It’s a thin line between peace and discord as the traffic management agency in Kano city and traders are almost at each other’s jugular over illegal structures erected indiscriminately within the metropolis. BASHIR MOHAMMED in this report chronicles it all.
At the time the much dreaded Kano State Roads Traffic Agency popularly known as KAROTA was created by the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, operatives of the agency were given the mandate to manage recalcitrant traffic violators without fear or favour.
Dread of KAROTA is wisdomThe former governor also informed them to tell anyone who cared to listen that they do not understand English Language such that when any road traffic violator speaks to them in English, they should not hesitate to such with the punitive side of the coin.
Because of this matching order, they operated in Kano with impunity under a dreaded and cruel mafia boss whom habitual traffic offenders feared knowing that crossing their red lines would earn such violators severe penalty in terms of heavy fine in order to serve as a deterrent to others.
For what they were known, KAROTA personnel wear illuminating yellow uniform akin to the one used by Borussia Dotmund Football Club of Germany for easy Identification. They conspicuously stand on the no-plying zone demarcated. Once a motorist or commuter crosses that zone either by act of commission or commission, the end result would be unpalatable.
It was therefore an indisputable fact that KAROTA operatives enjoyed considerable liberty from the immediate past governor and bashfully wielded considerable authority up till the time a change of guard was effected in the state which paved the way for Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to mount the saddle.
The state government considered the agency as a money-spinning outfit which generated huge revenue that accrues to the coffers of the state from the heavy fine slammed on traffic violators.Agency strengthened under Ganduje
On coming to power, Governor Ganduje viewed the existence of the agency as indispensable; therefore, he considered the operatives as true reflection of forces to be used in achieving the goal of turning the state into a modern city in line with best global practices.
It was Ganduje’s belief that executing such a task entails the resilience and commitment of a person who without fear or favour can lead the crusade of clearing the nuisance constituting serious gridlocks emanating from the desire of traders who erect illegal structure on the main roads adjacent to major markets in Kano metropolis.
Through his adroit calculation, Ganduje saw the compelling need to appoint a fearless and intrepid commander in the person of Baffa Babba Dan-agundi to lead the agency for two main purposes. Firstly, to generate revenue for the state government and secondly to clear the main roads of nuisance.
With the agency embarking on a demolition spree in some of the main roads in Kano which put traders with temporary structure on the main roads on a collision course with the agency, feathers are ruffled that dismantling such structures would put hundreds of such traders out of their respective businesses without having an alternative site to relocate to and finally settle.
There were those who viewed the demolition exercise as a right step in the right direction, considering the indiscriminate manner some self-centered individuals constitute a snag on the main roads, thereby making motorists, commuters and even pedestrians difficult to ply the roads without hiccups.
KAROTA and traders’ imbroglioIt has now emerged that there was no love lost between traders who operate at the famous Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi Market in Kano and the operatives of the Kano Roads Traffic Agency popularly known as KAROTA, following the demolition exercise of structure erected by traders at the road sides of the market, which the agency described as illegal.
The demolition came on the heels of the 3-day ultimatum given to owners of such structures to relocate to a destination that suit their respective businesses or earn the ire of the agency which would waste no time in doing away with the illegally-erected structures.
During Blueprint’s visit to the market last Monday, it was discovered that hundred of youths mounted a blockade along Murtala Mohammed way, the thoroughfare leading to the market, igniting fire in some places which prompted the police to disperse them with tear gas in order to avert possible break-down of law and order.
The youths in their large numbers were heard raining all sorts of abuses on KAROTA managing director, calling him all sorts of derogatory names in addition to cursing the state government for what they described as cruel action designed to put them out of business.
The demolition exercise, according to Blueprint findings, was carried out in the wee hours of night in order to give a breathing space to drivers of the bulldozers to cruise and hit their targets devoid of incurring obstacles or possible resistance from the owners of the road side structure. The owners woke up the morning to see the gory sight of what was demolished.With the demolition exercise currently effected, traders in the market who spoke to Blueprint took a swipe at the 3-day ultimatum which they described as too short, as it did not gave them ample time to get fully prepared saying with the Covid-19 pandemic crippling their businesses, the demolishing exercise had also added insult to their injury.
Opinions for and against demolitionSounding a discordant tune on the demolition exercise, a trader in the market, Alhaji Harisu Naibawa, said it was wrong for traders in the market to erect illegal structure by the road sides, since it had constituted a snag to flow of traffic saying the state government took the right decision at doing what was most needed in decongesting the main roads in Kano metropolis. According to him, Ganduje’s dream of transforming Kano into a sprawling modern city would be an exercise in futility with some selfish traders erecting barricades in the name of business structures, affirming that the state government has provided alternative sites for petty trading activities to be conducted without causing unnecessary commotion.
He said, “People are just being selfish out of primordial calculation. There is no justification for traders to constitute a nuisance on the main roads regardless of the inherent implications. We should begin to think out of the box for us to move forward.
“Blocking the main roads for motorists, commuters and even pedestrians is not the best at this material point in time. KAROTA is the only agency that can spearhead the battle of clearing the main roads. We should not be foolish enough in misconstruing the state government’s good intention,” he added.
“No one can stop the government from taking an official decision. If you go to other cities in the country, people do not behave the way our people are behaving here. Treating people with kid gloves is not the solution. I am not supporting the government out of sentiment. what the state government is doing is what is most needed. You can’t transform Kano into a modern city without decongesting the main roads,” he affirmed.
However, in the words of a motorist, Malam Inusa Shehu Indabawa, the demolition exercise embarked upon by KAROTA operatives after the ultimatum is a good development that should be welcomed by road users and even pedestrians stressing that allowing traders to remain perpetually there would never be the way out.
He said the time had come for traders to realise the simple fact that no modern city can occupy its rightful position with illegal structures being erected adding that there is the need for a paradigm shift in the way traders go about their wares taking certain factors into consideration.
Of course, sounding different, a petty trader in the same market, Murtala Galadimawa, took a swipe at what he described as the state government’s hasty decision coming at a time many traders are still reeling the ropes of the Covid-19 pandemic which he said had completely put them out of business.
According to him, the timing was wrong in the absence of sufficient notice for displaced traders to think of another alternative in the wake of the exercise, pointing out that with adequate ultimatum, it would be easier for them to relocate without tears.
He said, “We are in a democratic era where peoples’ wishes and aspirations must be respected. Taking a unilateral decision at this material point in time is counter-productive. We are now suffering and the state government is apathetic. We need compassion and have the belief that Governor Ganduje is compassionate.
“We are appealing, for the demolition to stop for business to continue as usual. We have almost exhausted our shares and dissipated the little financial resources we have at hands as a result of living at home for almost three months in the wake of the lockdown imposed on us by the government,” he said.
