Traders Cry Out Over Stalls Demolition

For more than one
month after the demolition of the Dutse market in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), traders have said that they are yet to adjust to the sudden change and the shock of demolition of the market.
They have said that the situation had forced them to carry out their business transactions under the rain, as there is no structure to shelter them in their business.
Some of the traders who spoke to newsmen on the development said that they were yet to recover from the loss they recorded on a daily basis from the situation.
Other traders also expressed mixed feelings and commended the move by the council administration in its plans to rebuild the market. One of the traders, Ifeoma Odi, said that it had not been easy for her since the demolition, saying that traders have been forced to make sales under the rain because there was no shelter in the market anymore.
“It rained today, and it all fell on me because I had to hurriedly pack my things to avoid them being destroyed by the rain. We have umbrella here, but it can’t shield all of us; the goods are our priority,” she lamented.
Another trader, Maureen Jumai, said she lost so many of her customers as they are yet to locate her new shop, after she was displaced by the demolition exercise.
She said “I sell rice, beans and millet, and people come to buy from me in bags. Most of my customers have not been able to locate me after the demolition. This will make them go to other places and buy. I just hope I will get new people. I know I will, but it is going to take a whole lot of time.”
However, Musa Yusuf, a tomato seller, told newsmen that the change in the location has brought a lot of new customers to him, adding that he hurriedly added grinding machine to his growing business.