Inside activities of Abuja’s dawn traders
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- Category: Business
- Written by Solomon Chung
- Hits: 534
For fear of being caught by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) operatives, mobile traders take advantage of ‘odd hours’ to spread their wares at road side around Wuse market for customers to make brisk business.
The crack of dawn when the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) personnel are yet to report to their duty posts at strategic locations within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and late evenings when they have vacated their positions are normally their own peak hours.Between 6 to 8:30 am and 4:30 pm to 9pm, they hold sway on the sidewalks around the popular Wuse market. Customers are attarcted to all categories of wares sequentially displayed on the pavement within the hours, when the market is yet to open for or about closing to customers.
This category of traders, faceless and without means to own shops in the popular market, will call out to passersby on top of their voices for patronage.
They find customers within the city’s early risers and those who close from work relatively as well as people within the neighborhood. Second hand clothes, DVD plates, shoes, bags among others, are common sights in the ‘market’.
Reasons given why traders resort to such measures varies. Chief among these is the fear of arrest by the AEBP workers in and around the FCT. Traders also blamed lack of fund to buy or rent shop space in Abuja, and also the fact that such market has its type of customers who always keep their loyalty intact for the reason why their operations thrive.
Maxwel, a middle aged man who displays his wares a few meters before the Wuse market entrance, said why he sells at dawn before the official opening hours of business in the market, is to avoid falling prey to the AEBP operatives, who often threatened and most times sacked them from the vicinity of the market.
“At least, I know that they don’t commence work until it is 8 to 8.30 am. Before then at least one must have made some appreciable trading. I do come out to start business by 6 am, especially within the period of longer days and shorter nights. That is when the morning starts as early as possible. Sometimes by that 6 am, the whole place looks like it is already 8 or 9 am.
“At such times, one can even trade for some good period before the struggling, the running and bribing game starts when the environmental workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration are out to commence work at their official hours which are often between 8 or 8.30 am depending on the weather.”
Kabiru Lawal who sells brocades around the area, said if he has enough money, he wouldn’t have been suffering and keep looking over his shoulders, because fear of the authorities who swoop on them at will and destroy or confiscate their wares. He said he would have simply rented a shop to carry out his business without fear of arrest.
“To be fair to them, the environmental workers have really been less troublesome these days. Even if they want to carry out their normal raiding they will first of all issue some warnings unlike in the past when they will swoop on us without prior notice. For how long are we going to be hanging around the market area to do business,” he queried?
“My major prayer is to raise some money and buy a second hand car that I can use the trunk to display my wares, pending when I am able to raise enough to rent a shop. That is the best bet for us; we cannot survive for long with this early morning and late night trading. It is hectic, even though I thank God for what I am getting from it,” Lawal said.
He said getting the shop space is costly and out of their reach.
“A shop space can cost two million naira per annum; some even go for as high as 2.5. Where on earth can some of us raise such money? Even if we decide to share the payment among four or five of us, it won’t be easy, but it does not only end there, the saddest part of the whole story is the fact that most of the property owners would be asking for two years down payment. That is about N4 to N5 million. Haba! It is certainly out of our reach.”
However, Weekly Trust further gathered that there are some customers who are comfortable buying things from the dawn and late evening traders, because of their relatively cheaper prices hence, the traders have very swift sales regardless of the fact that they have just few hours to operate.
Lawal corroborated this story. He said their prices are far below what customers would get inside the market. The reasons he said are simple; “We don’t pay rents, we don’t pay utility bills, we don’t pay the various taxes these shop owners pay, so naturally our wares must be far cheaper.”
He also confirmed that besides that, they don’t have the luxury of time to sell things at prices they would want. “It is only logical for us to just auction these things early in the morning or late in the evening during the last minute or rush hour.’’
He said that is why more customers like to patronize them. “You Nigerians like things that cost less, our prices are irresistible.”
He said even though they don’t make the much needed profit, that is the price they have to pay for not being able to afford a decent shop space to sell their goods.
A young lady who just bought a pair of brocade and a second-hand novel told Weekly Trust that she rather braves the odd times the dawn traders sell their wares than going to the market to buy things. She said their prices are cheaper and this enables her to save some money for other things.
“Since I bought a material inside the market some months ago and after coming out of the market, I saw the same material at dawn traders’ stand with lesser price, almost about N700 difference, I always make sure they don’t have what I want before venturing into the market. I do come as early as possible or late in the evening, after closing from work, in the evening, like 7pm to patronize them”, she explained.
Articles
Inside activities of Abuja’s dawn traders
Category: Business Written by Solomon Chung Hits: 534
For fear of being caught by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) operatives, mobile traders take advantage of ‘odd hours’ to spread their wares at road side around Wuse market for customers to make brisk business.
The crack of dawn when the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) personnel are yet to report to their duty posts at strategic locations within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and late evenings when they have vacated their positions are normally their own peak hours.Between 6 to 8:30 am and 4:30 pm to 9pm, they hold sway on the sidewalks around the popular Wuse market. Customers are attarcted to all categories of wares sequentially displayed on the pavement within the hours, when the market is yet to open for or about closing to customers.
This category of traders, faceless and without means to own shops in the popular market, will call out to passersby on top of their voices for patronage.
They find customers within the city’s early risers and those who close from work relatively as well as people within the neighborhood. Second hand clothes, DVD plates, shoes, bags among others, are common sights in the ‘market’.
Reasons given why traders resort to such measures varies. Chief among these is the fear of arrest by the AEBP workers in and around the FCT. Traders also blamed lack of fund to buy or rent shop space in Abuja, and also the fact that such market has its type of customers who always keep their loyalty intact for the reason why their operations thrive.
Maxwel, a middle aged man who displays his wares a few meters before the Wuse market entrance, said why he sells at dawn before the official opening hours of business in the market, is to avoid falling prey to the AEBP operatives, who often threatened and most times sacked them from the vicinity of the market.
“At least, I know that they don’t commence work until it is 8 to 8.30 am. Before then at least one must have made some appreciable trading. I do come out to start business by 6 am, especially within the period of longer days and shorter nights. That is when the morning starts as early as possible. Sometimes by that 6 am, the whole place looks like it is already 8 or 9 am.
“At such times, one can even trade for some good period before the struggling, the running and bribing game starts when the environmental workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration are out to commence work at their official hours which are often between 8 or 8.30 am depending on the weather.”
Kabiru Lawal who sells brocades around the area, said if he has enough money, he wouldn’t have been suffering and keep looking over his shoulders, because fear of the authorities who swoop on them at will and destroy or confiscate their wares. He said he would have simply rented a shop to carry out his business without fear of arrest.
“To be fair to them, the environmental workers have really been less troublesome these days. Even if they want to carry out their normal raiding they will first of all issue some warnings unlike in the past when they will swoop on us without prior notice. For how long are we going to be hanging around the market area to do business,” he queried?
“My major prayer is to raise some money and buy a second hand car that I can use the trunk to display my wares, pending when I am able to raise enough to rent a shop. That is the best bet for us; we cannot survive for long with this early morning and late night trading. It is hectic, even though I thank God for what I am getting from it,” Lawal said.
He said getting the shop space is costly and out of their reach.
“A shop space can cost two million naira per annum; some even go for as high as 2.5. Where on earth can some of us raise such money? Even if we decide to share the payment among four or five of us, it won’t be easy, but it does not only end there, the saddest part of the whole story is the fact that most of the property owners would be asking for two years down payment. That is about N4 to N5 million. Haba! It is certainly out of our reach.”
However, Weekly Trust further gathered that there are some customers who are comfortable buying things from the dawn and late evening traders, because of their relatively cheaper prices hence, the traders have very swift sales regardless of the fact that they have just few hours to operate.
Lawal corroborated this story. He said their prices are far below what customers would get inside the market. The reasons he said are simple; “We don’t pay rents, we don’t pay utility bills, we don’t pay the various taxes these shop owners pay, so naturally our wares must be far cheaper.”
He also confirmed that besides that, they don’t have the luxury of time to sell things at prices they would want. “It is only logical for us to just auction these things early in the morning or late in the evening during the last minute or rush hour.’’
He said that is why more customers like to patronize them. “You Nigerians like things that cost less, our prices are irresistible.”
He said even though they don’t make the much needed profit, that is the price they have to pay for not being able to afford a decent shop space to sell their goods.
A young lady who just bought a pair of brocade and a second-hand novel told Weekly Trust that she rather braves the odd times the dawn traders sell their wares than going to the market to buy things. She said their prices are cheaper and this enables her to save some money for other things.
“Since I bought a material inside the market some months ago and after coming out of the market, I saw the same material at dawn traders’ stand with lesser price, almost about N700 difference, I always make sure they don’t have what I want before venturing into the market. I do come as early as possible or late in the evening, after closing from work, in the evening, like 7pm to patronize them”, she explained.