After market sack, disabled traders cry:‘We’ll go back to street-begging’

“I don’t want to remember the event because it makes me feel bad. You know, when the operatives showed up, the disabled traders were caught unawares and had no option than to face them. Some of them could not move due to their disabilities. I saw one trying to stop them from packing and making […]

“I don’t want to remember the event because it makes me feel bad. You know, when the operatives showed up, the disabled traders were caught unawares and had no option than to face them. Some of them could not move due to their disabilities. I saw one trying to stop them from packing and making away with his items. Two of his legs are bad, so, in the process he laid on the ground holding the bag in a firm grip.”
Biodun continued: “Another armless one put forth his feet on his wares to prevent them from being moved away. But in the end, the operatives overpowered them and made away with some of their items.’’
Our reporter who went round the market and the proposed temporary site allocated to the embattled disabled traders behind NIPOST observed that the traders had all been evacuated from the area and have not yet started business at the new site. Meanwhile, the discrimination claim by the disabled persons could somewhat be established as there were other able-bodied traders still doing business at the same vicinity.
Some of the disabled traders have, however, resorted to doing some petty trading around, which has not yielded any result due to the status of the settlement. Others, especially the teenagers are contemplating returning to street-begging in order to cope with the economic hardship. “Our condition has been deteriorating right from the day we got sacked,’’ one of them said.
Some of them told Weekly Trust that they have made frantic efforts to get the new site given to them cleared in order to get their businesses started but they have been facing serious difficulties in putting up the makeshift sheds in place. One of the traders, Muntari, said at the moment they have spent almost N100,000 and the work has still not reached 50 per cent completion.
“We thought it would be something within the range of that amount but it is obviously beyond that. We have done our best, but we’ve run out of funds. We wish the government can assist with the completion of the makeshift facilities since they have vowed not to allow us do business around Wuse Market. We, however, begged and appealed to the FCT authorities to allow us till month end but they refused. What do we do?’’
Weekly Trust learnt that in the process of sacking the disabled traders from the market vicinity, a lot of them lost their property. Confirming this, however, Muntari said some of their members have gone to the AEPB office in Wuse, Zone 3, to reclaim their belongings but some have still not been able to collect theirs.
Muntari said the disabled traders’ condition is bad and the challenges are enormous. “Some of us have families to take care of. We have done our best to raise money and start trading but this kind of harassment and systematic displacement is making our condition even worse, considering the fact that we are physically challenged. We just feel government doesn’t want to be seeing us within the Abuja municipal area. They want us to live and rot in the suburbs.
“As I am talking to you, we are practically jobless. How do we go to the new site when it has not been fixed? Where do we get the money to fix the place? How do we feed our families and take care of ourselves?’’
Reacting on the issue, the Public Relations Officer of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Mr. Samuel Reuben Musa, said the board has done the best it can by relocating the traders to a new temporary site and would not relent in enforcing the law. “We have already given them a new place and the deadline given to them to move out of the Wuse market vicinity has elapsed, hence the enforcement has taken-off. Anyone caught hawking there will be prosecuted.’’
Musa said about four persons have already been arrested for flouting the law. However, he said the enforcement cuts across all persons, able-bodied or disabled.