President of the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA), Sir Kevin Obieri, has lamented the surge in street trading in the city of Onitsha, describing it as a growing challenge that is disrupting traffic, public safety and businesses.
    
He stated that at the inauguration of Solution Market, the Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, represented by his Special Adviser on Trade and Markets, Chief Everest Uba, vowed to eject street traders by December 2023, emphasising that they constitute a nuisance to the environment.
   
Obieri said that the Governor, while making this assertion, advised street traders to occupy the empty shops inside various markets in the state, pointing out that the exercise is in line with the State government’s resolve to ensure a clean, green and sustainable state for healthy living.
   
Obieri said that they have observed that for several years and during previous administrations, one of the greatest challenges faced by motorists in the Onitsha area is the indiscriminate overflow of traders to the roads and major highways.
   
Most shocking, he said, is that many of the stalls inside the markets are either empty or used as stores or warehouses while the authorities whose responsibility it is to push back the traders into the markets, prefer to collect daily tolls while allowing the menace of road blockade, accident-prone dirty environment with mountains of refuse littering everywhere.
    
“Worse, it is rumored that these levies end up in private pockets! The level of traffic congestion at several junctions and roundabouts across Onitsha, especially in these harsh economic times of high petrol cost, is stretching the limits of endurance for motorists, easily causing frustrations, emotional outbursts and fights, which further complicate situations. This simply projects Onitsha as a place incapable of regulation, order, and enforcement of existing laws.
    
“Of late, our roads have been filled with all manner of government-approved road traffic wardens, road decongestion agents, road clearing marshals and traffic light monitoring teams; all in diverse uniforms and apparel. Yet, the traffic congestion, especially near key roundabouts is not abating. In fact, most of these uniformed agents prefer to clear the road only for ‘big jeeps’ and collect tips rather than ensuring free-flowing traffic for all.”
    
He said the state has a law against street trading and urged the government to instantly rein in on the following junctions and clear the traders off the roads; including Nkpor Downflyover, Ochanja Roundabout, 3-3 Junction, Tarzan Junction by Ezeiweka, Tarzan Junction on Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Nkpor Roundabout on Old Road and Upper Iweka axis.
    
He added that the unregulated nature of street trading presents a wide range of problems including, traffic congestion, health risks, revenue loss, fire hazard and are prone to accidents. He added that their presence also makes it difficult to manage emergencies and they cause transport fares to shoot up as fares are charged by traffic delays, not distance, which he said impacts businesses and profitability.
    
“Finally, indiscriminate tricycle and shuttle bus parks have emanated near the markets and on busiest roads worsening the road traffic. They simply create makeshift parks or clear bush parts to set up parks near major roads without approvals or consideration. This is worse on all the stretches of roads leading up to Nkwelle Ezunaka from Magazine Avenue junction.
   
“In order to combat these, the government must take immediate actions to regulate street trading and indiscriminate parks and to enforce the existing laws through, establishing public policies mandating that all trade must occur within designated market spaces or the traders organize to establish new markets, educate the public on the dangers of street trading, ensuring that the traffic management personnel are on ground to coordinate the free flow of traffic at various junctions and roundabouts.”

“As a permanent solution, the government can fence off the market boundaries, which places the traders within their confines compulsorily as was done from Bridgehead up to Upper Iweka by a previous administration. That way, they are no longer visible to cause eyesore while the roads are clear for free flow of traffic,” he said.