In many major cities across Nigeria, hawking has almost taken over the streets. Despite the associated nuisance, analysts say it has come to stay. ELEOJO IDACHABA writes.
Initially, it was seen as the South-east geo-political zone’s problem whose teeming youthful population were known to shun education in preference for trade especially in major streets of Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna. As a result of this development, young men of Igbo extraction were always seen hawking various items at bus stops and traffic jams that ordinarily could be purchased in any shop across the country.
That trend, according to popular opinion, is because it is a quicker way to getting wealth. It however took a concerted effort of the governors from the region especially Ebonyi and Anambra states to change the narratives by removing the boys from the streets. That was then.
When, however, everyone thought the country was over with hawking, the menace reared its ugly head, this time in the sprawling nation’s capital, Abuja and many states in the northern part of the country. Disturbingly in the recent past, young girls of school age now go about hawking food items ranging from groundnuts to cooked foods. In Abuja, this is a common sight in many districts to the dismay of onlookers.
An expert’s view
As a result of this unpleasant development, a public affairs analyst/founder and general coordinator of Humanitarian Network for Northern Nigeria, Bukar Mohammed Atiyaye, while writing on ‘Hawking: A glance at one of Arewa’s problems,’ agreed that it is high time the menace was confronted in order to save the region of its maladies, just like the hydra-headed Almajiri phenomenon that is defying every conceivable solution. According to him, it is one of the most common forms of child labour in Nigeria.
He said, “In fact, it has already become part of the normal activities of our modern day societies especially in the north. It is more rampant among girl-children and sadly, often results in the involuntary recruitment of many prostitutes and immoral mothers due to their high vulnerability to emotional and physical abuse.”
While making reference to a report by the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and UNICEF, he said more than half of 79 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are put to work in hazardous conditions.
“Also, according to the most recent statement by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), at least 43 per cent of Nigerian children are trapped in various forced labour despite international conventions banning it.
“This shows that in every three Nigerian children, more than one is involved in forced labour with hawking inclusive.”
Atiyaye noted that there have been a lot of arguments as to whether hawking should be banned or modernised. He said while some view it as an opportunity and should be encouraged, others say it should be modernised.
“They even went further to state its economic benefits, especially of tackling idleness and of reducing the rate of unemployment. Some even suggest the need to bring innovative thinking into the system by giving the hawkers the opportunity to run shops and by specifying streets that hawking can be allowed, especially in the cities.”
Painting a further gloomy picture of the phenomenon, he said, “Take a look at our workshops, carpentry, tailoring or welding shops scattered in all the nooks and crannies of the country, nearly all of them have a fixed teenage young lady that sells food to them. Most of these young girls of school age get vulnerable to abuses or become demoralised of their religious, cultural and societal values in such settings. This is why I am always surprised when I read comments on Gender Based Violence (GBV) advocacies overlooking hawking, even when it is obviously part and parcel of the problem.”
The negativities
Blueprint Weekend’s investigations have shown that it is without doubt that hawking has many visible negative effects on children including early marriages, deprivation from educational opportunities whether western or Islamic, forceful acquisitions of immoral values and behaviours, exposure to violence, physical, emotional and mental harm. It also traps them in intergenerational cycles of poverty, among other societal problems.
As a result of these, analysts are of the views that for inexplicable reasons, the government and society wants the situation to remain otherwise, one of the cardinal focus of UNICEF in which Nigeria is signatory to is the eradication of all forms of disguised slavery especially for children of school age. This, in the views of Atiyaye goes beyond mere advocacy and media campaign to enforcement.
Likely causes
For years, investigations have shown that there are many factors responsible for hawking as it applies from one part of the country to another. For instance, in the South-east, it has been found that young men developed preference for hawking as against formal trading/education because of the socio-cultural and economic environment of the region.
An Abuja-based trader, Anthony Ugwuanyi told this reporter that any young man of Igbo extraction is taught how to be self dependent right from the age of 16. To that extent, everyone is thrown into the world of hustling at an early stage in life without any complain. “A typical Igbo man teaches his children especially boys to become independent as early as 16 years. Because of this, you don’t see boys in their father’s house at the age of 20. Huzzling is the game. A situation where the father is out there hustling, do you expect the child to remain at home?”
He, however, said all thanks go to former governors Sam Egwu of Ebonyi state, Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu and the late Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambra state in particular who came together to fight the scourge in 2000.
In the further views of Atiyaye, poverty in the country especially the northern part of the country is largely responsible for the major cause of hawking.
“Most of the times, mothers have been more associated with sending their children to hawk for them in order to augment the family income. This can only be explained by the popularly known African proverb that says, “When you see a rat running into a fire, then know that what it is running away from is hotter than the fire.”
According to him, hawking among children should be completely banned by making provision for alternatives to their mothers to complement family incomes.
“There is a need to equip mothers with several skills and knowledge and how to go about it in establishing viable businesses. There’s a need to innovatively empower mothers with various businesses that could be done at home, especially items that could be produced locally for consumption.
“This would undoubtedly create sustainable and decent means of earning a living for mothers and in return, save the children from being exposed to this untold hardships that they have been forced to live with. It is believed that an empowered and self-reliant mother saves a vulnerable child than anyone else even if it is his father.”
Expert’s take
In a rather contrary point of view, a risk management expert at Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Okey Umeano, said most African governments regard street hawking as a menace because it makes the streets untidy as hawkers exacerbate traffic jams at busy intersections and motorists slow down to buy from them. He agreed that once in a while, a hawker would get knocked down, but said, “Hawkers have not been deterred. In some cities, they bribe the police; in others, they simply price in harassment by law enforcement as one of the business risks.”
Continuing, he said, “A look at the economics of this commercial activity may help authorities in their anti-hawking struggle. Street hawkers are mostly poor people who cannot afford to run shops and stalls in markets and on street corners. Driven to cities by poor infrastructure and lack of opportunity in rural Africa, they run their businesses with little or no capital. Many of them make just enough money to take care of basic needs for the day. This means that any day they do not hawk goods, basic needs, such as food, may not be met. Their customers are busy city dwellers who find it convenient to buy items from their vehicles during their commute. A meets B and a market is formed. As long as demand meets supply, authorities are wasting their time trying to stop it.”
According to Umeano, “Stopping or reducing street hawking in Africa would require innovative thinking. The authorities have, rightly, tackled it from the sell-side but have gone about it the wrong way. Telling hawkers to quit the streets without providing alternatives is like asking someone to hold their breath until they die. These people must earn a living, and hawking is how they know how to do it.
“An option may be to permit hawking in designated streets and intersections which can be purpose-built to facilitate the activity. “Another option is to build lay-bys where motorists can buy from standing vendors which would ease traffic jams. Or certain streets could be designated as open-air markets like Temple Street in Hong Kong or Liverpool Street in London on Sundays. Kiosks could also be provided on busy street corners and intersections and hawkers charged a small daily rent for them.
“Whether we like it or not, street hawking provides employment for lots of people. Stopping it entirely would worsen Africa’s unemployment problem.”
“Women in Informal Employment, Globalising and Organising (WIEGO), a network of researchers and workers’ groups, estimates that hawking accounts for 12%–24% of employment in the informal sector in some African cities. Governments would do well to be more open-minded in tackling the problem and come up with options, not just bans.”
According to a recent report, the disclosure by the United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) that more than 152 million children or nearly one in 10 children globally are victims of forced labour is not only heart rendering but also inhuman.
UN on child abuse
According to The Conversation, child street hawking is an offence; therefore, opposed to UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“Nigeria is a signatory to the convention which was established in 1989. The convention makes it an offence to involve children in an activity which impacts negatively on their health and well-being. The convention also emphasises the need for the government to protect children from exploitation.
It stated further that, “In addition to the convention, Nigeria’s Child Rights Act has similar provisions. It says children should be protected from trafficking and street hawking. But the implementation of these provisions has been abysmal to date. Children are still being trafficked and pushed into street hawking despite the many dangers associated with it.
“In the past, the government has provided some structural interventions. These include the Universal Basic Education programme (UBE) introduced in 1999 and was intended to guarantee tuition-free compulsory basic education for all children in Nigeria. But due to poor infrastructure, inadequate funding and lowering education standards, the impact is yet to be felt.”
