As Task Force On Street Trading Returns…

On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, the Rivers State Government dissolved the Rivers State Task Force
on Illegal Markets and Motor Parks. The Special Assistant to the Governor and head of the defunct task force, Mr. Bright Amaewhule, was instantly relieved of his appointment.
Although no reasons were provided by the state government for the action, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, directed members of the task force to return the operational vehicles in their possession and their identity cards to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.
The government also pledged to reconstitute the task force and give proper orientation and training to the members. Recall that the Rivers State Government under the watch of Governor Nyesom Wike had constituted the task force to rid the streets and roads of Port Harcourt and its environs of illegal markets and motor parks.
In the course of its operations, the defunct task force sailed far beyond its mandate and the prescribed operational modalities as several negative reports and complaints trailed its activities. Allegations of extortions, high handedness, and other sundry atrocities were levelled against the members.
Innocent residents of the state also fell victim to the brutal assault by the task force. Some persons were alleged to have been rough handled with reckless abandon, brutalised and even maimed by the members. There were equally instances where they were accused of confiscating the goods of traders without any just cause.
Men of the task force became lords and uncontrollable, taking laws into their hands. Fed up with their monstrous activities, the government wielded the big stick, and this it did after Wike had, on several occasions, intervened and advised the members to tread with caution, turn over a new leaf or face dissolution. Unfortunately, they failed to heed the governor’s timely counsel.
After a lull, the Rivers State Government reconstituted the task force recently. The new body is headed by DSP Felix Nwadibeyi (rtd). Nwadibeyi and his members have since begun the sensitisation of the public on the need to obey government ban on street trading and illegal motor parks.
“Today, we are going out to sensitise the people to make sure that they are aware of our presence and that we have commenced operation. For some time now, there was no task force working. We are now going out to alert the public that we have commenced operation. Anybody caught wanting will be prosecuted,” said Nwadibeyi.
Conscious of popular concerns about the antecedents of the former task force, Nwadibeyi assured that no member of the old body was part of the reconstituted team under his coordination. He guaranteed the public of the civility of the new task force. This is commendable. But experience has shown that assurances of this nature are easier given than carried out.
We support the reincarnated task force. It is hoped that they have been trained properly in line with the government’s promise. Unlike the head of the disbanded team, the chairman of the current task force must ensure that there is discipline among his members. Rivers people will be left in the lurch if the new task force goes the way of the other.
The state government is lauded for the timing in instituting the new task force. We noticed that since the disbandment of the former team, there has been increased turmoil on Port Harcourt roads. The illegal activities of drivers and traders made twice as much, leading to an unprecedented state of filth and disorder in the city.
Indeed, most Port Harcourt roads and streets are an eyesore to behold. It is so outrageous that every available space within the Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs has either become a market-place or a motor park. An added dimension is the constant perpetration of crimminality by hoodlums who often take advantage of the ungoverned state of affairs in those spaces.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the foregoing scenario has seriously defaced the state capital and cast a slur on the urban renewal efforts of the present administration. There is an urgent need to end the continued defacement of Port Harcourt by unscrupulous elements. No responsible government would turn a blind eye to this nauseating reality without taking pragmatic steps to curb the menace.
As the new task force proceeds with its operations, it will be appropriate for the state government to give it a legal backing. That will provide cushion and succour to residents of the state who may feel aggrieved by its activities. Additionally, such legislation would insulate both the members of the task force and the citizens from abuse and arbitrariness.
Likewise, the state government is advised to convert the task force into a complete agency for optimal performance. This way, it can generate employment for our teeming youths and perhaps revenue for the state. In the alternative, it could be incorporated into the state Ministry of Transport to be guided by the extant laws and rules governing the civil service.
Furthermore, we advise the government to consider demands by some people for the withdrawal of the police from the task force following their untoward activities in the former set up. In our opinion, such calls are not lost, given the vicious and corrupting influence of the police and their penchant for perfunctory use of firearms which has mutilated or ended innocent lives, including a female police traffic warden who was shot dead last year by a policeman attached to Amaewhule’s task force.
It is imperative for all concerned unions to cooperate with the organisation and see them as partners in progress to ensure sanity in our city. These unions have a responsibility to encourage their members to be disciplined and law-abiding. By and large, everyone is duty bound to return Port Harcourt to its erstwhile status of a “Garden City”.