Dirt and decay in sweet romance
■ Traders are levied for the most ridiculous of things

The key characteristic of Aba is the prevalence of markets in all nooks and crannies of the city. Also known as Enyimba city, it boasts of all manner of markets, ranging from small to medium and big markets, among other commercial activities. These features de­fine the city as the commercial nerve-cen­tre of Abia State.

Ariaria International Market

Ariaria International Market is the most popular market in Aba, with over two million traders doing business there. To be sure, Ari­aria is not only about buying and selling, it is also about production. For instance, leather works including shoes, belts, boxes and bags are manufactured in large quantities in Ariar­ia. And the quality is quite high. In fact, some of the made-in-Aba products are comparable to those from advanced economies.

According to the former Chief Press Sec­retary to the Abia State Governor, Mr Ugo­chukwu Emezue, “the economic importance of Ariaria market remains the fact that it is the place traders go to buy and sell and if you look at some of the things that are being done in Aba, you will discover that the market has an overwhelming economic importance within the South-East and, by extension, Ni­geria.”

Emezue went on: “If you buy a pair of shoes now, hardly can you tell the difference between the one made outside the country and the one here. I tell you that people wear made-in-Aba wears as if they were made in America. The traders here are skilled and have been providing employment for youths in the area. For us, that place is a hub of eco­nomic activities in the state. The state gov­ernment is trying to make sure that whoever comes here is comfortable and at the end of the day, the state benefits.”

But the state government was only blow­ing hot air, making empty promises regarding creating an environment conducive for busi­nesses to thrive at Ariaria. About two years after the former CPS made the statement, the market remains in utter ruins. In fact, the much trumpeted declarations by the state government to spruce up the environment and modernise the market has turned to be an ugly joke.

Checks showed that since the inception of the present administration in the state, the market and its environs have deteriorated ter­ribly. While the drainages around the market remain blocked, the roads linking the market are in a very sorry state. They are dilapidated and flood-ravaged. Worse still, overflowing wastes at the main entrance of the ‘interna­tional’ market threaten the wellbeing of the traders and their customers.

Because of the popularity of Ariaria Inter­national Market, from the fringes of the Sa­hara to the Atlantic coastline and beyond, you would expect to see an ultra-modern market or, at least, a market with decent facilities. Not Ariaria. It was learnt that the market be­gan a steady descent into squalor about seven years ago. Today, the market is strewn with filth, looking like something the cat dragged in.

Coming into Ariaria through Faulks Road, you get the shock of your life when you get close to ‘A Line’ section, which is the face of the market. A heap of refuse greets you even as the road has been overtaken by flood and dirt. When the reporter went to the market on September 26 this year, the traders had made a bonfire of the ever-growing waste in an at­tempt to reduce the height. The great cloud of smoke billowing out of the dump made one bilious and breathing difficult. Ironically, the traders sat in front of their shops and gener­ally went about their businesses without ap­pearing to notice the pollution, the stench and the attendant risk to their health. Apparently, they are used to the deplorable condition. Or, they had resigned themselves to fate.

It was gathered that the flood menace in the area was worsened by the attempt to construct a shopping centre by the state gov­ernment opposite the popular ‘A Line’ sec­tion. The project is said to be handled and/ or owned by the greedy and rampaging son of a top public official in the state whose mother used to sell Mama-put in Umuahia, the state capital, before mother-luck smiled on the family and the then lost every sense of decency and decorum.

Investigations revealed that the project, which appeared to be abandoned when the reporter went to the area, has effectively blocked the original water channel. But, as they say, water will always find its level. So, whenever it rains, floodwater takes over the place and finds its way into shops, destroy­ing wares. A shop owner at the Faulks Road end of the market, who deals in electronics and electrical appliances, volunteered that because of the decaying wastes scattered all over the place, it has been rechristened, ‘Ari­aria International Dirty Market’.

It was learnt that because of the eyesore, which Ariaria has become, coupled with the deplorable state of roads leading into and within Aba, traders from other states and countries that usually thronged the market do not come anymore. When the going was good, as it were, traders used to come from Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Enugu, Eb­onyi and Anambra states as well as Camer­oun and Ghana among other countries in the West Coast. Some musical groups such as Okuku Seku of Ghana recorded songs extol­ling the ingenuity of the people. Regrettably, Ariaria, the pride of Enyimba city, is simply a disgrace now. It stares at the observer so con­temptuously.

According to one of the traders who identi­fied himself simply as Nwigwe, “Ariara was referred to as an international market because of the influx of people from other towns and states as well as foreigners. But the interna­tional arm has been broken, so to say. Traders from outside the city no longer patronise us, not to talk of foreigners.”

He further said: “How can people come to Ariaria from outside the state? Will the person fly? Are they birds with wings? People don’t come to the market anymore because of no road to access the place. We have really suf­fered.”

Another trader, Obinna, informed that be­cause of “poor sales, occasioned by dehuman­ising state of facilities, some of the traders are running away from the market. We are inhal­ing diseases everyday because of the refuse they are burning. And we cannot afford not to burn the refuse because the sanitation peo­ple hardly come to clear the garbage. If we do not burn the refuse, you won’t find a space to go into the market. At the end of the day, we drink antibiotic capsules to protect our­selves.”

But while the traders are lamenting, the au­thorities are smiling to the bank. In fact, the state government and its agents are feasting on the hapless traders. Investigations revealed that traders are compelled to pay all manner of levies for environmental, sanitation, infra­structure, development, gutter cleaning and security, among others. Recently, traders were made to pay shop renewal rent of two years in advance for infrastructural development. Yet, no development has been seen in any form.

“Whenever they remember anything, they will come and collect a levy for it. And if you do not pay any of the levies, they will lock up your shop and you will pay double of the amount as penalty. It is difficult to put a fig­ure to it because there are multiple levies. We pay N2,000 yearly as infrastructure levy, we pay N1000 as sanitation levy for six months. There are many of such levies and sometimes they come with soldiers and policemen to col­lect the levies. They harass, intimidate and molest us. I won’t be surprised if they ask us one day to pay levy on the shirts we are putting on. This government is desperate for money and I wonder what they do with all the money they are extorting from the people,” Onwuagalaegbula lamented.

It was also learnt that the selection of the chairman of the market association has been usurped by the state government. A disgrun­tled trader in the market, in an angry voice, told the reporter: “The state government sees the market as a cash-cow and chooses the chairman for the traders. When they bring someone who is not a trader in the matter, they hastily open a business for him inside the market so as to present him as a bona fide trader. It was when they started selecting chairmen of Ariaria from Umuahia that they started multiple levies.”

There is no electricity inside the market. Only generating sets owned by individuals supply light, which the traders pay for daily. And in case of fire outbreak, the traders are on their own, because there is no fire service.

Ngwa Road New Market (Ahia Ohu)

It is basically the same story at Ngwa Road Market (Ahia Ohu), which also witnesses criminal neglect but serves as a hub of lev­ies. As the name implies, it is found on Ngwa Road in Aba South Local Government Area. It is home to used clothes, shoes and bags (okirika) imported from various parts of the world. There, okirika stuffs are sold in retail and wholesale (bales).

Ngwa Road, which leads to the market, is in a terrible state. When it rains, passersby wade through flood and dirt. The roads inside the market also need attention. Perhaps, the worse identity of the market is that, at the entrance facing Ngwa Road, traders do their business beside or inside moulds of decaying wastes. When this reporter visited the market, he saw the traders doing business under de­humanising condition. The decaying wastes overflowed even as the acrid smell hung in the air. Some of the traders were seen tying handkerchiefs across their noses like bandits trying to conceal their identity.

Passing through the waste bin, you are left wondering how human beings could stay in such dirty and smelly surroundings for many hours every day. “This one na original gobe. If it is possible, I can say that we are getting used to the offensive odour. The garbage bin has been overflowing for about seven years now. They only come to evacuate the wastes when it pleases them and it is never regular. It is not as if we like it; it’s just that we have no choice. We are dying in silence but we can­not afford to leave because if we do, where do we raise money to pay for shops elsewhere? Most of us cannot afford to be idle for one day because we depend on our daily income for the upkeep of our families,” explained Ken Nwokocha, who looked like a masquerade in the piece of cloth tied around his face.

Investigation revealed that multiplicity of levies is the name of the game there. Consider this: Traders pay sanitation levy (N1,200 per shed per year), environmental levy (N1,600 per shed) as well as scooping of gutter and carting of refuse levy (N1,000 for six months). Among others, they also pay infra­structure levy (N2,000), tax (N3,600) and two different security levies of N1,500 and N800. Interestingly, no receipt is issued for some of the levies. Rather, text messages are sent to the traders to acknowledge pay­ment. Again, sometimes soldiers are used to intimidate, harass and molest traders while forcefully collecting the levies. Ibeneme, a trader at Ahia Ohu, said: “If it were easy, most of us would have moved to other towns. Each shed pays about N20,000 per year in the name levies. If you default, you will be surcharged. Worst still, patron­age is low because of poor condition of the roads within and without. If it rains, the whole place will be flooded and enter into sheds. After collecting the levies, they do nothing in terms of alleviating the poor state of things in the market. So, after paying the levies, we raise money on our own to fix the internal roads. We also take charge of the waste we generate. Everyone has a garbage basket inside his shed and we dispose the content at the end of the day.”

Offering further insight, another trader said: “The worst is that, after paying for environmental in your shed, you also pay in your home. Yet, refuse is not collected. We still call those to dispose the refuse at a fee. We are being treated like slaves and you cannot utter a word of complaint. Whenev­er they like, they come and start collecting levies with brute force. Many of the traders from other states are heading home. If they are providing infrastructure, it would have been a different thing. Traders are in-charge of maintaining the market; we contribute money to do the things we have already paid for. When it rains, flood water comes into the market because of blocked gutters after we had paid for the clearing of the gut­ters. We pay market tax after paying normal tax. Those who initially refused to pay mar­ket tax of N3,600 later paid N4,500 after pleading profusely when their sheds were locked.”

It was hell getting out of the market. The mud on the main road was almost ankle-deep and to escape it, the reporter tried to meander through the internal roads. Then he got stuck in human traffic. Whether selling, buying or merely visiting someone inside Ahia Ohu, it is a herculean task.

Cemetery Market

Why would anyone name a market after a cemetery; a place where dead people are buried? This was a question the reporter asked no one in particular. But he soon got the answer. It was explained that it is called Cemetery Market because it is situated on a former burial site. It was gathered that those who patronise the market were a mixture of the living and the dead. But how can anyone prove anything?

Anyway, the reporter was at Cemetery market recently. If those he met were hu­mans or spirits, he couldn’t tell. What he had no doubt about was that many of those doing business there may join their ances­tors soon because some of the structures there were crumbling. Some of the trad­ers may also be taxed to death as the state government rolls out a long list of levies on the traders. As it is in Ariaria International Market and Ngwa Road New Market, so it is at Cemetery Market. While the reporter was in the market, a town crier with a gong was going about announcing another levy the traders must pay within one week other­wise they would have themselves to blame. According to the announcement, the traders were required to pay N3,600 infrastructure levy and N2,000 sanitation levy.

Despite all manner of levies the traders were compelled to pay, the market is in a deplorable condition. If the internal roads are bad, Eziukwu Road, the major artery into the market, looks like a pathway to the abode of spirits. Flood had chased away many residents, making them to abandon their homes. As nature abhors a vacuum, wild plants and reptiles have taken over the surroundings. Sources disclosed that snakes sometimes invade homes and the market.

Ochendo Modern Market

There is nothing modern about the Good Morning Market also known as Ochendo Modern Market. Even the signpost at the entrance is anything but modern. Perhaps, the only thing that distinguishes the market is the refuse dump behind it. It is high like mountain.

The market is indescribable. Part of the roof was blown off when the reporter vis­ited even as the smell of rotten foods and vegetables was thick enough for knife to slice. Again, traders complained about the proliferation of levies. “They are killing us with levies here. We are forced to pay all manner of levies. In fact, it is uncountable. They can come any time and start asking for whatever levy they like, even when they do nothing in the market,” lamented Mama Caro who sells fresh tomatoes.

Another distinct feature of this market is that drug addicts have taken over the abat­toir area. Driven from York Street, in the town area, they have taken refuge near the bridge where they sniff and smoke their stuff with reckless abandon.

Other markets in Aba include Alaoji Mo­tor Parts Market, Azikiwe Road Market by Asa Road, Nsulu Market, Orie Ohabiam Electronics Market, School Road/ York Street mini market, Old Court Mini Market, Nsulu Market, Salad /Railway Mini Mar­ket, Waterside Cattle Market and Police Of­ficers Wives Association (POWA) Market.

The states of the markets are a micro­cosm of Aba, a city in ruins, a city buffeted by a wave of levies and taxes – a state that has gone to sleep.

This gist is just too long.

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