Some set of trader will stop whereas they do not fall under the category of street traders, while some people will get arrested out of sheer ignorance. The Lagos State Government should address this issue on time.
An article written by Reuben Abati pointed out only seller of edible items like ‘gala’, biscuits and drinks as those affected by the law but some seller with a small kiosk in their street stated that they wanted to be sure whether they are included before opening their shops.
In situation involving life and survival, Nigeria is a country that has serious misinterpretation issues which should be properly communicated to the public so that everyone can have firsthand knowledge of the situation.
The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode, in his act showed that he indeed cared about the lives of Lagosians; however the decision was quite sudden and filled up with many future consequences.
Street trading most especially traffic Hawking is one of the most functional markets in Nigeria and a source of living for over hundreds of Lagosians with an average age of 12 to 30 years. Many of them only have their primary school certificate but go into hawking as a result of poverty and condition.
Hawking is not something everyone will love to do most especially when little boys and girls below the age of 15 are involved because of the stress and hardship involved. As bus driver are not considerate enough to wait for the transactions to be completed and Nigerians have the “goods and change before I give you money” mentality the young hawkers will be helpless and just have to run daringly after the buses at the risk of their health and life’s just to survive.
Meantime, street traders are sometimes responsible for damaged roads, robbery and destroy the driving force for kids to go to school. Uneducated parents introduce their children and other children into this trade and any prospects for their education might be destroyed.
Street trading has its importance as it provides easy access to food for motorists and travellers. These days, you can even get virtually everything you need on the road. They have also being able to indirectly reduce accidents on the roads as their presence will make drivers to control their over speeding and stay alert.
Street traders deserve a better life and should be help by government by taking them off the street to another better occupation so that you do not take food out of a man’s mouth when you do not have an alternative for him.
These men and women chase after speeding cars and buses and are no doubt ‘able bodied’, and fall within the most youthful age range. If these people turn to the dark side all at once we can’t start to imagine the results.
“Street trading should be scrapped”, is something that is good to do but it should be done gradually and strategically.
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