Tackling Menace Of Street Trading In Rivers

Apparently oblivious of the risks associated with street trading and its menace to the environment, many people are increasingly participating in roadside merchandise in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Observers note that in many neighbourhoods of the cosmopolitan city, including Eleme Junction, Rumuokoro and the Choba-Ogoni ends of East-West Road, many traders are usually seen on the roads, selling assorted wares.

In the booming roadside trade, which also involves young people running after moving vehicles, the articles of trade include fresh fruits, beverages, wrist watches, phone SIM or recharge cards, handsets and accessories, as well as snacks.

Mr Jackson Onugo, a lawyer, says that the menace of street trading in Port Harcourt has spanned over three decades, defacing the well-planned city.

“The menace of roadside trading in Port Harcourt is very serious, as most major roads of the city have been converted into make-shift markets,’’ he says.

“The unwholesome practice of street trading and hawking of goods on the highways in Rivers State is very hazardous and it has even been outlawed,’’ he adds.

The lawyer’s comments are true, as Section II (xx) and 35(i) of the Environmental Sanitation Authority Law of Rivers State (Cap 52, Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999) stipulates some penalty for engaging in peddling goods on the roads.

“It is a criminal offence, punishable with three months imprisonment, for any person to sell or offer for sale, any goods or other articles of trade, at traffic light junctions or in any other unauthorised places in Rivers State,’’ the law stipulates.

The law further states that upon prosecution, convicts are liable to a fine of not less than N10,000; but not more than N50,000 for a first offender and not less than N20,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months for subsequent offence.

However, the problem of street trading continues to persist in the state because of the non-enforcement of the law to the letter.

Another lawyer, Mr Moses Oha, insists that the government ought to employ the “stick-and-carrot approach’’ in enforcing the law for it to achieve any meaningful results.

“For any government to make a positive mark in the attitudinal change of its people, it must be firm in enforcing its laws, while providing the needed infrastructure,’’ he says.

“For instance, the law banning cigarette smoking in public places in Nigeria has never been respected because nobody enforced it. The law prohibiting street trading likewise exists but it is government’s duty to ensure that the people obey it.

“Prior to the coming of the present administration, many people constructed kiosks and shops by the roadside but the government demolished them to give Port Harcourt a befitting look,’’ Oha says.

However, Mr Joseph Ejimadu, a street trader on Ikwerre Road in Port Harcourt, says that he resorted to hawking goods on the street, not only to fend for his family, but also to raise some money to attend to his daughter’s health challenges.

“I do security work for a company in Port Harcourt but a year ago, doctors diagnosed my daughter with cancer. With the series of tests and drugs I buy, my salary alone cannot take care of the problem. That is why I resorted to street trading,’’ he says.

Another street trader, Mr Edwin Ihekoronye, says that he is peddling goods on the streets to eke a living and provide for his family after several brutish treatments he received from Cameroonian police.

“I was originally based in Limbe, South West Cameroon, during the years of ownership struggle over the Bakassi Peninsula between Nigeria and Cameroon. The natives often arranged with the police to seize goods of Nigerian traders.

“Many times, my goods were confiscated and life became very tough for my family. A relative who became aware of my predicament assisted me in coming to Port Harcourt where I have been hustling since 2006’’, he says.

In spite of such sentiments on why people engage in street trading, Mr Silas Osah, the Information Officer for Rivers State Ministry of Environment, insists that ignorance of the law prohibiting street trading is no excuse, as many culprits have been arrested, cautioned, fined or jailed for contravening the law.

“In a certain month in 2010, 65 persons were arrested and prosecuted. 33 of those apprehended were jailed, 32 were warned and discharged, while some were fined,’’ he recalls.

Osah says that if street trading is allowed to go on unhindered, it will negate the policy of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi’s administration to beautify Port Harcourt through its urban renewal programme, while scaring away potential visitors from the city.

Mr Rufus Godwins, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, gives the assurance that the state government will not relent in its efforts to tackle the menace of street trading in Port Harcourt.

“Hawking and street trading are outlawed in Rivers State. The numerous dangers of the trade include criminality, obstruction of the traffic and sales of fake or counterfeit items to unsuspecting public,’’ he says.

Godwins recalls two occasions where the ministry officials on the law’s enforcement mission were attacked at the Artillery Junction in Port Harcourt, reiterating that the government has every cause to stop hawking and trading on the roads.

“Government officials discovered that some of the hawkers carry dangerous weapons. On two occasions, members of our taskforce were attacked by hawkers at Artillery Junction with firearms, just as there are several complaints about pick-pockets and sales of fake products,’’ he says.

Godwins notes that people who usually patronise street traders are often those in a hurry, adding that they usually end up buying fake products like drugs, beverages, electronics and other consumables.

Why then is street trading particularly booming in Port Harcourt in spite of efforts to stamp it out?

Observers attribute the rising menace of street trading to the unethical practices of some “Shylock’’ landlords and government officials overseeing market stalls’ allocation, as they are always hiking the rents to levels which are often beyond the reach of an average trader.

Ihekoronye says: “Some of us have made several efforts to rent shops, either in the markets or by the streets but the rents demanded are quite excessive.

“It takes over N240, 000, in addition to the 10 per-cent agent’s fee, agreement fee, lawyer’s fee and others to secure a shop in Port Harcourt. I don’t have such amount at the moment.

“Nobody likes selling goods on the road; I would have preferred to sell my wares in the market or in a shop elsewhere, as this would end my years of exposure to harsh weather conditions and constant extortion by members of the government taskforce,’’ he said.

Onyeukwu writes for News Agency of Nigeria.

To be continued.

Francis Onyeukwu