Published November 22, 2024
By Chinwndu Eugene
Nearly three weeks after an order by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to roadside hawkers, urchins and beggars to leave the streets or be arrested, the elements have refused to heed the directive.
Findings indicate that the illegal road users have defied the order of the minister to vacate the streets, carrying on with their illegal trade as usual.
Our findings show that the unwanted elements had initially left the streets when the special task force raised by Wike to clear the streets initially swooped on them Monday October 28, 2024 but quickly returned once the task force members left.
In a similar trend, beggars, who had momentarily left their preferred locations in the city, have also resumed their trade, not minding the minister’s threat to arrest and move them into a rehabilitation centre.
Checks indicate that the daring traders and hawkers have increased their illicit operation around Katampe by Winners Chapel Junction where a major road construction work has created a reduction in road size and an ample opportunity for the display of numerous wares for motorists and commuters.
The defiant hawkers and beggars, it was learnt, are taking advantage of the additional bumps created by the construction company to reduce motorists’ speed to ply their trade.
They are also trading with impunity at the Dawaki bypass opposite the Galadimawa entrance to Gwarinpa main estate and other bus-stops towards Kubwa.
Findings show that there has been no molestation of the hawkers and beggars by either the regular policemen, or any other security outfit as the hawkers and traders continue with their trade daily, running around with their wares and soliciting at very close range for buyers and patrons.
The situation is the same in other major routes across the FCT. A visit by AV correspondent along the Apo Mechanic axis of the FCT on Tuesday and Wednesday revealed the same pattern of trading and begging by desperate persons, who swarmed around motorists to either sell their goods or beg for alms at major points.
Some of the hawkers and beggars, who were spotted by AV correspondent, said they had no intention of leaving the streets unless they were given another means of livelihood. One of them, who gave his name as Ali Yaro, admitted that he begins and ends his day on the road as a beggar at times and as a seller of any available product at some points just to earn a living.
“Where do they want us to relocate to when we have no other source of income apart from begging and selling on the road?” Yaro queried.
It was unclear as at the time of filing the report if the Wike’s task force had been disbanded or if he had given a counter-order to the team to stand down for now.
It will be recalled that the FCT minister had warned sternly that he would deal ruthlessly with any trader or beggar found on the streets of Abuja as from October 28, 2024.
