate and illiterate labourers. It is estimated that about 20 million people from different walks of life live and work in Lagos.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other global bodies have decried rising youth unemployment rate in the country. This unemployment crisis and the punitive cost of renting a shop in the city may have forced many youths to take advantage of the daily traffic gridlock across the city to eke a living.
Traffic gridlock is a daily occurrence in Lagos. On the mainland, from the long stretch of Ikorodu road down to the Third Mainland Bridge and on the notorious Agege Motor Road stretching from Mushin to Oshodi then to the Lagos/Abeokuta Road, the story is the same. From Oshodi Mile-2/Apapa/Orile/Maza-Maza down to LASU Iyana Oba Road it is traffic snarls all the way.The same goes for Oshodi to Obalende ,Lekki,Ajah and Epe. It has more often than not, made life miserable for both motorists and commuters.
Akin Adelaja leaves home every morning through the horrendous traffic, faces same rigour when returning home from his work place, yet he is comfortable buying in such a harsh environment. Akin’s wife, Feyisara, finds it more convenient to buy food items by the road side.
Feyisara, who was sighted buying a big sized croaker fish and other soup ingredients along Ikorodu Road (Ketu area on the outskirts of the city) told The Nation Shopping that though the unusual market compounds the traffic situation, it is a trend that Lagosians have become used to.
She said: “When I am trapped in traffic longer than usual, I become exhausted and lack the strength and time to visit the regular market. Again, things are cheaper here than in the conventional markets. If I can get everything I need to prepare a meal on the road, why stress myself even on weekends to go shopping in a conventional market?”
However, traders who sell in traffic are smart; they readily move their wares from the markets to the roadside, especially during the evenings when workers are expected to have closed from their various work places.
They hawk and shove their wares in the faces of people as they are held up in traffic persuading them to patronise them, shouting the common refrain: ‘Buy, Buy, Na small money’.. They even hang on vehicles, sometimes tapping on car windows and asking people to roll down to check their displayed wares.
A road side trader at Onipanu, Mr Ugo Amechi said: “We want to cater for people’s needs and also make more money. This is what we traders call night market; it is an opportunity for us to make sales if we didn’t make much during the day inside our shops. It is also an opportunity for people patronising us to save time and avoid stress of visiting the market aside the stress faced in the traffic.”
It is difficult to find a society that does not have its own peculiar problems. No matter where a person lives, social problems are inevitable. One of the social problems that is peculiar to Lagos is traffic. It didn’t just begin; it has become a regular feature of Lagos from time immemorial.
Yes, we all buy one thing or the other in traffic. Items such as newspapers, magazines, bottled drinks, water, rechargeable lamps, top-up cards for mobile phones, loaves of bread, fruits, plantain chips and the popular gala that many can’t do without when caught in traffic. Even petrol is sold in gallons for motorists who burn fuel during traffic, especially during fuel scarcity.
Most often, traders who are involved in this act use it as a means of survival to provide the basic necessities of life for their family. They could also have resorted to it as a last resort because many of them feel neglected and often accuse the government of failing to provide them with any form of amenities. The high cost of rent charged on shops is another reason why some of these traders find themselves on the highway. Traders have claimed that officials of the government allocate shops to civil servants who are not traders who in turn sublet these shops at very high prices. High unemployment rate is also a contributing factor.
However, experts have described the act as a phenomenon causing obstruction to public access to footprints, reducing the beauty and orderliness in the states, causing more congestion on roads also limiting sustainable economic tourist development.
They say most times, it generates solid waste which when not properly managed results in hygiene problems, especially for traders dealing with food items. A law which makes it illegal to purchase or sell on the street was recently enacted and illegal shops pulled down warning that anyone caught in such act would face the wrath of the law.
In reaction to the law, traders involved through their trade unions organised protest marches and demonstration several times.
Those who see the measure of the government to curb the menace as unfair have also argued that it does not only have its negative side but also its positive side. Its positive side includes serving as a means of employment to those that are unemployed as it engages people in doing something useful. Goods can be purchased anytime because the traders do not have a definite closing hour, cheap services are made available to members of the public making sure their location is accessible and goods are provided at cheap prices since they do not have the expense of overhead cost such as rent unlike other retail stores.
Findings have shown that traders found on the highway during traffic are not displaced traders who have no shops to stay and sell but rather, they are traders that prefer to come out of their hiding places as they often would call their rented shops inside the markets.
“It pays us more to be here, especially at this time”, said Mr Uchena Kalu, who owns a bakery at Oshodi but goes to various bus stops around to supply bread sellers on the highway fresh and hot.
Buying and selling in the middle of the ocean of Lagos traffic is different strokes to different folks!
