₦airaland Forum

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.

By The Abia Awakening

We, like every other citizen – human or corporate, were anxious and understandably excited on September 18, 2014 when the news of the release of the list of some 305 recipients of 2013/2014 national honours awards took over both the airwaves and national dailies’ front pages. Unfortunately, our excitement was cut short by the presence of a name so obviously out of place on the list. More like a sore thumb that stuck out! Whilst we might not know the precise criteria that admit an individual into the list, we believe, quite strongly, that the essence of bestowing some special honours by government does not include celebrating mediocrity – in whatever guise.
We also recognize the temptation on the part of government in an election year to boost its popularity rating for obvious political harvest. But i doing so, we had expected the PDP-led government to exercise its discretion with some measure of circumspection. Reward for party loyalty might be a desirable practice, but when done with flagrant disregard to and indeed utter contempt for the people’s sensitivity, party well-being is inadvertently elevated above national interest – to the detriment of the common good. Yes, some have argued that Abia governor’s unparallel absenteeism from official duties just to make himself present within the precincts of Aso Rock at all times was enough “compassionate ground” to smuggle his name into the honours list. Another frantic attempt at rationalizing Gov T.A Orji’s inclusion on the list is that his present position as chair of South East Governors Forum recommended him for that recognition.
For us, the first reason is not tenable, because decorating Governor Orji with a Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) because he has “distinguished” himself as an eye-service master is an indirect endorsement of truancy and dereliction of duty of the highest order by Aso Rock. And for those who are quick to argue that what is good for the goose should be good for the gander- given that T.A Orji’s predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi, did also bag a CON while in office, the latter’s sterling achievements in office and public conduct were in our opinion sufficient basis for him to be so decorated unlike the Abia governor. This fact at least does not need any elaboration to both Abians and Anambrarians.
Much as we agree that there is wisdom in letting Governor Orji walk home with the CON trophy on Monday, September 29th, 2014 (after all, he would be bringing it home), we surmise that there is greater wisdom in raising a voice of objection to an honour that could set a devastating precedent in the beleaguered God’s Own State. Hence, this intervention! Ours is a moral obligation to let the authorities in Abuja know the degree of injustice they are about meting out to the hapless people of Abia State. Abians has suffered unmitigated leadership deficit for seven gruelling years, and have resolved to collectively clean the Augean Stable with their votes come 2015. So, for the authorities in Abuja to turn deaf ears on the seven year-long wailings of Abians and ill-advisedly validate a man who walks the opposite direction of federal government’s transformation creed will be an unnecessary elongation of an abused people’s agony even beyond the Orji governorship.
Not too long ago, ex-Governor Ali Modu Sheriff was fingered as a sponsor of the cowardly activities of insurgents in the north east. While the court of public opinion grappled with the weight of that allegation, Alhaji Sheriff was spotted receiving Mr President in Chad and quite understandably not a few tongues wagged. It took combined efforts of Mr President’s handlers to deal with that perception emergency. With due respect, Sheriff’s was a mere yet-to-be investigated allegation and hell was almost let loose, imagine then what government detractors would do with a prize photo of Governor Orji receiving a CON from Mr President when every Dick and Tom in Nigeria know that the latter is on bail which will be automatically vacated when his immunity elapses on May 29th, 2015! EFCC is prosecuting him in court already. The PDP-led government need not pass itself off as morally bankrupt, as the opposition would have us perceive it.
But for us, what matters to us is to call on the authorities in Abuja to refrain from dishonouring Abians who have been subjected to seven harrowing years of deprivation. A majority opinion in Abia is that Governor Orji’s nomination is federal government’s tacit endorsement of the deplorable state of roads in the entire Abia, particularly Aba. This notion need not be sustained. Abia should not be punished further with a national honour for a governor who builds legacy projects in the media only. Truth is that leaders who have eyes on legacies do the work whilst the people give their footprints deserved labels when they have left office. A CON for the self-styled Ochendo Global (please pause, and digest the inherent vainglory) will be sheer disdain for Abia workers who are being owed salary arrears.
Abia is in distress! The authorities should please allow the sleeping dog to lie – having resolved to wake up through the ballot box in February next year. Whoever thinks that our claims are “sponsored” or that our opinion is “politically motivated” should please ask Prince Arthur Eze what he saw and said on Abia soil when he visited the state few weeks ago – incidentally on Governor Orji’s invitation.
Last line: honouring Governor T.A Orji with a CON is a dishonour to Abians that will certainly boomerang at the appropriate time. A stitch in time, as the saying goes, saves nine!

Despite the fact that I see Nasir El-Rufai as a member of the Northern oligarchy, I am sometimes forced to agree with him on some of his politically motivated tirades against some unbelievable administrative blunders of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

How can any right thinking administration in Nigeria ever imagine that it should confer one of the supposedly revered Nigerian National Honours, Commander Of the Order of the Niger (CON) on the governor of Abia State, T.A. Orji, who has been under fire from well meaning stakeholders in the state for many weeks now, on account of his shoddy performance in office? If I may ask, what “good” has Goodluck Jonathan and his men seen in the maladministration by Abia’s T.A Orji, which should attract a National Honour? This is a governor who epitomizes “misgovernance” by all standards; a tyrant at the helm of affairs in the state that now hosts the dirtiest and most dilapidated city, and Umuahia, the pathetic excuse of a state capital in Nigeria.

Why honour a vindictive man under whose watch, Aba, once the commercial pride of the South-East region and nicknamed “Japan Of Africa”, became the pigsty of Nigeria, simply because Aba traders and residents pelted him with sachet water, because of his lacklustre governance of the state and negligence of Aba city?

This is a man who has spent eight years in office doing nothing other than enforcing the extortion of sundry levies ostensibly for dividends of democracy, that are clearly non-existent. What the people have in Abia is nothing but the ‘legacy’ hogwash from the governor. This governor is a “joker” who unashamedly pays hype agents on electronic and social media platforms to disseminate contemptible lies of the most despicable order. He is a person whose name should permanently rest in Abia’s trashcan of history. Maybe, someone should appeal to the very influential oil mogul, Chief Arthur Eze, who recently sent T.A Orji to the cleaners, to send a word to President Jonathan to rescind the decision to make T.A Orji one of the 2014 National Honours awardees.

If T.A Orji is conferred with the CON, then, it will be an official confirmation that Nigeria’s National Honours scheme has gone to the dogs. If T.A Orji’s name is not removed from that list, it will once again reiterate the opposition’s stance that Jonathan’s administration is perpetually engaged in goofs.Goodluck Jonathan is “DOING IT”, but he shouldn’t do it on this one. He should not give T.A Orji the leeway to hide in the Senate in 2015.

Emmachina24: Am not saying that Abia is now a paradise on earth but that the Governor is making huge effort to transform the state from zero level, because there was no developmental foundation on ground to build on so its as if Abia was created in 2010 and Chief T A Orji happens to be the first governor of the State, most of the projects he is doing now should have been done long before now considering that Abia is over 23years. The question now is What did the past Governors of Abia do with the state fund?

What has the governor done in his 7 and half years of being in power? You people surprise me of what you people post on online forum.
compare Abia State and other state that were created the same time and see the progress they have made. My brother say the truth only it shall set u free.

It has been noticed of late, that the CEO of THE SUN and THE TELEGRAPH newspapers Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu has taken upon himself, the responsibility of ensuring that his numerous articles on bad mouthing Abia State and its government are publicized on his newspapers which make headlines for days most times re-captioned
We cannot clearly state why this is happening but it has also given the man on the other side, Theodore Orji, governor of Abia State, the room to fire back at him.

Even before now, the general public had the impression that these two men who started as good friends, are at logger heads prompting Orji kalu to say that “I regret helping Theodore Orji” and later Theodore warning Orji Kalu through punch newspaper to stop disparaging his government.
In the midst of all these, we must not forget all the political go-fatherism and mistakes, from Orji Kalu till this time of T.A Orji, who now wants to extend this manipulations to his puppet, (most likely from his supposedly approved zoning formula) from “Abia South”.
Going by the developments that unfold each day in the build up to Abia 2015 guber race, it is very glaring that former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu is unrepentant and unapologetic about damage he caused Abia people by foisting his political stooge in the person of the incumbent Theodore Ahamefule Orji as the governor in 2007. He thought by doing the foregoing, he could still be the defacto governor of the state in order to perpetrate his selfish desires.

Unfortunately, credibility was not taken into consideration all that mattered to him was to foist someone who at the time was in prison for verifiable allegations of corruption.
But to the utter disappointment of Orji kalu, the incumbent T.A Orji immediately he assumed office breached the agreement they reached. All the events leading to the emergence of His Excellency Theodore Orji as the governor of the state were rooted in evil, desperation and by every means satanic. Ndi Abia are not even surprised at the failure of the present administration to add value to the lives of the people. How do you expect a government contracted in Okija Shrine to succeed in leading a God’s own state?

In the 1st tenure of the present government, he blamed his lack of performance to being in bondage of Orji kalu and the mother, what about now? What flimsy excuses does he have this time around?
The present administration cannot point to any people oriented project it has done in 7 and half years, the infrastructural decay, the tuition fees of the state university out of the reach of the children of the poor, brazen abuse of power by his son Chinedu. This is the administration reputed for being the worst in the history of Nigeria.
During the ceremony of the 23rd anniversary celebration, an illustrious son of Igboland, Prince Arthur Eze without mincing words voiced out his disappointment over the pity state of infrastructure by saying that “Abia State Stinks”. To be honest, this describes the unbearable situation Ndi Abia have found themselves due to the inordinate desire of orji Kalu and Theodore Orji.

How long will this deception go on? Instead of apologizing to Abia people for taking them 20 years backwards, they are busy laying accusations and counter accusations against each other for their insensitivity to the plight of Ndi Abia.
One expected that Orji Kalu would throw his weight behind creating a level playing field for all the aspirants to allow for the best and most credible to emerge to avoid a repeat of the same blunder of 2007. But that is not the case, instead he went as far as stating on the Sun dailies that he is in support of T.A Orji’s zoning formula.
We are highly disappointed that this is coming from a man who had stated that he regrets helping T.A Orji but has turned around to support the decision of this same person on his Abia guber zoning decision.
Orji kalu’s statements lately have suggested that he and T.A Orji are now working together. He stated this on the national dailies that he is working with T.A Orji to ensure a stable PDP in Abia State.

It is now obvious to the people of Abia state that there is a grand scheme between Orji Kalu and T.A Orji as well as the elders of the state to keep the state in perpetual bondage and to pauperize the hardworking people of the state. How then can one explain the silence of the so called Elders over the atrocities going on in the state all in the name of governance?
This prompted Prince Arthur Eze to ask a rhetorical question and I quote “Are there elders in this State? And if yes what are they doing? There is an Igbo adage that goes thus “Okenye anaghi ano n’ulo ewu amuo na-ogbu” when translated means that an elder does not sit and watch a goat give birth while tied to a tree. But the contrary is the case in Abia, their driving force is their stomach and a plate of porridge. But let them be aware that posterity will never forgive them.
In the forthcoming election, we are calling for a mass movement to resist these evil men who are ready to trade the future of our unborn generation for a peanut. To before warn is to before arm. Let whosoever that will emerge as the next chief executive of the state reflect the wish of the people.
Enough is enough!!!

pleaseeee o people, vote Uche Sampson Ogah oooooo. He will change Abia. its what i am sure of. forget T.A. Orji. His time is expired for good.

true and very true my brother. Aba is very dirty. T. A Orji is just praising himself with our money. See now his last born son has been buying cars in Abuja for ppl, i know about 3 of them with our money, to show off big boy.

And i hear some people say he is working. if that thing he is doing is working for you, Ndi Aba juru ajuuuuu. God will judge you. if he steps his foot in Aba, i'm not sure he will like what he will get becos we are really angry, except if he goes with his bullys in the name of security.

I hear of a man with a good heart, and credibility. Uche Sampson Ogah, Masters Energy President. i have been to his home town. he is doing amazing there. i know he will turn Aba around for good. please vote him ooooo.
T A. Orji has finished Aba and Abia State.