Silent markets, hungry traders in Rivers

21-day lockdown in Rivers State leaves traders and their families groaning. Since the lock down in the once bustling state, markets have fallen silent and the traders are now grumbling because of hunger as our correspondent reports   Three weeks ago all markets in Rivers State were shut down as part of measures to contain […]

21-day lockdown in Rivers State leaves traders and their families groaning. Since the lock down in the once bustling state, markets have fallen silent and the traders are now grumbling because of hunger as our correspondent reports

 

Three weeks ago all markets in Rivers State were shut down as part of measures to contain the outbreak of COVID19 pandemic in the state.

Governor Nyesom Wike had in a state-wide broadcast said that shutting down markets in the state is to reduce the large number of persons that usually gather in there and avoid person to person contact which is said to be  one of the easiest ways of spreading coronavirus.

Closing the markets in the state has taken a big toll in Port Harcourt, where major markets such as Mile Market, Ikokwu Spare parts Market, Mile 3 Market, Rumuokoro Market, Timber Market, Oil Mill Market,  Echue Market, Oyigbo Timber Market, Slaughter Market, Rumuodomoya Market, Creek Road Market, New Road market, Rumumasi Market and Oroworukwu Market were shut down for business. All the markets in the 23 local governments were also shut down.

Barely three weeks after the closure of the markets, some traders who spoke with our reporter said that they are facing serious financial challenges.

Some desperate ones, who attempted to disobey the lock down order,  by opening their shops  had their fingers burnt as their goods were confiscated by the government taskforce on enforcement of market shut down.

Those affected most by the closure are foodstuff sellers, and second hand clothes and spare parts dealers.

One of them, a second hand clothes dealer at the Flyover Bridge Market, Peter Ofor, said it has been tough going as he is cash strapped after buying goods he can no longer sell.

“The lockdown in the state is really taking a very big toll on us. Less than 48 hours after I came back from Lagos where I normally buy my goods, the state government directed that all markets in the state be shut down. I have my store beside the Mile One Flyover and I was not able to sell off my goods,” he said.

“All the clothes I bought are packed in my house and nobody is asking for them. It is when I go out that I can sell my goods and since the market was shut down, we don’t go out again. All we do is to sit down in the house and this is really affecting my family. We find it very difficult to feed,” he said.

He called on the state government to create a special market for them where health officials can monitor and ensure that social distance is observed in the market.

Another trader who simply gave his name as Tarri said closing the market has created hardship in his family.

Tarri, a food stuff seller, said, “We that deal on perishable items such as foodstuff are worst hit. I deal on perishable food items such as tomatoes, fish, pepper, onion and spices. All the perishable items I bought before the market was shut rot away in my house because I was not able to take them to market for sale. Since then I have not gone to market. My family are dying of hunger because there is no money to buy what we will eat,” he said.

At the Ikokwu Spare parts Market the once bubbling Port Harcourt only spare parts market has become a graveyard of sort.

The market dominated by traders from the Eastern part of Nigeria had been a beehive of activities where people from Rivers State and beyond come to buy vehicle spare parts.

Many traders have stayed home. Others can be seen loitering around the market premises, unable to open for business.

A trader at the market,  Aka Egbuchi said that many of his colleagues have turned to social media to conduct their business.

“Since the state government closed the market we have been out of business as we have not opened our stores for three weeks now. But what can we do now? So many of us have established social media accounts on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and all that with our customers who use the platform to request from us the particular parts they need. When we get such requests, we move in to supply such parts to them he said.

An Executive member of Mile One Market Association who did not want his name in print said closing the market for three weeks is not a child’s play and called on the state government to adopt more friendly measures that will sustain the economic base of its members.

Governor Wike has not given any specific date when the markets will reopen.

For now, the traders will wait and hope.