Nearly three weeks after an order by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to roadside hawkers, urchins and beggars to leave the streets or be arrested, the elements have refused to heed the directive.
Findings by Arewa Voice indicate that the illegal road users have defied the order of the minister to vacate the streets, carrying on with their illegal trade as usual.
Our findings show that the unwanted elements had initially left the streets when the special task force raised by Wike to clear the streets initially swooped on them Monday October 28, 2024 but quickly returned once the task force members left.
In a similar trend, beggars, who had momentarily left their preferred locations in the city, have also resumed their trade, not minding the minister’s threat to arrest and move them into a rehabilitation centre.
Checks indicate that the daring traders and hawkers have increased their illicit operation around Katampe by Winners Chapel Junction where a major road construction work has created a reduction in road size and an ample opportunity for the display of numerous wares for motorists and commuters.
The defiant hawkers and beggars, it was learnt, are taking advantage of the additional bumps created by the construction company to reduce motorists’ speed to ply their trade.
They are also trading with impunity at the Dawaki bypass opposite the Galadimawa entrance to Gwarinpa main estate and other bus-stops towards Kubwa.
Arewa Voice findings show that there has been no molestation of the hawkers and beggars by either the regular policemen, or any other security outfit as the hawkers and traders continue with their trade daily, running around with their wares and soliciting at very close range for buyers and patrons.
The situation is the same in other major routes across the FCT. A visit by AV correspondent along the Apo Mechanic axis of the FCT on Tuesday and Wednesday revealed the same pattern of trading and begging by desperate persons, who swarmed around motorists to either sell their goods or beg for alms at major points.
Some of the hawkers and beggars, who were spotted by AV correspondent, said they had no intention of leaving the streets unless they were given another means of livelihood. One of them, who gave his name as Ali Yaro, admitted that he begins and ends his day on the road as a beggar at times and as a seller of any available product at some points just to earn a living.
“Where do they want us to relocate to when we have no other source of income apart from begging and selling on the road?” Yaro queried.
It was unclear as at the time of filing the report if the Wike’s task force had been disbanded or if he had given a counter-order to the team to stand down for now.
It will be recalled that the FCT minister had warned sternly that he would deal ruthlessly with any trader or beggar found on the streets of Abuja as from October 28, 2024.
The order
Before mobilising the task force to the street, Wike had warned: “In terms of security, let me say it clearly now. We have declared war. Abuja is returning to beggars’ city. I mean, if you know you have a sister, you have a brother who is a beggar on the roads, from next week, we will carry them. We will take them out (of the city). I mean, it is embarrassing that people who come in, the first thing they see are just beggars on the road. Sometimes, too, they may not be beggars. They may be criminals pretending to be beggars. We will not allow that.
“So, I am giving a public order; from now till Sunday is the grace period. From Monday, we will pack them out. Let us know that we have a city that we can call a city. It is very embarrassing. We are fighting insecurity, and people will carry plates as if they are handicapped; maybe they are informants.”
