How the FCTA officials chase residents to their death (pictures)

– AEPB officials have chased many helpless hawkers to their early grave

– Many of them lamented that there are no jobs so they had to hawk to enable them put food on the table

– AEPB officials denied the allegations levelled against them 

It was a Wednesday morning; just like many others, Mary Jonathan came out to her hawking spot at the A.Y.A junction to sell banana in order to help her widowed mother, the 16-year-old native of Benue state never knew that day would be her encounter with death.

Mary, who made ends meet for her mother and three siblings by hawking bananas, had her dreams completely shattered when an oncoming vehicle knocked her down while she was fleeing from the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) taskforce in August 2014.

The Ban

The ban on street hawking within the Federal Capital City has remained a very long time struggle for the FCT administration especially the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).

The city of Abuja is unquestionably a convergence of a lot of hustlers and hawkers who are into selling of different items in order to make ends meet.

These hawkers have come from different parts of the country especially FCT’s neighboring states to seek supposedly greener pastures in the city. But the question is how easily do their dreams become a reality?

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Hawkers have lost their prized items to the AEPB officials and some died, one would have thought that these deaths should discourage the hawkers from continuing their business, but their population is rather surging vigorously by the day.

Hawker’s plight

The story of Juliana Ameh, who lost her younger sister, Mary Ameh  is just a reflection of many others like her who will not allow their predicament prevent them from labouring in order to survive.

In an interview with NAIJ.com, Juliana narrated how her sister, Mary Ameh lost her life while running away from AEPB officials; she said Mary had a dream of becoming a nurse in future but that ambition was short lived as a result of her death.

“I successfully finished my secondary education and Mary was in SS2, we came into Abuja with our mother who is a widow, in 2009.

My personal ambition has always been to have a university education and get a good job to take care of my mother and siblings since I am the first child, but that was shattered after our father died and my mum couldn’t afford to sponsor my education to the university, so my sister and I   decided to sell banana at A.Y.A to feed the family.

“On that faithful day, we were both seated waiting for customers to buy banana, then we sighted the AEPB officials coming toward us in their van, immediately we started running and Mary wanted to cross to the other side of the road without watching the road then she was knocked down by a coming vehicle. Immediately she was rushed to Asokoro general hospital but died after two days.

“That incidence made me change my location to Jabi, after some months because hawking is the only means of livelihood since we cannot afford to rent a shop,” she said.

Speaking further Juliana said, “Recently, I was arrested at the Jabi Garage Junction by the officials of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) for hawking on the street. My items were seized by the officials and I was taken to a mobile court where I was charged for selling on Abuja streets.

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“Through the help of another friend, I was able a fine of N5, 000 charged by the court before I was released. This, again made me change my location to the Federal Secretariat,” Juliana narrated.

Also narrating his ordeal, Aminu Suleiman, another trader selling sachet water on the street, said his goods have been severally seized.

“Sometimes when I notice the arrival of the AEPB task force, I have to abandon my goods and run for safety, to avoid being caught and taken to court because this is the only way to feed myself and my family,” he said.

Suleiman, an indigene of Katsina state, said he came to Abuja, because of the hardship he was passing through in his state, feeding his wife and two children was a great challenge.

According to him, “the only problem in achieving my plan is the AEPB task force; they are very brutal when discharging their duties. They do not give breathing spaces at all to sell anything, so am very careful, as I don’t want them to take me to their court.”

Another, hawker, Miss Rose Kalu, who sells banana at the federal secretariat expressed her anger and frustration about their fate in the city, she decried that the constant pressures being exerted on them by the Board is too much to bear, as they keep recording huge losses.

“Environmental people usually mount pressure on us, as if people working in the organization don’t have human sympathy for the poor people trying to cater for themselves.

“They are very wicked, as they destroy peoples items that were maybe bought on credit. So, when we see the task force we have to run; but what do they want us to do, when do we eat,” she lamented.

Similarly, Sandra Jacob pointed out that she sells ground nut on the street, in order for her to pay her school fees.

“I know is wrong hawking within the city centre, but because my major source of income is realised from what I’m selling, I find it difficult to stop.

In an interview with NAIJ.com, a banana hawker who pleaded for anonymity, said she was ready to be killed by whosoever that wants to stop her from hawking her banana.

She said “my kids are in school, I pay their fees with the banana that I sell. I can’t watch my children not go to school. If anyone wants to stop me, the person should feed us and also pay my kids’ school fees.

“I have had a lot of clashes with AEPB men, so I am ready for any kind of police or soldiers that want to come. If they want a beautiful city, they should end the poverty that is disturbing us in this country.

“Recently, there was a report that one of the taskforce members had died after he allegedly consumed one of the seized items, obviously not aware that it was poisoned by the seller.

“It was gathered that the hawker of the food item had deliberately poisoned the food because he suspected that the taskforce members often help themselves by consuming the food items after they have been seized and taken to their offices,” she added.

For Halima Ibrahim a widow, who hawks banana at the AYA junction in Abuja, said hawking on the street is the only way to take care of her three children explaining that she cannot afford to rent a shop in the market.

“ I have been hawking banana for the past 8 years since my husband died and several times my goods have been sized by the Abuja Environmental Protection board without refund, I cannot afford renting a shop because I don’t even make much gain from this business, the little I make goes into children’s school fees.

“Personally I don’t love hawking on the street because I know the dangers involved, but what will I do when I have no option, I will stop hawking on the road if only a shop is given to me or a loan to rent a shop,” she said.

Mary Daniel, a plantain hawker at Berger bus stop explained that her goods has been seized several times without refund adding that she was told these goods after they are seized are consumed by the AEPB officials.

“The other day my friend was arrested and her goods where sized when she got back from their office she told me that she saw the AEPB officials consuming sized items, goods that poor Nigerians suffer to sell in order to earn a living that is very bad,” Daniel said.

“Although the level at which the AEPB officials seize our goods and chase us now has reduced I don’t know the reason it could be because of the forthcoming election because political parties have been coming around to tell us to vote for them,” he added.

Michael Joshua a secondary school student who hawks plantain at Area 1 bus stop despite been knocked down by a vehicle before, cannot stop hawking.

“One day I was trying to cross over to the other side to sell plantain to a woman and because I was rushing I did not notice a car was coming, but I thank God the car was not on speed so I was not badly hit,though I sustained some injuries, I stayed off the street for three month but had to come back again because I won’t go to school if don’t sell plantain,” he narrated.

Friday Benjamin, a business man explaining his experience with the AEPB officials at Wuse II said,

“I was standing at a junction when the officials came around and sized food items, recharge card and many more from hawkers, I saw them in their vehicle shearing and eating the food sized, I felt so battered so I brought out my phone and snapped them as they shear and eat but unfortunately for me   one of them saw me from behind and that was how I was apprehended beaten and taken to their office.

“There I was harassed and they almost lock me up, they collected my phone deleted the pictures and warned me never to tell or shear what I saw with anyone.”

The way forward

Speaking on the issue, Mr. Isa Mohammed, a resident of Wuse II, said no amount of force can stop street hawking in Abuja, because the hawkers have no other ways of eking out a living.

He said if they had other means, it would have been easier. According to him, some of them are ready to die in the course of putting food on their tables.

“No amounts of force can stop street hawking in Abuja, because that is their life. They can’t eat until they hawk, so some of them are ready to die in the course of looking for what to eat,” he said.

Mrs. Helen Matthew, an Abuja-based human rights activist, speaking to NAIJ.com said, “No amount of force can stop hawker from selling their wares or items on the streets of Abuja.

She was, however, with the view that if the authorities do not want to see hawkers on the streets, they should provide them with employments.

According to her, “in developed countries, if the government brings up a policy, it provides alternatives but that is not the reality in Nigeria; you said you don’t want hawkers to hawk on the street, then give them jobs or give them free shops to sell their wares.”

Mrs. Matthew added that, “the act could result into clashes between security operatives and the hawkers soon, if the FCTA wants to enhance total ban of street hawking in the FCT.”

She however advised that instead of the board to be running after these young boys who are looking for their means of survival, such youths could be rehabilitated.

“Many of these hawkers you find on the streets of Abuja depend on these items they hawk for their survival. Many of them do not have mother or father to feed them, as all their lives depend on those wares they hawk about. So, I believe that instead of chasing them or arresting them and seizing their items, the board could rehabilitate them for them to become better citizens,” she said.

“During the administration of the immediate past minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, a rehabilitation camp was opened in Sabon-Lugbe in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where many of the arrested female hawkers and prostitutes were kept for rehabilitation and trainings.

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“It is believed that since the rehabilitation camp was opened in Sabon-Lugbe, many female hawkers and prostitutes who were picked on Abuja streets have been trained in various trades. Some of the handiworks taught in the centre include tailoring, hairdressing, bead making, and cake baking, among others.

I believed if jobs are provided for them, they will stay off the street because they are also aware of the dangers involved in hawking.

AEPB Stand

The AEPB, which is saddled with the responsibility of making sure the goal of having a beautiful city free from hawking and begging has been mounting pressuring on petty street traders and beggars carrying out their activities on major road corridors and pedestrians bridges across the city.

Speaking with NAIJ.com, Christopher Anugwa, Mabushi district supervisor, debunked the allegation that items sized from Hawkers are consumed by AEPB officials according to him, food items are always taken to a destitute camp in Bwari while other items are been destroyed. He also added that a fine of 1000, to 5000 is charged depending on the offence.

“When we arrest offenders  we try them, if found guilty they will be charged to pay a fine ranging from 1,000 naira to 5,000 naira if they don’t pay within the period of six month we destroy the goods but if the goods are food items we take them to Bwari destitute camp and give to destitute there,” he said.

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