Nyanyan traders lament ‘strange’ tax by FCT officials

On this hot Wednesday afternoon, a woman in her late thirties is seen bitterly complaining to a growing group of other market women who have gathered to see what is ailing the forlorn looking lady. On getting closer and listening to snippets of her tale, her plight becomes more apparent. She is a new entrant […]

On this hot Wednesday afternoon, a woman in her late thirties is seen bitterly complaining to a growing group of other market women who have gathered to see what is ailing the forlorn looking lady. On getting closer and listening to snippets of her tale, her plight becomes more apparent. She is a new entrant to the big market and has just been duped by some unknown ‘officials’ of the market who have collected separate sums up to N12,000 for the allocation of a small space on the road that she wanted to use for her trade.  The woman Mercy Adoke said that, ‘I have paid up to N12,000 since I came here last week. The first set of people that came to me demanded for N3,000 which I quickly gave when they told me it is for the allocated space. A day later another set came to me to say that they wanted to collect N5,000 on behalf of AMAC. I gave them the money also without complaining thinking that that would be the end of the matter and that they would not bother me. I was so surprised today then when a separate group came again and told me that I had to pay another N4,000. I refused. The next thing I saw was that they started tugging at my stand trying to pull it down. Some of them had even started gathering my wares in a big bag they brought along. It was when I saw them physically harassing another woman that I decided to pay the sum of money they asked for. The only difference was that after I paid this they gave me a receipt which they said was purportedly from an OK Traders Association which I am not aware of. The other traders here told me that I had been duped since there was no association like that as far as they were knew. How much do I hope to make from the sale of my goods as profit that would offset the money I have paid so far also bearing in mind that the market is just a weekly affair?’

 

Another trader, Annabel Chudi who sells second hand clothing and shoes looks woebegone on this hot day. She tells the reporter that she is already thinking of packing her wares and leaving the area for good. Her grouse is similar to Mercy’s. ‘If you had been here a moment ago you would have seen man’s act of inhumanity to a fellow man.

Two women were beaten just because they refused to part with money some of these ‘boys’ were going around taking. They usually resort to violence whenever you refuse to give them the money they are asking for. On a typical market day we pay different sums ranging from N50 to N150 to different sets of people. Some of them say that they are from AMAC, while others simply say that they are park boys who secure the garage and make it clean.

A few of them tell us that they are the indigenes of the area and are entitled to collect money too. They come with all sorts of explanations and at the end they fleece everyone here. On a typical day you can find over 7,000 traders on the road here and they make sure they collect money from everyone. If you do not give them they become violent and can injure you. All these expenses are not connected to the regular N3000 that some of us pay as regular owners of allocated spaces which have been marked with iron nails. The space belongs to those who pay these amount monthly but even they have to pay all these ‘bribes’ if they are to escape the wrath of the area boys and their government accomplices.’

Paul, a trader who deals in bags and accessories urges the relevant authorities to come to their aid as they are being browbeaten every week by faceless thugs who collect money and seize their goods wantonly.

‘How much do we make here? Nothing after we have settled all these people who come every market day. I am a graduate but the economic situation in the country has pushed me to this level of poverty where I have to stay by the roadside to make a living. But they are still making life difficult for us. These people who call themselves task force collude with some members of the police force and they raid the market persistently. They seize goods of those who do not settle them and beat up the stubborn ones.

Sometime when you go to collect your seized goods at their office some would be missing while others would have been mixed up with other goods seized from other traders therefore making it hard to know which is yours. You have to pay a large sum not less than N5,000 to take back your goods. That is why we prefer to settle them rather than allow them take the goods to their office.’

David, one of the levy collectors who many of the traders know well says that the traders are at fault due to ignorance. Displaying a ticket book for the reporter to see, he says, ‘You can see that this is a registered ticket that the AMAC authorities ‘accept.’ I collect N150 every week for the maintenance of the market. N50 is for the women who sweep and clear the gutters. N50 is for security and surveillance while the remaining N50 is used to settle the boys who work for me and I take the remaining for myself. Nobody complains that it is too much. We recently started collecting N3,000 so that we can use that to clear the blocked drainage and open up some of the adjoining gutters. Apart from that we do not collect any other money. However there are some other boys who reside in this area who say that they are the owners of the land who also come to collect money from the traders. There is also a man who says he is the leader of Okrika traders association and we hear he collects money as high as N5000. I do not support that.

Accredited supervisor of the market who simply identifies himself as Amos told the reporter that AMAC only collects the sum of N50 from the street traders and any other amount they pay is illegal. ‘The area they are doing business is a temporary one. That is the first point I want you to take. But because they keep coming to us that they need a space in the market and it is expensive we have allowed them to stay there temporarily until the government moves them from there. While they are there they are expected to pay a token of N50 for the maintenance of the spots they are in. Those with lock up shops in the main market pay as high as N15,000. The ones found on the roadside are just temporary residents. Due to the large number of people who come there every market day we cannot monitor what goes on there but we always advise them to come to the office before they pay anybody any amount of money. We have our own accredited collectors who issue AMAC receipts for all payments. If they are unsure of the destination of their money they can walk up to the office to verify but many of them are not willing to do that. I am aware of the N3,000 for the drainage being collected and also aware that the Okrika traders have their own union where they agree to collect specific amounts every month but any other fee is illegal as far as am concerned. On the raids by men of the Nigeria Police on traders, he agrees it occurs but adds, ‘they always inform us whenever they want to carry out a raid on the market but we don’t collaborate with them on such raids. They have their own security sides to take care of just as we have ours to take care of too…’