By Donald Iorchir
Last year, it was gathered that Kuje’s main market will undergo major transformation and modernization under a build, operate and transfer contract this year.
However, on Wednesday, the contractor started demolishing the traditional market to pave way for the construction of modern one.
The Kuje Area Council under the leadership of Hon. Ishaku Shaban Tete had signed a contract to that effect. The multi-million Naira contract, which is a partnership between the council and the Green House International Limited, was signed in August 15, last year.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding of modernization, the developer will “rebuild the market and transform it into a market of international repute. The company is expected to rebuild the market, manage it for 25 years and then transfer it to Kuje Area Council.” The company is expected to recoup the finances expended on the project within the 25 years.
When completed, the document says, “market will have 532 lockup shops; two warehouses, 500 open shops, 72 plazas stores, 1 modern abattoir, day care centre, medical centre, places of worship, police post, toilets and conveniences, one bank, fire service post, organized car park, central refuse evacuation point, modern and well secured gates, security cameras and other convenient facilities which will uplift the status of the market.”
It adds that, “the market will provide opportunity for traders to do businesses under a conducive environment; every trader should take advantage of the facility at the market when completed and give it adequate storage apart from enhancing the economic development of the kuje community traders will be proud to have a place of work that meet most of their need outside of their homes.”
But as the contractor’s bulldozers started demolishing the old structures on Wednesday, there was panic among the traders; and when our correspondents visited the scene, many of them were wailing.
A trader, who gave his name simply as Musa, lamented that “we were not told that the demolition will begin this early, so we didn’t prepare for it. We didn’t evacuate our things. We are losing so many things in the demolition.”
Another trader, Amina Mohammed, wailed that, “the government did not heed to the agreement we had.”
However, the Secretary of the council’s PPP committee, Mr. Sunday A. Yaro, said all efforts to evacuate the traders from the market to “enable the demolition and construction proved abortive.”
He revealed that there were series of meetings between the traders and the council’s officials on the modalities of restructuring the market due to congestion and obstruction which were caused by some traders who attached shanties along the market road.
The Secretary added that the project will help the council in terms of proper checks and balances on revenue generation.
According to him, the council boss, asked the traders “three times if he can sign the MOU and the traders agreed with him to go ahead, but it is a surprise why some traders are aggrieved and said they are not aware of the demolition.”
Yaro stressed that “publication was done concerning this matter in some national newspapers. Even last year, 2014, the traders were asked not to collect rent.”
Going round the market during the demolition exercise, our correspondents saw a task force comprising personnel of police, army and civil defence ordering the bulldozers’ drivers to pull down every shop in the market.
The development, however, caused traffic gridlock along Kuje-Gwagwalada road.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Chairman on market development, Samuel Odogocha, “the major objective of this project is to improve the economic and social development of kuje community market. We want it to compete effectively with similar market in the FCT.”
He added that “this is the reason why Kuje Area Council is making effort to relocate the existing traders in the market to a location to be used temporally while the construction works last.”
He called on the traders to be calm as the modernization will bring “development and progress in the future.”
In a chat with the Chairman, Traders Association, Kuje Branch, Alhaji Yunusa Isah (Chiroma) he confessed that the traders had series of meeting with the council’s officials over the matter, but “I am surprised to see the bulldozers at this early hours for demolition of the market. We should have been given some few days to evacuate our things.
He therefore appealed to the traders to be calm and “see that the demolition is for the future development of the market. Let all of us live in peace and harmony as brothers and sisters.”
