The informal service providers derive their recognition in the fabric of the city structure from the adoption of the neighbourhood concept in city planning. It is recognised that Nigeria has an important urban tradition. The varied ways in which Nigerian cities evolved and relate is not ignored. The planners considered failure in the recognition and accommodation of indigenous patterns of urban organisation in the planning of Nigerian cities as a major shortcoming.
From the analysis of the Savanna Cities, the Forest Cities and the New Towns that were built to satisfy colonial administrative and economic needs, it was established that there were reasonable walking distances to traditional markets. That is why, whether they were provided in the plans or not, in all our big cities, including highbrow areas of Ikoyi and Victoria Island in Lagos, informal kiosks within neighbourhoods for trading of simple essential commodities are always found. Despite frequent enforcement activities by the city managers, they always reappear in different forms and enjoy patronage from the neighbourhood. Many of them survive with the encouragement of residents so long as they don’t constitute security threats.
The Abuja Master Plan incorporated the provision of the Nigerian type modern markets in the city fabric, hence the adoption of the original Wuse Market and provision of the City Central Market in the Central Area District. That was the consideration before the actual physical development of the city commenced. But city developments are accompanied with metamorphosis in values. The environmental challenges that ensue, coupled with the consideration of the scale of the surrounding developments, the type of market envisaged is usually considered as unbefitting for the economic value of the area by a subsequent administration. Hence, the conversion of the Central Area market for use as the Abuja World Trade Centre.
Because the city needs the services as originally conceived, but now distorted, a regional market in Dei-Dei with adequate accessibility was conceived to serve as a substitute. It should be observed that that concept was removed from the city centre to the fringes. It was a deliberate policy in order to free the city centre from the usual bustling and congestion associated with markets.
Unfortunately, adequate attention was not accorded for the takeoff of the regional market. The result now is that the Dei-Dei Market is a ghost of itself, instead of being a very useful facility for the wellbeing of the city, it has transformed into a ghetto and criminals’ hideout.
Thus, the Dei-Dei Regional Market, as formally recognised but poorly implemented, and the Dutse illegal “Panteka” market and many others are all products of the failure of the erstwhile Central Area “Bakassi” Market’s relocation. The Dutse market has been witnessing several enforcement exercises in order to remove the encumbrances that prevent the legal plot owners to take possession and develop, but the traders are undeterred by shifting forward to annex the next lands from the location they are driven out from.
So long as there is patronage from the city residents, the informal activities termed illegal continue unabated.
The neighbourhood concept as incorporated in the planning of Abuja is actually compatible with our tradition as Nigerians, and is among the things that would have given Abuja those unique characteristics that are lacking in other capital cities of the world. The principle is for the residents to obtain their essential needs without traversing major arterial roads.
Really, there are economic and environmental considerations for the removal of the facility at the city centre, but the foregoing are the social implications.
Formal services are more closely related to business and government activities in the Central Area or sector employment centers, while informal services are related closely to household activities. Trade and transport serve both the formal or informal types of activities. What we can now deduce is that there is a recognition for the inclusion and a place for the informal services providers for the wellbeing of the cities in the plan, but the corporate values in the urbanisation process of our cities consider this obsolete and relegate them to the fringes. When the process catches up with it on the fringes it is further pushed forward.
In order to mitigate the phenomenon, the authorities would have to resuscitate the effort and make the Regional Markets a reality.
Also, there should be a deliberate policy for the provision of informal markets in some areas of the city, either on temporary or permanent bases. After all, even in the advanced worlds like the city of London, a market as the Liverpool Weekly informal market exists.
Concluded.
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