The chase was on. The men of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board’s task force ran after two adolescent female hawkers carrying satchet water and groundnuts, respectively.
Everyone stared in suprise, because no one could tell where the men came from. Within seconds, the ‘water girl’ was caught, her goods flung to the ground and thrashed. She was hauled into a waiting van, while the other girl disappeared into the nearby park, leaving her tray of groundnuts behind.
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The Federal Capital Territory (FCT)? is one of the most populated cities in the country and as in other populated cities, there are a good number of street hawkers. They can be seen during rush hour (a time when most people are in a rush to get home) running through the traffic and dodging cars just to make sales. The government in the spirit of safety and order for the society have? instituted a task force to rid the streets of these hawkers but so far the hopes of achieving that is quite slim. Within the city, the burden of maintaining law and order fall to the task force of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board.
Standing at the major bus stops (like those in Wuse and Berger), tired workers gratefully patronise these hawkers, as there are no convenience stores close-by where they can buy drinks or snacks.
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All a vigilant hawker has to scream is, “Taskforce! Taskforce!” and surprise and afraid, the hawkers suddenly break into a run, clutching their wares? with the men of the AEPB task force hot on their heels. If and when the hawkers are caught, their wares are confisticated and most times destroyed on the spot. Trays and bowls of sachet water, groundnuts, gala beef rolls, cooked maize, juice hawkers, and other consumables are smashed and kicked around, while non-perishables like handkerchiefs, towels and canned drinks are carted away by the men of the task force.
a groundnuts? seller,Martha, said it was “an everyday experience” for her.
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According to her, whenever the men of the taskforce came around in their Hilux truck, she would? run into the nearby park, because she had no money to pay the fine if she got caught. How much is the fine? “Hmm,” she murmured, “Na N3,000 o! and my groundnut no reach that amount sef,” she exclaimed. A teenager, Benjamin, who sold sachet water, said that that was his own way of making money and that it was unfair that the government would not want them to make an honest living. “at least,” he grumbled, “E beta pass person wey dey thief”.
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The point of worry is that these hawkers are mostly young boys and girls, with a few adults among them (these adults are single or mothers with children).
A woman who gave her name as “Mama Uche” said that the men of the AEPB task force were being “unnecessarily harsh” to them. According to her, once a person is caught by the taskforce team, he or she had to pay the sum of N300 or more, after the wares had been destroyed. If, unfortunately, one had no money to pay or had no one to help him or her out, the person would be taken as far as the Suleja prison in Niger State. A place, according to her, no one wants to go to. A price too much to pay for the sake of the “daily bread”.
Many wonder if this method of hunting down hawkers like animals? is really the only way to enforce the law. A commuter who declined giving his name could not hide his disgust for the method.
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“Why does the task force have to extort money from these people just because they are violating a law? Even criminals have some rights. This is debasing. Are they aware that the economy of this country is so terrible that people have to survive? According to an officer of the task force stationed at the wuse bus stop who refused to give his name, said that street hawking was a cime and thus those who engage in it should be treated as criminals. “No one will willingly hand over his goods to you, that is why we have to chase them,” he said. He also stated that the monetary fine is a deterrant to others who are found hawking in a ‘no hawking’ zone. “Hence, any wise trader, small or medium scale should go through the process of seeking a legitimate spot to display his or her wares, in order to aviod the embarassment of being chased around in public.
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“Look, I know that most people would not want to stop hawking; not because they cannot afford a shop, but because it is just cheaper to hawk. So, arresting them is the only way to prune down the number of hawkers in the city.” As far as he was concerned it did not matter if the situation was fair or not, because if you start trying to consider people based on the economic hardship, there would be a breakdown of law and order in the city, “and knowing how industrious Nigerians can be, every turn would be converted to a market place”.
A cyclist, Garba, who peddle soft drinks and snacks, was noticeably unpeturbed by all the commotion around him. He just stood by, and watched complacently while other hawkers scampered about the place. When asked why he was so relaxed, he said that whenever the task force came around, all he had to do was give one of them about N300 0r N500 so that they would not sieze his wares, as that was his source of livelihood.
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“I know say e no good,” he said when asked if he was ignorant of the crime of hawking, “but as I no go school Ino know person wey go give me job as I no get qualification, how I for do? How we go pay for shop if we no get the money?” He queried.
Most of these hawkers are considered the lower class of the society and for them hawking is the last resort, the only means of sustenance. there are countless reasons they could give for not having a shop. Top on the list would be affordability. An economy that benefits only the elite of the society will be next.
Proving the task officer right, a dealer of handkerchiefs, towels and male underwear, James, said that he would not get a shop, even if he had the money, because the cost of housing and transportation in the FCT alone was enough to drain anyone of his resources. “Why should I add shop renting to my list of problems?” He certainly made a strong piont.
“Ask the average civil servant working in the FCT. Even those who own vehicles are not finding it easy. If the housing and transport situation does not get you, the erractic power supply will,” said an observer, Chinelo Amadi.
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True, these hawkers are not supposed to be on the streets but they are also humans. But many agree that destroying their goods is certainly unacceptable.Even though the goods are seized, they can be returned to the owners after the fines have been paid, but are they? Arresting them is another issue.Yes, hawking is a crime, but? why do those who suddenlt get a ‘permit’ get to hawk undisturbed, becoming ‘legal’ all of a sudden?Is their crime so grave thet they have to be imprisoned and caused to share cell with hardened criminals? The result is a psychological scar that may give birth to a hardened criminal.
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In a bid to enforce the law, the line must not be over-stepped (true, the right of the state dwarfs that of the individual) or executed with brutality, as seen when these hawkers are chased around and their goods smashed to bits. It is said that the law is no respecter of persons(which is not totally true in Nigeria) but the law was made in the interest of humans not against the human.
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