Street hawking in Lagos State has been outlawed. Government officials are now picking up offenders. Both hawkers and their patrons are deemed guilty. Reporters HENRY ODUAH and MMEDARAMFON UMOREN collate reactions from hawkers, patrons, and other residents.
Not long ago news of a bread seller turned model in Lagos, Olajumoke Orisaguna, made the headlines and she became the subject of discussion in social gatherings.
Hers was the story of a young woman who had time and opportunity in her favour.
Like the typical street hawker in the cavernous city, Orisaguna carried loaves of Agege bread on her head one day when she accidentally ran into the photo shoot of song writer and photographer, TY Bello; and international artiste, Tinie Tempah.
Bread hawker made good
Orisaguna had the perfect body and look of a model but the road to the top of the economic ladder would have been longer, and probably out of reach, if fortune had not presented itself.
Her fate propelled many to join the already numerous number of street hawkers and it reinvigorated discouraged ones to keep hopes alive that fortune would one day shine on them, too.
Urban centres attract influx of people. Nigeria’s megacity and commercial hub receives a sizeable number daily both from rural and urban locations in and outside the country.
Because of the difficulties in surviving in an expensive city, several resort to street hawking.
Like many others, Orisaguna left her village in Ire, Osun State to sell bread in Lagos, the land of dreams.
Unfortunate one
But unlike Orisaguna, another street hawker, Nnamdi John, 22, ran into his demise on June 29.
He was crushed to death by a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a trailer in Maryland while running away from officials of Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), the environmental task force.
KAI officials were on their normal duty returning from Ojuelegba when they stopped to round up hawkers and roadside traders. Nnamdi was pursued across the road but was hit. He died on the spot.
In protest, hoodlums vandalised about 15 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles to get back at the government.
Government clamp down
Fueled by the incident and increasing number of hawkers on major roads, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode announced that the government had begun a total enforcement of the law prohibiting street trading and hawking.
He explained on a live programme on Television Continental on July 1 that the renewed enforcement was in agreement with Section 1 of the Lagos State Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law 2003.
The law had been in place but had not been enforced. Ambode said the State Executive Council (SEC) had concluded plans to begin its enforcement.
His words: “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 streets of Lagos signs that will be warning you that buyers and hawkers should be aware that there are consequences.”
On John’s death, Akinwunmi said: “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.”
Hurdles in hawking
Many hawkers manage to get themselves a tray, fill it up with goods not even worth up to N5,000 and walk long distances to eke out their daily bread.
Female hawkers, who are in the majority, face dangers of rape, abuse, et cetera.
Both male and female ones are subjected to intensive running on busy roads especially in trying to catch up with a moving vehicle to sell their ware, collect money or give change to the buyer.
They are liable to get hit by vehicles in the mad rush.
Surprisingly, a lot of them hawk late into the night, sometimes appearing invisible because of darkness and unstable power supply.
Many are seasonal hawkers who trade in anything as long as such farm produce is in season. They interchange outgoing produce for an incoming one. Today they hawk groundnuts, the next day maize, just to make ends meet.
There is compliance with the ban on major roads like Ikorodu Road. But some daring hawkers have been sighted in Maryland recently, with increasing patronage from buyers, though there is still the fear of being caught by KAI officials.
A handful of them are still found on streets away from the government’s searching eyes.
What’s the alternative?
There are even allegations of roadside traders and major road hawkers being charged levies by councils, and hoodlums popularly called area boys.
But Busayo Ajao, a bread seller in Surulere, denied being charged levies.
“Nobody charges us for hawking our goods on the streets. In fact, we make it easy for buyers by bringing our goods to their doorstep. I really don’t know about those on the busy roads,” she said.
She accused the government of being insensitive to the plight of the poor who hawk to put food on their table.
“I heard about the ban. It is really not a good sign of a government that says it cares for the masses. How can they ask us to leave our trade? Where do they want us to get money to eat?
“Instead of asking us to leave, why can’t they give us something to do?”
The government asked them to rent shops to sell their goods without fear of being arrested by KAI officials. Hawkers, however, lament they cannot afford the high rent.
Musa Abdullahi, who hawks handkerchiefs, socks, and towels in motor parks in Ogba, said the government cannot expect everyone to have the resources to rent a shop.
“The government should understand that people are trying to survive. Not all of us can afford a shop. If we don’t sell like this, some of us will die of hunger,” he retorted.
High shop rent is evident in Yaba where government-established Tejuosho International Market is largely unoccupied several months after completion.
Traders in the axis said the rent is very exorbitant and they preferred smaller and more affordable outfits.
People speak
Atinuke Abayomi, a mortgage banker in Lagos, admitted that she patronises hawkers. She praised the government for caring for their endangered lives on busy roads but not without providing palliatives.
“It’s better to save their lives. But they should provide more job opportunities for them because some of them have that as their only means of survival.
“I patronise them not only because their products are cheaper but also because of how convenient they make purchase for consumers. It’s easier getting goods from hawkers than walking up to make the purchase at the mall or elsewhere.
“They even have this good sense of relating with customers,” Abayomi said.
Celebrities are vocal on the issue. One half of the hip-hop group, Psquare, Peter Okoye, lamented on television that the ban would only mean more hardship for the common man.
Buyers run the risk of buying counterfeit products, especially from hawkers who sell products like vehicle wipers, pillows, sun glasses, and mobile gadgets.
However, Michael Effiong, a motorist, laughed off the idea, saying those who sell such items would not be frequently seen on the same spot if they sell fake products.
He claimed that some of those who hawk such products are extensions of their bosses who own shops where they sell the same goods.
Despite the government’s proactiveness in enforcing the anti-street trading law, Catherine Chineye, a travel agent on Lagos Island, claimed she still sees hawkers on her way to work.
She said the government’s action could endanger the lives of citizens as some hawkers could go into armed robbery.
“I usually see them on my way to work. They (the government) cannot completely rule it out. If they do, you and I cannot sleep with our eyes closed,” she warned.
Bola Adesola, a business woman in Berger, said she did not understand why hawkers could not be left to fend for themselves the only way they know how to.
“I don’t see why it is such a big deal for hawkers to continue on the streets of Lagos. After all, hawkers are virtually everywhere even in Europe. I don’t see why it should be taken so seriously here,” she wondered.
Eunice Ihuoma, a primary school teacher in Ikeja, did not just like the idea of asking hawkers out of the streets and roads.
“Things are very hard. Everybody is looking for a way to survive. I don’t think the hawkers are constituting nuisance on the roads. Where do they go from here if you send them away?” she asked.
Many like Eunice are asking the same question. They said Lagos should provide accommodation for people from every part of Nigeria, being its commercial centre.
SERAP mum
Adetokunbo Mumini, Executive Director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) did not respond to calls and messages sent to his phone to get his comment.
