‘We pay daily to trade on the street’

There is a supposed law banning street trading in Lagos, but it is only “effective” on papers. From Oyingbo to Agege, down to Ikeja right in-front of the local government, street hawking remains the order of the day. TOLA ADENUBI, OLATUNDE DODONDAWA, MATTHEW ASABOR, AYO ODEKANYIN, and CHUKWUMA OKPARAOCHA sought the ‘irrepressible’ traders out and their findings should worry all stakeholders.

FOR many who trade on the streets across Lagos, the engagement is a struggle against poverty. But for a few, it is fast becoming a gold mine.

At Oyingbo Bus Stop, very close to the rail crossing, traders display their wares at the roadside. Often, they encroach on the road and have to scamper to safety whenever big vehicles like BRT buses have to pass through the axis they occupy.

Street tenants and landlords

Although many of these traders sell their merchandise by the road, the spaces they occupy are not free. They are subjected to one form of payment or another. For Mama Nkechi, who sells vegetables near the Commercial Avenue end of Oyingbo, every space is paid for at the roadside market.

“We all pay for the space we are using to sell here. What you pay might differ from mine, depending on the amount of space that is allotted to you. But here, in Oyingbo, there is no free space. But if you asked me, I would say it is cheaper than looking for a shop in Lagos. Firstly, you cannot get a shop opposite a major bus stop for a small price here. To get a shop even inside the streets is very expensive. So, trading at the roadside is cheap and very much affordable. I pay N500 daily to keep my space. It is not receipted because the people who collect this money are mostly from those who are in charge of the parks here. They come in the morning to collect ‘their’ money. If you don’t pay, you are asked to pack your stuff and leave. You can be sure that somebody else will swiftly take over your space if you default,” the trader said. Pressed further on the people who collect daily levy from hawkers, she said, “I think they work with the local governments.”

Saturday Tribune also visited traders along rail tracks near Ikeja Local Government secretariat. There, it was discovered that the traders pay a fee for the spaces allocated to them by the local government ‘representatives’.

One Ifeanyi Dike, who sells wears, claimed that he pays N300 daily except Sunday, when he pays N500. On the reason why he pays N500 on Sunday, he explained that “only a few people come on Sunday but it is assumed that traders sell more on that day.”

Another trader, Mrs Suliat Adeyemi, who sold soft and carbonated drinks, stated that traders had been paying levies to the local government for a long time.

“I have been selling at roadsides at various locations for years. I have paid various types of levies. Because I have three spaces where I sell my drinks, I pay N300 per day but I don’t come on Sunday. People who come on Sunday pay more,” she said. Asked why she didn’t rent a store and stop exposing herself to environmental risks associated with roadside trading, she explained that it was more expensive to rent a store.

“If I rent a store, I will pay for electricity, television and radio licences, security and other charges. Some of the people who have stores also join us in the evening to display their wares. But here, I only pay daily for my space and not exposed to other charges,” she said.

At Ojota, it was gathered that street traders ‘settle’ area boys to be able to display their wares. “We pay between N500 and N1,000 daily to get a space here,” a trader who identified herself simply as0 Mama Seth, said. She added: “We usually measure the space with tape measure so that we don’t end up fighting. Everyone knows his or her space,” she said.

Another trader who did not want her name mentioned alleged that in addition to ‘settling’ the area boys, they had to pay officials of Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), now known as Lagos State Environmental Safety Corps, too. “When they come, they confiscate our goods. And if you are so unlucky that they take your wares to their office, you pay N20,000 or more, depending on the quantity of the seized goods. “We settle them but they sometimes randomly raid this area and take our goods away,” she said.

A couple of traders at the Agege Railway area of Lagos claimed that the payment of “a token” of N100 per day was nothing compared to the amount of money they would have had to pay for the same amount of space under normal circumstances. They said they were, therefore, okay with the arrangement and they were not really bothered about whom the collectors remit the money to.

“Every trader pays a compulsory fee of N100 for a space which actually is very small. But I don’t see how this is a problem, because as a trader, one shouldn’t expect to have a selling space, irrespective of the size, free. Therefore, I see the N100 I am mandated to pay as part of the cost of doing my business. And in a way, the money will still be borne by the buyers,” a seller of smoked fish, said in a chat with Saturday Tribune.

This view was shared by another trader, identified simply as Ola, who was one of the numerous bread sellers that converge on the Agege Railway line area every evening. Ola noted that those who usually come to collect money from them every day look, in every way, like street urchins who operate at motor parks and that they always had nothing to prove they were acting on the authority of Agege Local Government, which is supposed to be in charge of the collection of such money.

“Given their appearances and general demeanour, I don’t think they work for the local government. It seems their activities are part of the extended operations of touts that collect levies from commercial bus operators in parks. But I really don’t care so long as they allow me to do my business after paying them,” Ola added.

The situation is virtually the same at the Iyana Ipaja under bridge area of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway where roadside traders are also known to pay between N50 and N100 per day. Hawkers in the market, who have no specific spots, it was gathered, pay N50 to collectors while those who trade in specific spots pay N100. The only difference, however, is that the collectors at Iyana Ipaja are often seen in uniforms, apparently to give them an air of authority before the traders.

“We pay N100 every day, and usually, after doing so, we will be left alone. You will be courting trouble if you fail to pay. I am of the opinion that paying them this money is a small price to pay for the opportunity to sell your wares,” a tomato seller told Saturday Tribune.

Who gets the cash?

A shop owner just behind the many street traders, Kelechi Anyanwu, bemoaned the presence of the street traders and its negative impact on his business. He wondered if the money being collected end up in government purse.

“I sell electronics, but do you know that some guys too hawk small electronic gadgets? Before customers call at my shop, they would have patronised these street traders. That is one of the problems facing those of us who are shop owners here in Oyingbo. Secondly, how can someone verify that the money these traders pay ends up in government purse? The hawkers, how are they regulated? Do they get counted to know how much money is expected to be raked in daily? I have a strong feeling that some of these levies are not remitted to the local government. Street traders flood Oyingbo here, but how can the government know their exact number to be able to measure the amount of revenue expected to come in daily? I am sure that some people are feeding fat on this arrangement, because when shop owners like me complain, they label us as wicked people who do not want the underprivileged to thrive,” Anyanwu lamented.

Will the law ever work?

When Saturday Tribune put a call through to the spokesperson of the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps, Mrs Ramat Alabi, she promised to investigate if trading persisted by the sides of Lagos roads.

“The agency works up to 7.00 p.m. every day, and for traders coming back to the streets and roadsides after 4.00 p.m. to hawk, we will investigate and come out with appropriate response,” Alabi said. Her agency is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the ban on street trading in the state.

But the government has continued to warn violators of the state’s environmental laws to desist from doing so or incur the wrath of law enforcement agencies. The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, recently pointed out that the state’s environmental laws did not permit anyone to convert roads, medians, set-backs and walkways into markets. While restating the government’s policy of zero tolerance for street trading and hawking in the state, Adejare lamented that the activities of the illegal street traders were degrading the environment and valuable infrastructure put in place with tax payers’ money. “It is regrettable that some illegal traders have not heeded the enlightenment and advocacy messages of public affairs and advocacy teams of the ministry,” he said.

The commissioner stated that his ministry was now more determined to implement the state government’s policy of keeping its environment clean and safe enough to attract investors and boost the economy of the state. He also said that roadside trading and hawking had resulted in the promotion of child abuse, traffic gridlocks, untimely and avoidable loss of lives, destitution, crimes like armed robbery and defacing the environment with litters and consequently blocking the drainages.

Executive must rise to the challenge –Lawmakers

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have over time reminded the state government of the need to enforce the relevant laws prohibiting illegal trading activities in the state, including trading at roadsides, which has been identified as one of the major causes of traffic jams, especially during the peak period, in the evening.

During a recent plenary session, the lawmakers took turn to condemn the growing menace of street trading in different parts of the state, including the Alaba and Okokomaiko areas, where gridlocks are often encountered.

To correct the anomaly, the lawmakers directed relevant government agencies to, as a matter of urgency, take measures to eradicate the trading activities on the LASU-Iyana Iba-Alaba-Volkswagen-Okokomaiko Road with a view to ending gridlocks in the axis.

The relevant government agencies which the House expects to carry out the directive are the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), Lagos State Environmental Safety Corps (formerly known as KAI), the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Other Related Offences and Rapid Response Squad (RRS).

The lawmakers lamented what they called the harrowing experience of road users, which they insisted could be linked to indiscriminate dropping and picking of passengers by commercial bus drivers, activities of street traders, hawkers and commercial motorcycle riders who, according to the, have penchant for riding against traffic in the communities.

Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, gave the directive after intense debate on the unwholesome attitude of the traders, commercial bus drivers and okada riders.

In his contribution, Honourable Rasheed Makinde, representing Ifako-Ijaye Constituency 2, admitted that the Okokomaiko area needed desperate measures in curbing excesses of the road traders, commercial bus drivers and okada riders. The lawmaker urged relevant agencies, particularly LASTMA, to ensure free flow of traffic in the area.

Similarly, Honourable Abdul Sobur Olawale, representing Mushin State Constituency 2, stated that the long hours spent in traffic had also given room for increase in crime in the area as motorists were usually robbed at gunpoint in traffic jams.

Other lawmakers who spoke agreed that there was the need for urgent measures to eradicate traffic jams in the area as well as other areas of Lagos, where similar problem occurs.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Musashiru Obasa, in his final submission, directed the relevant agencies to act immediately and ensure that sanity was brought to the affected areas.

The question remains, in whose pocket is the money?