Hello, this is Sean, the American who sold Gala on Monday at Ojota! I just found this site now, and I'm thrilled my work has generated such a discussion. I posted a response on the PM News site but also wanted to respond here to some of what has been written.

First, I need to correct the reporter, who wrote that I have been selling Gala for five months. That is not true. I have been conducting research for five months, but mostly it has involved interviewing street traders all around Lagos. I have also spent many, many days with KAI, Ministry of Environment, and Task Force officials, to get their perspective. I even rode along with the Task Force on one of their enforcement patrols.

I only spent one afternoon selling Gala, in an effort to understand first-hand what it is like to be a street trader. I learned a lot. For example, I learned how hawkers are often harassed by Area Boys, and I learned how the weather can affect their business – it rained for two hours on Monday. I gained a new level of respect for hawkers, who struggle to make a living for themselves under very difficult conditions.

The comments about me being a spy are very interesting to me. I doubt a spy would learn anything useful standing on the road selling sausage rolls, as some people have pointed out, but I don’t know. I am not a spy. I am an attorney from New York who works with hawkers and street traders there. We have plenty of hawkers and street traders in the U.S. You can read about our organization here: http://www.streetvendor.org. I am also blogging about my experience in Nigeria here: http://seaninnigeria..com.

Instead of wondering whether I am a spy, I hope we can have a discussion about the real issue — whether hawkers and street traders are a blessing or curse for Lagos, and whether there is a better way to control street trading than arresting and jailing thousands of Lagos’ poorest and hardest-working people.

You may be interested to know that other cities and countries treat their street traders very differently. For example, they just passed a law in New Dehli that recognizes that hawkers and traders " provide valuable services to the urban masses while eking out a living through their own enterprise, limited resources and labour". You can read that article here: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/street-vendors-to-be-rechristened-as-micro-entrepreneurs/65013/on

So, what do you think about Lagos' policy of banning street trading from every street in Lagos state? Is there a better way to go about it? Do you buy things from hawkers and street traders? I would be interested in hearing what people think. I hope I can also post my research report here when it is finished next month.

Thanks.


Sean Basinski
seaninnigeria {at} gmail.com

Most things that ought to be a blessing in Nigeria end up being curses

Oil, anyone?

seanjb:

Instead of wondering whether I am a spy, I hope we can have a discussion about the real issue — whether hawkers and street traders are a blessing or curse for Lagos, and whether there is a better way to control street trading than arresting and jailing thousands of Lagos’ poorest and hardest-working people.

You may be interested to know that other cities and countries treat their street traders very differently. For example, they just passed a law in New Dehli that recognizes that hawkers and traders " provide valuable services to the urban masses while eking out a living through their own enterprise, limited resources and labour". You can read that article here: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/street-vendors-to-be-rechristened-as-micro-entrepreneurs/65013/on

So, what do you think about Lagos' policy of banning street trading from every street in Lagos state? Is there a better way to go about it? Do you buy things from hawkers and street traders? I would be interested in hearing what people think. I hope I can also post my research report here when it is finished next month.

Unfortunately, rich people in Nigeria do not like to see the poverty all around them. They would rather hawkers were thrown away in some remote place where no one has to see them. The rich in our country have no social responsibility. They specialise in creating a parallel world for themselves, whilst the normal Nigerian has to make do with the crumbling infrastructure and parastatals they leave behind. Whether it is building new cities (Abuja), sending their children to school abroad, building electric fences, building their own private universities, hospitals etc, Nigerias political and upper-classes specialise in running away from the problems they have created due to their greed and embezzlement. This pervades every cranny of our society and everyone is complicit.

@OP

Picture of you with a Gala with "ElRazur" written on the pack in your hand, or am calling this whole thing bullshi.t.

i understand where you comming from and the issue of street hawking is a very wide subject that really needs to be dealt with with a great balance between environmental nuisance, free flow of traffic, poverty and unemployment.

I really think this news of your should spark an interesting debate between all stake holders and a conclusion derived from it.

I wouldn't really go as far as to say the street hawkers could be classified as either curses or blessings to society. They fill a need, and majority of the people who resort to street hawking do so because they do not have much of a choice.

Street hawking is a curse and also a blessing to Lagos.

From Akpangbon, Bank Anthony to Ojota, it is believed that many criminals disguise themselves as hawkers to prey on innocent road users. Some also go ahead to course traffic jams.
Some callous parents/guardians out of greed endanger the lives of their children/wards by sending them out to hawk, resulting to child abuse, ritual killing and other violences on these helpless kids.

Street hawking is a blessing because it is a source of livelihood for thousands of sincere and hardworking youths the nigerian nation have intentionally abandoned in the quest to satisfy their own personal interest.

Having acknowledged the pros and cons of street hawking, I would like to remind you (Sean) that nairalanders have discussed this topic on several occasions and most people will support the ban if the government had created more jobs for these youths who are trying to make ends meet.

The only way to tackle this menace is to create employment for these youths.

As for you being a spy. . . . . leave us to worry about that. Posting hundreds of websites about street hawking does not make you more or less a secret agent on a mission.

Thanks for your effort though.

My question is" why sell gala? why not goldcircle !

Just kiddin' anyway. . . sincerely wish you the best in your research!

But should this be in the politics section?? I think travel will be better!

GoldCircle:

My question is" why sell gala? why not goldcircle !

Just kiddin' anyway. . . sincerely wish you the best in your research!

But should this be in the politics section?? I think travel will be better!

the paranoiacs will say its a CIA conspiracy to undermine family planning - shebi you know GC is a failed product

are you guys satisfied now.

go on with your research jare.

send a box of gala to seun for the free promo

oyb:

who

anyone who is relieved by this thread.

@ poster

na lie u no be american, u dey lie

for one, you don't sound american to me or should i say type like an american  

I guess you're expecting him to say 'hey men, it's like, you know' before you'll know he's American?

Does this look like Jenifa the movie to you?

debosky:

I guess you're expecting him to say 'hey men, it's like, you know' before you'll know he's American?

Does this look like Jenifa the movie to you?

didn't they tell you - all i know about america i learnt from boyz and the hood

you just know the poster has a mac 10 under that gala and hes ready to peel the cap of any muhafucka who tries to stick him up for the Benjamins

debosky:

I guess you're expecting him to say 'hey men, it's like, you know' before you'll know he's American?

Does this look like Jenifa the movie to you?

lmao

Great but i reserve my comment until your final report, Sean

Omolola1:

@ poster

na lie u no be american, u dey lie

for one, you don't sound american to me or should i say type like an american

Yea right,I'm cock sure you won't be able to recognise an american even if George Washington and Barack Obama jointly pointed 'em out to you

@Sean,

I think you should be doing a research on why black leaders are so callous and uncaring to their people instead of street hawkers coz if the situation in the country was more "friendly",there would be fewer of them on the road.

We have little or no electricity.I'm sure no noticed the bad roads (less then 3% of them are good and that's mainly in Abuja where all the fat cats are).Let me stop here, coz the list is endless.Can you please get one of your colleagues who shares your euthiasistic beliefs to research on our "missing funds"?

Thank you.

mccloud224:

@Sean,

I think you should be doing a research on why black leaders are so callous and uncaring to their people instead of street hawkers coz if the situation in the country was more "friendly",there would be fewer of them on the road.

We have little or no electricity.I'm sure no noticed the bad roads (less then 3% of them are good and that's mainly in Abuja where all the fat cats are).Let me stop here, coz the list is endless.Can you please get one of your colleagues who shares your euthiasistic beliefs to research on our "missing funds"?

Thank you.

he's not superman. I don't think he has the capacity to erase our electricity and road problems. he's a human just like you. lol
and his street hawkers' research is just as cool.

mccloud224:

@Sean,

I think you should be doing a research on why black leaders are so callous and uncaring to their people instead of street hawkers coz if the situation in the country was more "friendly",there would be fewer of them on the road.

We have little or no electricity.I'm sure no noticed the bad roads (less then 3% of them are good and that's mainly in Abuja where all the fat cats are).Let me stop here, coz the list is endless.Can you please get one of your colleagues who shares your euthiasistic beliefs to research on our "missing funds"?

Thank you.

why don't you do the research yourself instead of bitching and whining.

Aint nobody bitching and whining BITCH (if you know what the words mean anyways, BITCH).

@ senseless responders.

I referred if you could ASK any of his colleagues himself NOT himself.This is why people write JAMB for eight years.They don't read before they write or respond.Nonsense.

T@meD0:

i hope all our conspiracy theory paranoiacs can now finally relax--tpiah anyone? 

  i'm speechless.  only on NL.  ***the brain (not the mind in this case) is indeed a terrible thing to waste.***

thank you, my thoughts exactly.

are Nigerians really this dumb?

who's the current education minister? He or she needs to declare a state of emergency in that sector.

hi Sean,
Welcome to nairaland. I'm always facinated by the level 'oyinbos' take research to.

I really doubt the long term benefits of this rather unusual research on Nigeria,my take is -the solution to Nigeria's corruption problem is really very simple-lobby your government to discourage politicians or government oficials from buying property/sending money abroad.

Street hawkers are just a fraction of our economic woes. . . . .

:d!

@congoshine

Thank you jare.Na you be the first person to yan wetin make sense.

I don't think the problem is street trading on its own. The same way you have poor people (Ild rather call them underpriviledged people) every where in the world is the same way we have street traders all around the world. I tell you even if we had 100% good roads, constant electricity, and all the problems that we have today as a Nation solved, we will still have street traders!  The main question is what should Govt approach be to reducing the issue?

For me, the first part is in the area of underaged hawkers. This act should be totally banned. Exposing under 18 year old males and females to the dangers of living on the streets especially in Lagos is totally unacceptable. Agreed, a lot of these people do it out of neccessity. That is where govt come in. All the billions they steal and fret away into accounts in switzerland should be used in building homes and schools for these children. Govt owes it a responsibility to us as Nigerians to give the children a shot at life. It is up to them to take advantage of it. That for me should be action plan 1.

For those who are above the legal age, welll, the only thing Il advice again is affordable and accessible markets and lock up shops. I strongly want to believe that a lot of people don't like risking their lives competing for space with lagos drivers on the roads, and so would appreciate a more convenient means of reaching their customers. Therefore, govt again should do their part. That for me, is action plan 2.

In the end, I am not saying the above will eliminate street trading, but it should greatly reduce it. Some people will still prefer to sell on the streets basically because of the advantage of going to meet the customers rather than the other way round and some also because no matter how cheap and affordable shops are, they still will nt be able to afford it. But at least, govt should play her own part and after that, she will have the moral right to ban the act.

@sean - im speechless . . .