Between Hawking And Youth Empowerment (II)

Equally, the activity of hawking keeps
undermining the effort of the government to keep the environment clean. It is evident that our roads or highways are daily littered with wraps, cans, bottles, packets of different edibles purchased from hawkers, and eaten along the way. Also, virtually every place or gutter is filled up with sachets of pure water and these non- biodegradables. On the whole, the sight of hawkers on our high ways gives the impression of a disordered society where anything can go.
Culturally, hawking is not gender sensitive as both men and women freely indulge in it. It may not be out of place to say that it is a national culture in that it has broken down both tribal and ethnic barriers. Given that every tribe or ethnic group transacts this business in Nigeria, one can tag hawking a common culture in Nigeria. Observably, it is gradually becoming a culture of its own or a way of life which people easily embrace or are socialized into. For instance, some school children would go hawking just because their friends do so, and in that order they think it a way of growing up. For such children, their parents are not so poor as to send them hawking rather, they steal away from home with one excuse or the other, and go and join their friends to hawk. Hence, some people hawk for the fun of it, as they are usually seen in groups gisting along the way more, it gets people of diverse cultures to interact as they transact their business both among the hawkers and their customers. This way, it makes for national unity as it bridges both social class and ethnic gaps?
Developmentally, the hawking business more or less does not make for any palpable development, Perhaps, it is not guaranteed if people can save enough money from hawking to set up any worthwhile venture or business. Intellectually, the paucity of fund that led to hawking does not allow one get properly educated or develop his intellectual ability fully. This is so in that those of them that are in school do not have time to read their books after school nor do their assignment at home. After hawking, they come home tired and worn out structurally, hawkers prefer bad roads where vehicles move at slow pace in order to transact their business. It is not uncommon to see them converge at bad spots on the road which often cause traffic jam to carry on their business. Hence, their presence could be anti-structural development for the construction of good roads will be bad business for them. On the other hand, their presence and their number are suggestive of the level of unemployment in the country. It is then a call for the government to develop or expand more her economic sector to employ them and get them off the roads.
Verily, some hawkers have met their untimely deaths on the highways because they were knocked down by vehicles. Some are suffering permanent or temporary disability from accidents as a result of hawking, still, some have been kidnapped for ritual purposes and such related crimes because they are out hawking. Equally, hawkers are something of a security risk in that some hoodlums disguise as hawkers to await their targeted preys and some hawkers give privy information to criminals. Nonetheless, some hawkers distract the security agents on their duty posts from effectively discharging their duties by keeping them company and chatting away with them especially the female hawkers.
Vividly then, hawking on the highways in Nigeria has both the good, the bad, the ugly. The good, which is economic gain or benefit is only apparent or latent, while the bad and the ugly are more manifest. This is so in that, in hawking, a sizeable quality of youthful energy is wasted and lost without release in the drive to develop the economy of Nigeria. Pointedly, many talents, skills as well as potentials of the hawkers are untapped and undeveloped by the country,. Above all, given the large number of youthful hawkers in Nigeria and the seeming silence of the government as regards their activities, I wish to ask the government: “Is Hawking a youth empowerment or poverty alleviation strategy in Nigeria?”
Concluded.

Okafor is of CIWA

Arinze Okafor