![]() ![]() Most times, we sell everything and run home to get more supplies,” he recalls.Įde claims that he sometimes sells between N5, 000 and N10, 000 worth of apples. “We monitor the flow of traffic and we know exactly where to position ourselves to make sales. When they are held up in the traffic, they will like to eat something,” Ede adds. “Some people maybe, did not eat from the house. “Anything from biscuits, bottled drinks to apples, sells like a hot cake whenever people are hungry in the traffic,” he tells our Correspondent. Hawking in the traffic is a risk, there is the possibility of being hit by a vehicle, he says. We got tired and went home to rest, because we also sold so many bags of pure water.”Īnother hawker, 21-year old Edwin Ede, sells apples in the traffic. One day, my sister and I sold 15 cartons of ‘Gala’ and people were still asking for more. ![]() “For us, on a good day, sales can start from 4pm and will last till 11pm. What we have noticed is that this same traffic that people are rushing to avoid is what they get trapped in eventually. The traffic can be very heavy, especially in the evenings when people are rushing from work back home. He says, “When people spend hours in traffic, they will want to eat or drink water, naturally. He sells confectionaries and ‘pure water’ in the traffic along the Nyanya-city centre route, especially between Kugbo and the flyover near the entrance to the barracks.įor Saleh, “business is good” as he makes reasonable sales on the days he is on the road. Nineteen-year-old Sani Saleh, resides with his parents at the popular Mogadishu Barracks in Abuja. Limited opportunities for formal employment have made hawking an attractive option for many youths in Abuja who support their education and family from the business.įrom consumables to vehicle accessories and household items, there is no limit to what is available for sale in the traffic. Ordinary, they cannot afford millions of naira to rent a shop in Abuja’s Wuse Market but they make as much on their ‘mobile shop’ as the shop owners in Wuse! Funnily, the hawkers – mostly youths running after vehicles – call the traffic jams ‘mobile shops.’ They don’t have to pay rent or tax. Talk about one man’s meat being another man’s poison. The irony, however, is that the roads linking the satellite towns to the city centre are narrow, resulting in vehicles cramming into two lanes or at best, three narrow lanes!Īmid the anger, the shouting match between motorists and the lost man-hours in traffic jams, is a market thrown up for an army of youths who seize the opportunity to make brisk business! This is a goldmine of sorts for them. The city centre is known for its wide and smooth roads. However, over 90 per cent of the population is believed to reside in the satellite towns of Kubwa, Karu, Gwagwalada, Nyanya, Gwagwa, Dutse-Alhaji, Jikwoyi, Mpape and far-flung areas like Kuje and Abaji. That was then the figure will be far higher today. According to the 2006 Population Census results, Abuja has an estimated population of 1.4 million. The city centre, by its elitist design, is way off the affordable range of the majority of people who seek their daily bread there. Whether it is the early morning rush hours or the evening return trip, the experience is the same. The worst-affected roads are the access and exit routes to the city centre. The situation is sometimes comparable to that of Lagos, known for its frequent gridlock. Heavy traffic has made movement a difficult experience in the city. The scenario above is what road users face almost on a daily basis in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital. In the background, a teenage hawker is heard calling, “pure water”, “oga buy pure water.” On the left side of the road, another drama unfolds –people are arguing over a “bumper-to-bumper” accident. A driver fiddles with the engine compartment. On the right side of the road, several vehicles are parked. Cars honk endlessly and abusive words are hauled in all directions.Įveryone wants to get to their destination. The faces in the vehicles are not smiling. ![]()
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