Street Trading Still Intractable In PH

Street trading, a common nuisance in Port Harcourt and its environs, is yet to abate, despite efforts by the authorities to put a stop to it.
The nuisance which is seen as a major disincentive to urbanisation and traffic is still regular at major streets in the city, with the perpetrators, devising measures, to evade the unwinking eyes of the authorities.
A visit to the regular Oil Mill Market in Obio/ Akpor Local Area recently, showed the resurgence of traders, barricading the major streets of the Rumukurushi axis spanning Eleme Junction with the display of their assorted wares on the road.
Following the closure of the market by the state government due to the Covid-19 pandemic, operations within the market had remained in contention but the issue, is apparently out of hand with the traders venting their frustrations in a glaring resurgence.
The tensed human population and commercial activities at the Igbo Etche Junction and Eleme Junction is akin to similar experience at Okporo, Rumuola, Rumuokoro and Garrison Junctions in the city, among others. At these areas, there are hectic traffic jams, with vehicular movements heldup for hours.
There is a similar experience at Creek Road Market in Port Harcourt, where traders take their wares to the road to get patronage.
Asked why they displayed their wares along the road, the traders said, they have low patronage when they stay in their shops.
A trader who deals on foodstuff at Creek Road Market, Mrs Jane Okomoko, said, “we used to take our products to the road, because people don’t want to come inside the shades to buy, they prefer to buy from the road. All of us normally take our goods to the road when it’s evening, because that’s when customers close from work and come to buy.
A regular feature at these street markets, is the skirmishing game between the River State Taskforce and the traders, who always evade with their wares on sighting the taskforce members. It could be recalled that the Rivers State Government had placed a total ban on street trading in the Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs.

Taneh Beemene