Why the Poor Hawk on Streets in Africa Countries? Pros and Cons of Ending Street Hawking...

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Why the Poor Hawk on Streets in Africa? Pros and Cons of Ending Street Hawking in Nigeria and Other Parts of Africa; and the Impact on Poverty

Recent events in Northern Nigeria have made many homeless and jobless; the violent attacks of cattle grazers, specifically Fulani herdsmen on vulnerable farmers have made some refugees in their own country; the recent dip in oil prices had seen the country’s currency fall by almost 90% which causes an inflation rate uneven to growth in household income, making basic food stuffs expensive and poverty more alive than ever. This is the state of Nigeria’s union. As a consequence the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Benin, Enugu and all other major cities in Nigeria are littered with unemployed people trying to secure a living for themselves by trading by the roadside or on their heads as they roam the streets.

Poverty, failed or undesired family planning, religious extremism, displacements, illiteracy, and child trafficking are the notable causes of hawking. More than 50% of hawkers in Nigeria are children and it happens so because their stark illiterate parents might not believe in education, some may be sent from the village to a relative in the city and is used to make money, others may have more children than they can manage so some are trained to be traders and commence by hawking. Islamic religious practices of sending children to the streets to beg for under the stewardship of a certain ‘mallam’ lead to hawking as many may be caught up with life and with the little they have they start hawking. Many Northern Nigeria "Beggars Syndicates" run by so-called “Alhajis” have been exposed; even in the capital city Abuja, such “Beggars Syndicates” are also being operated by lazy men who make a fortune by “hiring” women and children to litter the streets and beg and return their “loot” to them at the end of each day.

The state of Lagos recently banned hawking and declared to start enforcement of the ban from July 1st 2016. This will certainly get all hawkers off the streets and rid the city of the uncivilized practice. It would go a long way in reducing crime because some robbers masked themselves as hawkers while carrying out their activities. The defilement of young child or female hawkers would obviously come to an end. However this would not guarantee rising income for the hawkers, their livelihood has just been taken from them. If the government doesn’t act to promote other sectors in order that they grow and include unemployed hawkers, the crime and moral depravity they are fighting against would be on the rise. If hawkers aren’t provided with a designated area in which their wares can be displayed and sold, then the government would have acted in malice. Education should be free, promoted by the government and child hawkers should be forced to attend until the age of 18 years.

Hawking contributes enormously to the mammoth informal sector of the Nigerian economy. This implies a huge amount of income goes untaxed and with poor management of state resources, the country cannot afford a welfare system to take care of the unemployed in its society. The termination of hawking might lead to more poverty or may be a bright and new beginning only if other self employment sectors (fishing and farming etc.) in the economy are developed and are able to accommodate the laid off hawkers. Impulsive buying will be affected and those who depended on the hawkers to bring their needs to them will need to find another means.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Nigeria

http://www.nigeriannewspapers.today/2016/07/27/exclusive-falana-raises-alarm-over-recent-ban-on-street-trading-hawking/

http://www.iproject.com.ng/education/final-year-project-topics/the-causes-and-effect-of-street-hawking-on-children-of-school-age/project-topics

http://nairaproject.com/projects/581.html

http://guardian.ng/news/lagos-to-enforce-ban-on-street-hawking/

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Ernie J. Burgher is a bi-lingual freelance journalist and author, and speaks English and French. Ernie writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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