In a manner horribly resembling the events that sparked off the Arab spring last year, yesterday a man who sells oranges in front of my sister’s house fell victim to the FCT task force. As we know, it has been decided that the landscape of Abuja cannot be dented with people selling oranges, recharge cards and other things by the side of the road. This is baffling because someone has decided that even though Abuja is in a 3rd world country, the millions of people that have managed to find some form of livelihood for themselves are less important than the Singapore-like image our authorities are desperately trying to recreate.
My worry in this whole debacle is that the task force had the heart to collect N5000 levy from a common orange seller even after they had confiscated his N4000 worth of oranges. This person feeds, clothes and shelters his family from the proceeds of his orange selling with no help from the government. Government has not and cannot provide him with a job, he is just doing the best he can to earn a living but as usual, the government is more interested in pursuing some text book policy they have lifted from countries in the West rather than helping and encouraging people to have meaningful lives. What did the task force do with the oranges they confiscated? My guess is they shared it among themselves while a desperate man and his family went to bed on empty stomachs. Is the levy going to reach government purse? I would be surprised if it does because as we all know, these laws are not there to serve as deterrents (the authorities know how unrealistic the laws are), they are there so that government officials can enrich themselves.
To refresh our memories, Mohammed Bouazizi was a fruit seller on the streets of Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia. His wares were confiscated by municipal officials including a scale he had borrowed from a fellow fruit seller for weighing fruits. The reason for seizing the wares is not clear as some claim he didn’t have a permit to sell on the street even as the municipal office claims that no permit is needed to sell fruits on the streets of Sidi Bouzid. It is largely believed though that just like officers in Nigeria, the municipal officials were expecting some bribe in order to release the wares which Bouazizi didn’t have. He went to the municipal office three times to retrieve his wares and most especially the scale but on each occasion, he was rudely turned down. To add to his predicament, he was insulted. Some reports even claim he was slapped and pushed around. He had no other source of livelihood; he needed his wares and cart to be able to put food on the table. In his desperation, he settled for self immolation and as a result set the whole region on fire. I don’t know about you but this story bears a strong resemblance with what happens on the streets of Abuja every day and even other parts of the country.
Going back to the issue of our laws not serving as deterrents, a good example is the desperation with which police officers apprehend road traffic offenders. They don’t do it to prevent accidents (they don’t care about that); they do it to extort money. In their hearts, it is not about effecting change and this is why things will never change in Nigeria. As far as people in position of authority are doing their job for the wrong reason, however good and effective the job may seem, it will never work. That is why despite heavy police and FRSC presence in every corner of the FCT, accidents continue to happen every day.
Another example is the people that sell furniture by the side of the street especially places like Ahmadu Bello Way here in Abuja. If you pay attention, you will notice that they are very creative and their products are of good quality. Most of them are graduates; they are forced to explore their inner potentials out of desperation. In civilized climes, such people would be supported by Government not only to sustain their businesses, but to elevate their products to international standard and export them to other countries. But what does our own government do? It chases them from the streets and they lose their source of livelihood in order to preserve the image of the FCT.
Another major source of concern for residents of FCT is the newly introduced pay and park system operating in some parts of the territory whereby residents are expected to pay a specified amount of money depending on how long they park their cars on the road. Is it realistic to introduce such a policy in a place where only one form of transportation exists? Is it fair to introduce it in a place where railway system is like a mirage? In most places where this rule operates in the FCT, the shops, shopping malls and offices do not have provision for parking. That means people are forced to pay to park their cars which is only making an already difficult life in Abuja unbearable. Clearly someone lifted the policy from another country without taking all these points into consideration. The only consideration for FCT is the revenue they generate from the policy not minding whether it is inhuman or wrong. Government has continuously been talking from both sides of its mouth. It talks of empowering youth and providing employment for people, yet those that have managed to employ themselves and earn stable livelihoods are being harassed by the very government that is supposed to protect and help them. No one is arguing that selling oranges, furniture and recharge cards on the road is a desirable thing, but we must weigh our priorities. Is it more important to have our streets looking like those of a1st world country while the people that live in the city live like paupers? These countries we are desperately copying have effective welfare systems whereby the unemployed are well taken care of. On the other hand, is there any basis for comparing Nigeria with any developed country? With careful planning, having beautiful streets and keeping people in their businesses don’t even have to be mutually exclusive. With strategic planning, recharge card booths can be set up by the side of the road to avoid sporadic parking on the road. Similar arrangements can be made for all other people that sell things by the roadside. But until such is done, all effort must be made to see that no man or woman is pushed away by unfriendly policies.
In a manner horribly resembling the events that sparked off the Arab spring last year, yesterday a man who sells oranges in front of my sister’s house fell victim to the FCT task force. As we know, it has been decided that the landscape of Abuja cannot be dented with people selling oranges, recharge cards and other things by the side of the road. This is baffling because someone has decided that even though Abuja is in a 3rd world country, the millions of people that have managed to find some form of livelihood for themselves are less important than the Singapore-like image our authorities are desperately trying to recreate.
My worry in this whole debacle is that the task force had the heart to collect N5000 levy from a common orange seller even after they had confiscated his N4000 worth of oranges. This person feeds, clothes and shelters his family from the proceeds of his orange selling with no help from the government. Government has not and cannot provide him with a job, he is just doing the best he can to earn a living but as usual, the government is more interested in pursuing some text book policy they have lifted from countries in the West rather than helping and encouraging people to have meaningful lives. What did the task force do with the oranges they confiscated? My guess is they shared it among themselves while a desperate man and his family went to bed on empty stomachs. Is the levy going to reach government purse? I would be surprised if it does because as we all know, these laws are not there to serve as deterrents (the authorities know how unrealistic the laws are), they are there so that government officials can enrich themselves.
To refresh our memories, Mohammed Bouazizi was a fruit seller on the streets of Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia. His wares were confiscated by municipal officials including a scale he had borrowed from a fellow fruit seller for weighing fruits. The reason for seizing the wares is not clear as some claim he didn’t have a permit to sell on the street even as the municipal office claims that no permit is needed to sell fruits on the streets of Sidi Bouzid. It is largely believed though that just like officers in Nigeria, the municipal officials were expecting some bribe in order to release the wares which Bouazizi didn’t have. He went to the municipal office three times to retrieve his wares and most especially the scale but on each occasion, he was rudely turned down. To add to his predicament, he was insulted. Some reports even claim he was slapped and pushed around. He had no other source of livelihood; he needed his wares and cart to be able to put food on the table. In his desperation, he settled for self immolation and as a result set the whole region on fire. I don’t know about you but this story bears a strong resemblance with what happens on the streets of Abuja every day and even other parts of the country.
Going back to the issue of our laws not serving as deterrents, a good example is the desperation with which police officers apprehend road traffic offenders. They don’t do it to prevent accidents (they don’t care about that); they do it to extort money. In their hearts, it is not about effecting change and this is why things will never change in Nigeria. As far as people in position of authority are doing their job for the wrong reason, however good and effective the job may seem, it will never work. That is why despite heavy police and FRSC presence in every corner of the FCT, accidents continue to happen every day.
Another example is the people that sell furniture by the side of the street especially places like Ahmadu Bello Way here in Abuja. If you pay attention, you will notice that they are very creative and their products are of good quality. Most of them are graduates; they are forced to explore their inner potentials out of desperation. In civilized climes, such people would be supported by Government not only to sustain their businesses, but to elevate their products to international standard and export them to other countries. But what does our own government do? It chases them from the streets and they lose their source of livelihood in order to preserve the image of the FCT.
Another major source of concern for residents of FCT is the newly introduced pay and park system operating in some parts of the territory whereby residents are expected to pay a specified amount of money depending on how long they park their cars on the road. Is it realistic to introduce such a policy in a place where only one form of transportation exists? Is it fair to introduce it in a place where railway system is like a mirage? In most places where this rule operates in the FCT, the shops, shopping malls and offices do not have provision for parking. That means people are forced to pay to park their cars which is only making an already difficult life in Abuja unbearable. Clearly someone lifted the policy from another country without taking all these points into consideration. The only consideration for FCT is the revenue they generate from the policy not minding whether it is inhuman or wrong. Government has continuously been talking from both sides of its mouth. It talks of empowering youth and providing employment for people, yet those that have managed to employ themselves and earn stable livelihoods are being harassed by the very government that is supposed to protect and help them. No one is arguing that selling oranges, furniture and recharge cards on the road is a desirable thing, but we must weigh our priorities. Is it more important to have our streets looking like those of a1st world country while the people that live in the city live like paupers? These countries we are desperately copying have effective welfare systems whereby the unemployed are well taken care of. On the other hand, is there any basis for comparing Nigeria with any developed country? With careful planning, having beautiful streets and keeping people in their businesses don’t even have to be mutually exclusive. With strategic planning, recharge card booths can be set up by the side of the road to avoid sporadic parking on the road. Similar arrangements can be made for all other people that sell things by the roadside. But until such is done, all effort must be made to see that no man or woman is pushed away by unfriendly policies.
