Grappling with menace of street trading, criminality in Lagos

Over the years, the Lagos State government has made efforts to curb street trading, but the practice has defied all measures taken by successive administrations. At different times, the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) brigade, an outfit under the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), had carted away illegally displayed wares and food items worth millions of naira, but the sellers are not deterred. While the traders blame rising cost of renting a shop as a major factor fuelling street trading, other stakeholders said the government might find it difficult to win the war against the menace as long as it continues to ticket the traders, CHIJIOKE IREMEKA writes.

Recently, the Lagos State government said serious steps were being taken to stop street trading and other unacceptable habits, but other stakeholders believe that the government has not shown enough seriousness in dealing with the menace, with some state actors who are supposed to enforce the law are busy paying lip service to it.

Specifically, some stakeholders wondered how the government would succeed at tackling street trading when its agents are allegedly busy collecting different levies from street traders. To them, collection of levies from the traders indicates that their activities on the street are legalised, even if the government feels otherwise. Those who spoke on the issue said the state couldn’t approbate and reprobate street trading at the same time.

Not long ago, the Chairman of the State Taskforce on Environmental Offences, CSP Shola Jejeloye, while addressing operatives of the taskforce on the negative effects of street trading on the state, stated that an all-round operation against it would be carried out in Iyana-Ipaja, Oshodi, Ikeja Along and Yaba, among other areas of the metropolis.

Street trading may be defined as selling or exposing or offering for sale of any article, including a living thing, in a street, while ‘street’ is defined as any road, footway, beach or other areas to which the public have access without payment.

Jejeloye, who said that the residents of the state were being made to face avoidable traffic jam and hardship due to street trading, hinted that the operation would be directed at displaying of wares by the roadside, illegal blocking of streets for social activities, flagrant pollution of the environment and indiscriminate parking of vehicles on the roads.

He said his officers would also move against illegal collection of fees on the highways by the road transport union officials and others, including serial offenders.

“It has become worrisome having to spend many hours in traffic caused by unauthorised display of wares by traders on our roads, thereby creating an artificial bottleneck,” the taskforce chairman quipped.

“We have to put a stop to that by ensuring that activities involving buying and selling are taken off the roads and into the marketing complex designed for such. Street trading gives room for traffic robbery in some parts of the state.

“There are many instances where some street traders carry out their activities during the day and pull out dangerous weapons like knives and other sharp objects to rob motorists held up in traffic when it gets dark,” he added.

According to Jejeloye, elimination of street trading would drastically reduce the rising cases of traffic robbery being reported daily. He assured Lagosians that the agency would not rest on its oars in ensuring that sanity is maintained in all parts of the state.

“We are going to make a series of arrests in the coming weeks and they will all be made to face mobile court immediately for prosecution. This will serve as a deterrent to others to desist from activities that are detrimental to the interests of other people. The roads, inner streets and highways belong to us all and it is in our best interest to make sure we safeguard and preserve them for our use,” he said.

However, three weeks after this declaration was made, nothing has changed. The taskforce is yet to carry out any serious action against street traders in Lagos as many are still conducting their businesses on the streets, roads and pedestrian’s bridges across the state.

Observers are of the view that it would be difficult to stop street trading as long as the traders still pay levies to the government or its agents.

“The payment is like a legal right they have to display their wares on the street. The government cannot approbate and reprobate. Simply put, you can either accept something completely or reject it. Under the law, you are not allowed to accept only the part that benefits you and reject the part which takes away some benefits or simply does not benefit you,” the Principal Partner, Lawrence Ndukwe & Co., Lawrence Ndukwe said.

The Guardian observed that even as risky as it were, government and its agents still allegedly collect levies from traders at the Second Rainbow Bus-stop, along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and allow traders to carry on with their businesses there at their own peril. A serious government would not consent to certain actions that would put the lives and safety of her citizens on the spot,” he added.

During The Guardian’s visit to the area, it was observed that it has grown into a mini market despite heavy vehicular movement on the road, especially the rampaging haulage and articulated trucks. The situation is being worsened by the ongoing construction of overhead bridge on that spot that would carry traffic from Orile-Badagry Expressway to Apple Junction through the Second Rainbow. This is currently causing serious traffic jam, which is aiding the street trading in the area.

Residents of Mile 2 Estate, FESTAC, Orile, Ago and Okota, among other areas who alight at Second Rainbow bus stop, would buy food and other items there and board vehicles to their final destination.

The Guardian learnt that at different times, many lives have been lost at the spot when some articulated truck drivers lost control of their vehicles and rammed into some traders who displayed their wares on the roadside and on the slab covering the drainage. Because they were many, those who couldn’t run away as fast as others fell victims of the crashes.

Though street trading is a source of revenue for some citizens of some countries, including the United Kingdom (UK), in Nigeria, especially Lagos, the government lacks the ability to control the activities of street traders for maximum profitability. Because the UK Department of Business recognises that street-side stalls aid the economy, the local councils regulate their activities for effectiveness.

It was learnt that before one engages in street trading in Bedford, the trader must apply for a licence, which costs about £4, 510 per annum. Besides, such applicant must be at least 17 years old. The Cornwall Borough imposes a fine of £1, 000 on unlicensed street traders in its jurisdiction, while in Bristol, trading is prohibited completely in some streets.

One recommendation needed for street trading in the UK is that the traders must undergo police background checks, but this may not be feasible in Nigeria, hence the need to enforce the law until a sane security system is in place to carry out intended traders’ profiling before being allowed to trade in the streets.

Though street trading is part of the informal economy, many jurisdictions discourage it because of its adverse effects. Apart from encouraging crime, a spiking downside is its impact on the environment and it engenders overcrowding in the streets, causing nuisance like smell, noise and litters.

In some places, children who ought to be in school are recruited into the web of street trading, thereby robbing them of their sound education and denying the country skilled manpower.

To guard against this, the Lagos State government had in 2003 enacted the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law that prescribes a fine of N90, 000 or a six-month jail term for both buyer and seller.

Unfortunately, the law has been dormant due to inability of the successive administrations in the state to implement it on the premise that the ban would hurt the poor, even as experts say uncontrolled street trading is an indicator of disorderly society.

While defending the ban on the activities of street traders, the Lagos Taskforce boss maintained that crime and fraud are closely interlocked with street trading. “Some people buy fake products and come to the street to sell them.”

During the administration of Akinwunmi Ambode as the governor of Lagos State, he said: “I understand from intelligence that there is a cartel. Some people buy fake products and bring the products in and give these boys to sell on the streets. When you think you are buying something of quality on the road, be assured that those things are fake products.

“This leads us to crime. In Lagos, robbers disguise as street traders; with them, no commuter is safe in traffic snarls. They sell their wares in the daytime and convert to thieves early in the morning and evening. No responsible government will allow this anomaly to subsist.”

According to the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law Section 1, titled ‘Prohibition of Street Trading,’ a person must not sell or hawk or expose for sale any goods, wares, articles or things or offer services whether or not from a statutory position in any street specified in the First Schedule to this Law or within the vicinity of any public building in the state.

Section 10 (1) says: “A person who contravenes the provision of the law is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction: (a) as a first offender to a fine of N90, 000 or six months imprisonment; (b) as second offender to a fine of N135, 000 or to nine months imprisonment; and (c) as a third offender to a fine of N180, 000 and one year imprisonment.”

Section (10) 2 criminalises patronising street traders in the state, saying: “A person who buys any goods exposed or offered for sale from any place or street specified in First Schedule will be guilty of offence and liable on conviction to a fine of 90, 000 or to imprisonment for six months or both.”

Despite all these threats and warnings, street trading is going on without any hindrance in many parts of the state, including those areas spotted by the Taskforce’s chairman.

The Guardian learnt that most traders who were on the wooden stalls or shanties at 23 Road, FESTAC, who were chased away three years ago when the market was demolished are now back on the street as they could not afford the cost of renting any of the shops built by the government.

During a visit to the place, it was discovered that the traders had taken over the stretch of W, X, Y closes of 23 Road till EKEDC office, in search of affordable space to sell their wares.

While some spaces are still under construction, those that are completed are sparsely rented because of the high cost. It was also discovered that some of the people who engage in street trading are educated. Some of them are Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and university degree holders who do not have jobs and so resorted to street trading to survive.

Some of the traders who spoke to The Guardian gave high cost of renting a shop as one of the reasons they sell their wares on the streets, roads and inside their vehicles parked in strategic locations.

Many of the traders, who sell their wares from the boot of their vehicles, said they did so because there was no store for them after they were chased away from the 23 Road Market.

“I used to trade in this market (pointing at 23 Road Market) but when they threw us out and demolished the market, I started packing my goods in my vehicle. I display them for the people to see. Of course, there was no place to go to because the Agboju Market was demolished afterwards,” Mrs. Bridget Osundare, a mother of five, said.

She continued: “There was nothing else I could do. I will not allow my goods to expire in my hands. So, I have to device a way of selling them off. But in the process of selling them off, I noticed that the market was booming too. So, I continued. Going back to the stall now would be difficult because of the prices they are calling for rent.

“I don’t have another means of survival, that is why I am trading here. To rent a shop here is N350, 000, the cheapest open space annually. Most of those who sell foodstuff like vegetables, pepper, crayfish, magi and salt, among other items, cannot afford that.

“We were paying N50, 000 annually before, but now the price has gone up to N350, 000 after they finished building the market. How do we survive, how do we train our children if we have to pay that amount of money?

“I just talked about the cheapest space which is not a lockup shop. If you go to lock of shops, those ones are rented for between N800, 000 and N1million. That’s why you have not seen people in those shops. We are out here waiting for when they will come and send us away again.”

One of the agents in charge of some of the shops, Mr. James Ozoro, who conducted The Guardian round the facilities, affirmed the claims of Mrs. Osundare.

Ozoro, who is also a trader in the market, said the cheapest of the stalls is rented for N350, 000, while N800, 000 is the second most expensive, and the most costly is N1.1million per year.

“Agent and agreement fees will increase the one of N350, 000 to N550, 000 total package. The one of N800, 000 will be N1.050, 000 total package, and the one of N1.1 million will come to N1. 350 million, depending on the agent and the owner.”

Asked what he was going to do to get a house there, he said: “I don’t have that amount of money. We are still outside but I know we will leave eventually. All of us as you can see here will not be able to afford that amount of money they are calling here.”

The Guardian learnt that to rent a three-bedroom apartment in the same area will cost between N600, 000 and N1.2 million while a single room market stall is rented for between N800, 000 and N1 million per year.

The Tejuosho Shopping Mall, which was demolished and rebuilt by the Babatunde Fashola’s administration when part of the market was gutted by fire, is suffering the same fate today. The shops are too expensive, the reason many of them are still empty years after completion of the mall.

“We do not have millions of naira to rent these shops. All we want is for the government to provide affordable stores for the masses,” Bunmi Ogunsola, who deals on used and imported clothing, popularly referred to as Okirika (ok), said.

Folashade Opeifa, a street trader at Cele Bus-stop, who displays her wares in the evening for sale, decried the business environment in Lagos.

“You pay for shop rent, pay dues to the local council, and also pay to register your business with the government and nobody bothers to find out how much is entering our pocket?

“I used to own a shop, but I decided to stay outside when the situation became unbearable. Things are very expensive now, and the profit margin from what we sell is too small for us to set aside money for shop rent.

“The government should endeavour to provide cheap shops for street traders because we all feed our families from the little income that we make. The government should provide us with small shops that are affordable, and not ultra-modern markets.

“The state government should do something as quickly as possible. They should provide affordable shops and grants to street traders since the economy is not working well and it is not easy operating in the business environment in the country,” he said.

The Managing Director, Colems Ventures, Obiora Chukwudi said: “The truth remains that with the high cost of market stalls, the government may be embarking on a wild goose chase with its clampdown on street traders. The traders who are on the streets or those ejected from one market or the other to be rebuilt cannot afford the new ones and will not fold their hands to be starved to death.

“The government may pursue them from point ‘A’ and they will go to point ‘B’ or point ‘C’ as the case may be. All that the government needs to do is to first of all deal with affordable stalls that could accommodate the low, the high and the mighty. For a trader who sells pepper and vegetables, renting N800, 000 shop will be an impossibility as he or she doesn’t even live in a N400, 000 apartment.

“The government may decide to feign ignorance of this, but the fact remains that there’s the growing cases of people using their private vehicles as market stalls to display their wares in strategic places. Theirs are mobile stores that they drive to a spot, sell their products and go away. If you drive them, they move to another hot spot. The government knows what to do but it decides not to do so.

“Making laws and pushing for their enforcement are good but they cannot on their own end the rising cases of street trading in the country, not to talk of Lagos, the commercial hub of the country. The law and enforcement will be for a moment and it will be relaxed when the enforcers who are hungry get entangled with these traders and lower the standard.”

However, a patron of street trading, Tobi Adebowale, said buying of things on the road or in traffic, eases the stress she goes through going into the market where she would be pushed from one part to another by other shoppers.