The Nation Newspaper

Tag: street trading

  • Ambode, reconsider street trading ban

    SIR; Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, strikes many people, including friends and foes, as a refreshing breadth of fresh air. His quiet effectiveness, sense of mission, grasp of the art and science of governance and administrative ingenuity that have begun to yield meaningful developments for the people of Lagos are some of the reasons why some are already saying perhaps a bigger man than Fashola is in the saddle. Even when he was severely criticized for his tentativeness at the onset of his administration, he neither joined issues with the critics nor hired loads of sycophants and praise singers to plead his case like his fellow lords of the manors are wont to do. He weathered the storm, responded through deeds that showed his preparedness for the job and vision for a greater Lagos.

    Lately, Ambode has given critics some new ammunition to pummel him. It all started when he enunciated his readiness to ensure that Lagos lives to up to its billing as a mega polis of international dimension. The route to the new Lagos, according to Ambode, includes new and audacious plan for the Oshodi heartland and a cleaner and saner highways and streets across the state. To achieve the Lagos of his and our dream, Ambode wants to and has actually decreed street trading and hawking out of existence. To show his seriousness and determination to stamp out this blight he has prescribed a humongous fine of N90, 000, a princely sum in this time and clime, for hawkers and their patrons  who run afoul of the law and those who cannot pay will spend six months  in jail.  Some offenders will get both at the same time.

    Yes, it is important to ensure some order on the streets and inner roads particularly relating to hawking on highbrow streets and in traffic on major highways. I support the ban on hawking on highways. It constitutes clear and present danger to the hawkers, their patrons and other road users. It is also a sore sight to first time visitors and foreigners who daily throng our Lagos from other climes. But this matter of outright ban on street trading and hawking without providing any workable alternative is an invitation to a bigger problem. Simply put Ambode will create a bigger problem in the process of solving a big problem. It will cast him in the pantheon of elitist rulers of the people. And compounding it with a N90, 000 as fine for hawkers and their patrons is overkill.

    The way out is to look at what other managers of megapolis have done to manage street hawkers and traders. After all there exist various street markets in major cities across the world including the famous Oxford and Pecham High Street Markets in London, Jemaa, Marakech in Morocco and the Temple Street Market in Hong Kong. And if you have visited London especially the Pecham area you will still notice loads and loads of street traders and hawkers displaying their wares, soliciting for patrons and making brisk business. Therefore Ambode and his government should reconsider the outright ban on street trading.  While hawking on busy major highways should be discouraged and banned, street traders should be given another window to make a living. Government should also look for ways to designate certain areas as street markets in places where street trading is prevalent. In such arenas, people will be free to buy and sell without let or hindrance.

    However the most compelling reason why Ambode should take a second look and finetune the new initiative is its potential to cause major social upheaval. The law will be a ready tool in the hands of overzealous officials especially the various layers of security outfits in the state who will hound and hunt potential preys, milking some in the process and chasing some to their deaths on the highways.

     

    • Adegbenro Adebanjo,

    obanijesu@yahoo.com

  • Lagos and the ban on street trading

    Lagos and the ban on street trading

    It is no longer news that the Lagos state government has begun the enforcement of the law banning street trading in the state. Expectedly, this has continued to generate lots of controversies across the state and beyond. While some have commended the state government for the action, others, however, perceive it in bad light. This, of course, is the beauty of democracy.

    It is, however, important to state from the outset that the state government has not enacted any new law concerning street trading. What it has merely done is to enforce a law that has been in existence before now. Thus, the Lagos State Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law, 2003, which prescribes a punishment of N90, 000 or a six-month jail term, for both the buyer and the seller of any goods or services on the streets, predates the current administration.

    Globally, formulating laws and enforcing same for the good of the society is one of the cardinal tasks of governments. A major difference between human society and the animal kingdom is that the earlier is regulated through set rules and regulations for the preservation of law and order while the latter thrives on jungle code which gives rise to anarchy. It is in order to ensure that human societies don’t descent into chaos that laws are enacted to guide human conducts.

    Globally, human societies are roughly classified into developed and developing nations and one of the major indices used in arriving at such categorization is ability to live by set rules. In developed nations, conducts of the citizenry are largely guided by set rules. But then, same cannot be said of developing nations where deliberate acts of lawlessness and disorderliness are often the order of the day.

    It seems one of the unwritten codes, here, is gross disdain for the law. In such nations, drivers, riders and other road users behave without recourse to the law. It is not that they are ignorant of the law. No! They recognize the law. They just don’t care about the law. Ironically, when same people find themselves in climes where the law is revered, they readily stoop to the supremacy of the law.

    One of the recurring arguments from the stable of those who are against the Lagos state government’s recent enforcement of the law on street trading is the poverty angle. The basis of this argument is that since street traders are poor people with no other source of livelihood, they should be allowed to go on with their street business. But then, this line of argument is rather too simplistic.

    It is akin to asking the police to ignore a petty thief because he stole out of poverty. It is equally similar to demanding that KAI officials should not reprimand someone who was involved in open defecation just because there are no public toilets along the route. A society can’t simply work that way. Before the Lagos state government decided to sanitise Oshodi, the place was the ultimate center of pandemonium.

    The old Oshodi was a reflection of the rot and lawlessness that has pervaded our society for long. The Oshodi Master Plan did not make provision for roadside trading. But then, over the years, a few people took advantage of the ‘weaknesses’ of the law to turn the place into one hell of a place. Oshodi was to become the albatross of the metropolis; a symbol of commotion where commuters were held up in avoidable traffic gridlocks for hours.

    What the state government eventually did at Oshodi was a question of upholding legality against illegality in order to create an environment beneficial to millions of other lawful citizens. Today, thanks to that singular intervention, Oshodi has become saner and safer. Many commentators have argued that the state government ought to have provided an alternative for the street traders before getting them off the streets.

    To me, the logic in this argument doesn’t seem right. It is like the police asking you to provide a robber who had invaded your home with a job so that he wouldn’t come visiting again! In the first place, turning the roadsides and the streets to trading arena is illegal. Just try to imagine what Lagos would look like if everyone turns every available space across major roads and streets into trade centers.

    As previously affirmed, a major responsibility of governments across the world is preservation of law and order. A disorderly society cannot attract much development. This is partly why we remain where we are as a people. Our compatriots flout traffic laws and other such flagrantly. One moment, they out rightly disregard public officials whose lot is to uphold the law, the next instant they complain of not being treated courteously by same officials whom they treat with disgusting contempt.

    When government abdicates its duty of preserving law and order, the society simply becomes a jungle. To ask the government to provide job for everyone that comes to Lagos is a tall order. A recent data reveals that over 25,000 people move into Lagos on a daily basis from several parts of the country for various reasons. This is aside hundreds of others that daily troop into the state from neighbouring West African countries. Sadly, when their aspiration for economic salvation becomes a mirage, most of them readily take to anti-socio path.

    What government could do to encourage wealth creation in the state is to create a conducive atmosphere for regulated economic activities to thrive. Towards this end, government is upgrading infrastructure across the state as new roads and bridges are being constructed just as existing ones are being re-habilitated.

    Likewise, the Light up Lagos Project has improved security for all at nights. The proposed Oshodi Transport Interchange, the audacious plan for a 4th Mainland Bridge, the Lekki Free Trade zone among others are projects that would clearly enhance economic activities in the state. Perhaps, the most creative and strategic step taken, thus far, by the state government to create wealth and tackle unemployment in the state is the establishment of an N25bn Employment Trust Fund, ETF.

    The major aim of the Fund is to address unemployment and promote wealth creation through entrepreneurial development. The Fund is to be given out as loan with moderate interest rate of 3% per annum (the lowest rate in the country presently) to Lagos residents with innovative business ideas. It should be stressed, however, that the management of the Fund is strictly a private sector affair.

    As I draw to a close, let me clarify that street traders do not belong to the Informal sector. The sector consists of mainly skilled artisans who work as transporters, vulcanisers, mechanics, battery chargers, fashion designers, hair dressers, barbers, traders (not street ones), painters, welders, carpenters, bricklayers, farmers etc who have one service or the other to render.

    Their activities are being properly coordinated by the state’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives which meet regularly with their leaders. On a final note, as painful as the ban on street trading might look, as the Oshodi experience has shown, it is meant for the good of the larger society.

    Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

     

  • Lagos goes tough on street trading

    Lagos goes tough on street trading

    The Lagos State Government yesterday said that it would commence a total enforcement against street trading and hawkers from July 1, in accordance with the law banning their activities across the metropolis.

    Speaking at a live interview session on Television Continental, Governor. Akinwunmi Ambode said that the renewed enforcement is in line with Section One of the Lagos State Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law 2003 which restricts street trading and hawking in the metropolis.

    The Governor, while sympathizing with the family of a street hawker who was knocked down by an articulated truck while trying to evade arrest from officials of Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) along Maryland Bus stop on Wednesday, regretted that the situation led to the destruction of public assets.

    “It is not in our DNA to allow someone to just die by road accident or the way it happened in respect of the incident. But beyond the fact that we lost one person while crossing the road as a result of evading arrest by KAI officials, I need to tell Lagosians that over 49 buses were actually destroyed and it is costing us like almost N139 million to put those buses back on the road,” he said.

    Governor Ambode said the State Executive Council has resolved to enforce the Law, which according to him makes both the hawker and the buyer liable of the offence.

    “The issue is we need to enforce our laws because we already have a law in respect of that and then there is a clause in it which says the buyer and the seller are both liable and that we are going to fine them either N90, 000 or a six month jail term.

    “What we are doing on traffic is that we are introducing new strategies to eliminate traffic but Lagos being a cosmopolitan city, you cannot totally eliminate it but now this is the case, in the next few days, you will see on the street of Lagos signs that will be warning you that buyers and hawkers should be aware that there are consequences,” Governor Ambode said.

    He said his administration has also concluded plans to roll out a massive campaign which would warn both motorists and hawkers of the restrictions and the penalty for defaulters.

    “We will be watching out for buyers and sellers and all we need is just scapegoat. Don’t buy plantain chips or any other item in traffic from July 1, buyers beware,” Governor Ambode warned.

    He said aside the environmental hazards associated with the activities of street traders and hawkers alike, they also pose great security and health risks.

    “A whole lot of people who are hawkers, when you check them, I understand from intelligence that there is a cartel. Some people buy fake products and then bring the products in and then give these boys to sell on the street and come back to make returns in the night. So, what I want to advise Lagosians is that most times when you think you are buying something of quality on the road, be rest assured that those things are fake product,” Governor Ambode said.

    He however said that much as the state government intends to be civil in enforcing the law, some recalcitrant persons try to subvert the process, hence the need to ensure total compliance with the law.

    Asked what plans the state government has for unemployed graduates who have taken to street hawking, Governor Ambode said that his administration has launched a N25billion Employment Trust Fund, urging them to access the fund.

    Governor Ambode while answering questions on future plans of his administration assured that greater attention would be given to the health and education sectors, while empowerment for the youth and elderly would also get the needed attention.

    “In the last eight years, while the immediate past Governor actually did a lot to improve on health, you will also see that what he provided is not even enough to cater for all the people coming into Lagos.

  • Lagos goes tough on street trading, hawking

    Lagos goes tough on street trading, hawking

    …Says buyers, sellers liable to N90, 000 fine, six months Jail term or both

    The Lagos State Government on Friday said that from July 1, 2016, it would commence a total enforcement against street trading and street hawkers, saying that the law banning their activities across the metropolis would take its full course.

    Speaking at a live interview session on Television Continental, the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode said that the renewed enforcement is in line with Section One of the Lagos State Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law 2003 which restricts street trading and hawking in the metropolis.

    The Governor, while sympathizing with the family of a street hawker who was knocked down by an articulated truck while trying to evade arrest from officials of Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) along Maryland Bus stop on Wednesday, regretted that the situation led to the destruction of public assets.

    “It is not in our DNA to allow someone to just die by road accident or the way it happened in respect of the incident. But beyond the fact that we lost one person while crossing the road as a result of evading arrest by KAI officials, I need to tell Lagosians that over 49 buses were actually destroyed and it is costing us like almost N139 million to put those buses back on the road,” he said.

    Consequently, Governor Ambode said the State Executive Council has resolved to enforce the Law, which according to him makes both the hawker and the buyer liable of the offence.

    “The issue is we need to enforce our laws because we already have a law in respect of that and then there is a clause in it which says the buyer and the seller are both liable and that we are going to fine them either N90, 000 or a six month jail term.

    “What we are doing on traffic is that we are introducing new strategies to eliminate traffic but Lagos being a cosmopolitan city, you cannot totally eliminate it but now this is the case, in the next few days, you will see on the street of Lagos signs that will be warning you that buyers and hawkers should be aware that there are consequences,” Governor Ambode said.

    He said his administration has also concluded plans to roll out a massive campaign which would warn both motorists and hawkers of the restrictions and the penalty for defaulters.

    “We will be watching out for buyers and sellers and all we need is just scapegoat. Don’t buy plantain chips or any other items in traffic from July 1, buyers beware,” Governor Ambode warned.

    He said aside the environmental hazards associated with the activities of street traders and hawkers alike, they also pose great security and health risks.

    “A whole lot of people who are hawkers, when you check them, I understand from intelligence that there is a cartel. Some people buy fake products and then bring the products in and then give these boys to sell on the street and come back to make returns in the night. So, what I want to advise Lagosians is that most times when you think you are buying something of quality on the road, be rest assured that those things are fake product,” Governor Ambode said.

    He however said that much as the State Government intends to be civil in enforcing the law, some recalcitrant persons try to subvert the process, hence the need to ensure total compliance with the law.

    Asked what plans the Government has unemployed graduates who have taken to street hawking, Governor Ambode said that his administration has launched a N25billion Employment Trust Fund, urging them to access the fund.

    Governor Ambode while answering questions on future plans of his administration assured that greater attention would be given to the health and education sectors, while empowerment for the youth and elderly would also get the needed attention.

    “In the last eight years, while the immediate past Governor actually did a lot to improve on health, you will also see that what he provided is not even enough to cater for all the people coming into Lagos.

    “Now, this second year, I can tell you freely that we are facing majorly the health sector, education sector, the issue of elderly people and then the youths. We believe that in the next twelve months which we are starting from now, you will see a major escalation of the quality of the facilities we are going to provide in our hospitals,” the Governor said.

  • Lagos to enforce Okada restriction, street trading laws

    Lagos to enforce Okada restriction, street trading laws

    The Lagos State Government at the weekend said it would henceforth strictly enforce the law on environmental offences, restriction of operation of commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada on certain routes and street trading.

    Rising from the monthly Security Council Meeting attended heads of all security agencies in the state and chaired by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the Government urged residents to willfully comply with the extant laws in the state to make the enforcement of the law easier.

    Briefing Government House Correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, urged the public to desist from patronising traders especially where street trading is not allowed.

    Owoseni also counseled Lagosians to stop patronising commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada operators on routes where the law restricts them from plying.

    Owoseni, who briefed journalists alongside heads of the Army, Navy, Airforce and other security agencies in state, said: “The Council appraised the security situation in the state and looked at the challenges we are still having and from discussions and conclusions that were made, the Council agreed that lot of progress had been made.”

    “We have covered lot of miles regarding security and safety in the state. For now, the State is relatively peaceful.

    “We want to sustain that tempo; we want to improve on that tempo. We have looked at those areas we need to improve upon and basically those were the issues the Council considered,” Owoseni said.

    When asked on the directive by Governor Ambode at the Town Hall Meeting in Ikorodu last week that Okada should not ply Mile 12-Ikorodu route, the Commissioner said: “Yes, we deliberated on that and I can tell you that we specifically considered the need to improve on enforcement of the laws of the state, especially the areas where we have been having challenges with members of the public with regard to enforcement. ”

    “Specifically, I’m talking about the street trading, the restriction of commercial motorcyclists to certain areas. You see, there is need to have the buy-in of members of the public in all these and the Council considered the need for us to still tell the citizens that in as much as we want to enforce, there is also need for members of the public to willfully comply with extant laws of the State.

    “When they comply and conform to the laws, it will be easier for security agencies to enforce. Where the law says there should not be street trading, people should not patronise street traders; where the law says Okada should not ply certain routes, people should not patronise commercial motorcyclists in those areas.

    “But most importantly, as the Security Council has always emphasised , there is need for everyone to be security conscious and raise awareness about security in their surroundings,” Owoseni said.

  • Street trading banned in Osun

    Street trading banned in Osun

    THE Osun State House of Assembly has passed the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Bill 2016 into law.

    A statement by the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said a motion on the bill was moved at plenary yesterday by House Leader Timothy Owoeye, and seconded by Babatunde Olatunji (Ife North).

    The statement said the bill was seeking to prohibit hawking or exposing goods, wares and articles for sale or offer service whether from a stationary positions in any place or streets in some major towns or within the vicinity of any public building.

    The statement said Osogbo, Ile-Ife, Ilesa, Iwo, Ede, Ikirun, Ikire, Ila-Orangun and Ejigbo are among the towns where law would be enforced.

    The statement added that the bill also prohibited the establishment or maintenance of any market by any person other than the state, local government or statutory corporations.

     

  • Aba: Police vow to arrest, prosecute street traders

    Aba: Police vow to arrest, prosecute street traders

    The Police in Aba on Saturday warned people trading on the roads, around the Enyimba stadium and adjoining roads, to desist or face the wrath of the law.

    The Area Commander in Aba, ACP Peter Wabara, gave the warning while addressing a crowd of persons comprising of traders and buyers at the area.

    Wabara said that it would be unwise to use force to settle a problem that common sense could easily settle through obedience to the law.

    He said that no government agent had been ordered to collect tolls from the traders, who sell their wares on the roads, adding that traders and buyers should respect the law.

    The police area commander urged them to be law abiding and desist from selling on the roads or be prepared to face the wrath of the law.

    Earlier on Saturday, some roadside traders fought men of the Aba Urban Renewal Task Force and policemen, who came to force them out of the roads.

    Some of the roadside traders, who fought the task force men, claimed that they were “Ngwa communities.”

    They alleged that they came to destroy their wares for no cause, a trader, who witnessed the crisis, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Another trader, Mr Ifeanyichukwu Alozie told NAN that the traders had last Wednesday fought the men of the task force and burnt their vehicle and a tricycle they hired to work with.

    He alleged that when the task force team came again on Saturday with more personnel and were removing wares and tables on the roads and burning some of them, the traders resisted and fought them again.

    He said that it was at that point that the army and policemen were drafted to the area to help keep the peace and restore order.

    He urged Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu to warn the staff of the Renewal Agency to do their work with human feelings.

    Alozie, however, appealed to the government to build the Morning market close to the area, so that they could have a place to sell their wares.

    When contacted, Abia Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Udeviotu Onyeke, confirmed that there was a fracas, which involved men of the Aba Urban Renewal Agency and roadside traders in Ahia Ohuru.

    He said that the police had done their job and that peace has been restored to the place.

    He, however, said that nobody died in the crisis contrary to the claim from some quarters that some persons were killed.

  • ‘We will no longer tolerate street trading’

    Ikorodu Local Government Executive Secretary, Wasiu Adesina has warned traders to stay off the streets.

    Adesina said the council would no longer tolerate street trading and illegal parking of vehicles.

    He spoke while inaugurating a 10-man Task Force on street trading and illegal parking in the secretariat, Ikorodu.

    The council chief said no meaningful development would take place in a society of lawlessness, chaos and disorderliness.

    “It is only with orderliness, sanity and decorum that any society can move forward economically and socially,” he said.

    He said it is the duty of the government to protect citizens.

    The members of the committee include Neighbourhood Watch Lagos State Coordinator, Alhaji Kola Sanni as chairman, Divisional Police Officer Igbogbo Police Station, Mr Remi Adesoye, the Coordinator, Onyabo Security Organisation, Chief Kamorudeen Bombata and the Iyaloja-General, Ikorodu local government, Alhaja Taofeekat Allyson.

    Others are the Serikin-Hausa in Ikorodu, the Eze Ndi-Ngbo of Ikorodu, Mr Tunji Owolabi, a journalist with Radio Lagos, among others.

    Alhaji Saani said there would not be any form of nepotism, favouritism or undue preference for anubody, stating that “the law is no respecter of any individual”.

    He urged members to maintain their dignity and integrity which the society has always known them for.

    Representing the new Ayangburen of Ikorodu, the Lisa of Ikorodu, Chief Zacheus Odusoga thanked the council chief for the initiative.