Date Published: 08/21/11
Relocation Order: Army sacks Traders
Pandemonium reigned supreme today at the adjoining St.Michaels
street, Park and Pound roads as a team of soldiers and members of the Abia
state Vigilante Services (AVS)arrived to enforce the relocation order of
the Abia state government. It was a theatre of confusion as the elecronics
dealers battled to save what was left of their wares as the security men
continued to destroy the makeshift shops which the area has been known
for. In the process, many passers by were wounded as the area soon became
deserted, with the traders converging at a safe distance to lament their
woes.
Abia state government recently set up a committee to oversee
the relocation of the electronics traders to Orie Ohabiam market with the
intention of decongesting what the government described as an already
crowded.
But the traders have continued to see the government’s order as
victimization as they are strongly arguing that the Orie Ohabiam market
does not suit the purpose of a modern day market because it has become
dilapidated and lacks amenities.
According to a trader who declined to have his name on print, “there
is no basis for the government to force us to relocate to the Orie Ohabiam
or Ehere markets. Look at the poor state of the roads, how can we, the
traders or our customers access the markets? There is the problem of bad
road network in Aba. The governor should first of all,, do the roads and
open these areas. It will be easy for the traders to obey the order.
Sending a team of security men cannot solve the problem. Government is
simply insensitive to our plight”
Mr Okey Eme, a trader at the Pound road axis said “the
government seems to be getting the issues wrong. How can they lock up our
goods for two weeks now and be harassing us with Soldiers and the Bakassi
Boys? I don’t think this will solve the problem. The traders should be
given time to adjust while the government makes efforts to address the
issues being raised.” he concluded.
Our correspondent gathered that the traders are hell bent on
maintaining their present location, insisting that they are not
constituting to nuisance to the environment as being alleged by the
government. Other claim that they provide ‘park and shop’ services to
customers which they said, is obtainable all over the world.
A visit to the area revealed that the shops are still
marked, “ Sealed by the Abia state government, Ministry of Commerce and
Industry”. Most times, during the day, a source hinted, combined teams
of Soldiers, Policemen and the AVS usually visit the area to ensure
compliance.
In the meantime, the traders are said to be patient while hoping that
the government may soon get weary of “its cat and mouse game” in the
enforcement of the relocation order. This, according to an electronics
dealer at Pound road who pleaded anonymity, may be like past relocation
orders where the government, after much effort,decided to allow the
traders stay on as in the days of former Gov. Orji Uzor Kalu’s
administration, where only a segment of the traders relocated to the Orie
Ohabiam market.
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