By lfeanyi Ndukwe, Awka
The Awka Capital Territory
Development Agency (ACTDA) embarked on a demolition spree that left petty
traders in the state capital reeling. The gravity of the situation became
apparent on Monday, January 15, 2024, when ACTDA officials, following strict
orders from their chief, Ossy Onuko, unleashed what can only be described as a
horrific and monstrous act on their fellow citizens. The exercise extended over
a week, culminating on January 21, 2024, a Sunday that bore witness to the
destruction of livelihoods.
A brief historical reflection
takes us back to the second tenure of Mr. Peter Obi's administration, where
directives were issued to evacuate businesses situated under electric poles or
live wires. This directive found acceptance among the citizenry. Dr. Willie
Obiano's subsequent administration broadened the scope, compelling the removal
of businesses obstructing drainage for improved water flow. Traders quickly
adjusted to these policies to avoid run-ins with relevant authorities.
Fast forward to the present,
and it becomes evident that Governor Chukwuma Soludo's promise of a cleaner and greener
environment, coupled with the commitment to produce 5000 millionaires annually,
faces a challenging reality on the streets of Awka.
Ossy Onuko, heralded as the new Awka demi-god, has instilled fear and trepidation among the populace. The slogan, 'the fear of Ossy Onuko and his crew is the beginning of wisdom,' now echoes through the streets, encapsulating the anxiety induced by the white-colored shirts and Hilux vehicles bearing the ACTDA insignia.
The MD of ACTDA, Ossy Onuko, allegedly ordered the merciless destruction of goods and wares of traders, accusing them of engaging in street trading. The callous nature of this operation, characterized by the absence of provision for alternative spaces for the affected traders, raises questions about the alignment of these actions with Governor Soludo's vision for a prosperous Anambra.
As is customary with the cluelessness and callous nature beautification project that has plagued the current administration, there was never a provision for an alternative place for the poor women and struggling youths, many of whom are family breadwinners. These individuals had hitherto been engaging in roadside subsistent trading as a means to eke out a survival for their low-income families. Is this the prosperous Anambra that Charlie Nwa Mgbafor promised us?
Narrating his ordeal, Emmanuel
Omenyi Onwe, popularly known as Area — could not contain his
emotions as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. The 27-year-old indigene of
Izzi in Ebonyi recounted how the heartless officials approached and assaulted
him with a machete. One of them struck him with a cutlass as he attempted to
rescue his cash of #50,000 naira only. Area couldn't believe his eyes as he and
other helpless traders along the Unizik Tempsite watched their goods and wares
being set ablaze by the callous ACTDA officials.
According to him, and as
confirmed by neighbors, Area had just received cooperative society support of
#1 million, which he invested in his mobile phone accessories business. In his
words (speaking in Igbo dialect): "Last December, I was lucky to receive
monetary support from my club, in the tune of #1 million. I invested the funds
into my phone accessories business. On Monday, the ACTDA came, and I, along
with neighbors, thought it was business as usual because we were warned not to
cross the drainage, which we obeyed. Suddenly, we were rough-handled. I tried
to beg for mercy, but they beat and brutalized me with a cutlass. The money
realized from yesterday, being Sunday, and Monday sales were carried alongside.
When I tried to beg one of the officials for the money, he attacked me with a
machete. I had to run for my dear life," he lamented.
Samuel Onah, an
elder cousin to Area, explained further that the treatment meted out to his
brother was inhumane and barbaric. His words (in Igbo dialect): "Never
before have we experienced such in this city. Previous administrations have
tempered justice with mercy in matters like this. We weren't warned or
cautioned. We watched our source of livelihood set ablaze as if we stole them.
Does Soludo want us to resort to crime and other social vices? This life e no
balance," he cried.
Another victim by the name
Maama Oge, a petty trader on UNIZIK Tempsite street, expressed her grief
as she witnessed the officials shatter her products and tables to pieces. The
widow, who is in her early 60s, sells handkerchiefs, biscuits, groundnuts,
sweets, amongst other regular items, all of which were burgled and smashed,
except for the intervention of good-spirited passersby who assisted in pleading
to secure her umbrella, which acts as shade for her roadside display.
Recall that the said streets are currently
witnessing Soludo's touch and are being dualized, reasons why street traders
are being chased away from the area. The question is, is this the best method
of handling such in this present disgruntled economy prevailing in Nigeria?
One of the victims, Ukamaka
Eze, who spoke of the destruction of wares, said, “Unlike other times when they
used to confiscate people’s goods, today's own, they confiscated and
immediately set them ablaze. I think Soludo is heartless if he actually sent
those people. We are complaining of hardship and how we can survive, and here,
they are burning our goods. This is unfair.”
Another trader in the area, who
simply identified himself as Ejimofor, lamented his ordeal, “They have been
shooting guns here. They are shameless people. Old women who are selling food
condiments, they just destroyed their goods, and when people wanted to
intervene, they started shooting. I think Soludo does not know what these
people are doing, because this was not what he promised us.”
Another victim, Ifebuche
Ejiofor, a bread seller, shares her story: On that fateful Monday, I traveled
to Enugu state for a burial program. Suddenly, I received a distress call from
my daughter that our goods were being destroyed. I became restless and lost my
peace of mind. I had to return that very day, though I had planned to sleep
over.
“Upon coming back, my daughter
and neighbor were all in tears as they showed the videos of our goods burning.”
It is pertinent to report the rascality and
callous character of the leadership of ACTDA, as no response of remorse or
apology has been tendered to these suffering Nigerians one month after such
gory tales. To the rich and powerful, it's business as usual. This same
character played a villainous role months back when his escorts attacked a GUO
driver on claims of overtaking his convoy at Onitsha-Enugu expressway. It is
pertinent that ACTDA director, though youthful and vibrant, lacks the
innovative technique to effect changes steadily. His hostile approach is aimed
at frustrating struggling youths in the city rather than building a well-meaning
city.
This reporter's personal
experience on Regina/INEC road axis includes recording and engaging victims in
one-on-one encounters. On her part, Joy Igboehi from Abagana, who
sells Okirika materials, was approached by this reporter after she shared a
video of herself sobbing. Joy, a professional caterer, took to selling Okirika
materials to supplement her income since cooking jobs were seasonal.
The case of Attajadumi Israel is no different. After a frantic search for a white-collar job
upon graduation from the prestigious institution, Nnamdi Azikiwe University,
the Omambala-born individual took to putting his culinary skills to work. That
became the birth of a mini-restaurant called WestPot, located along Old INEC
Road, Regina junction. Israel's business place shares a fence with the popular
1city Supermarket and is located 5 meters from the drainage. By all measures,
the structure met the current standards of siting a business premises. That
Tuesday, being the 16th of January 2024, will be a very dark day, as his pots
of soup, a huge cooler of jollof rice, and his premises were damaged by the
officials, while the armed officers aided in wasting his food to the ground.
The Unizik graduate cried out,
stating that every cooked food, including the shop loss, amounted to #600,000
in value.
Meanwhile, Joseph Eze lost his goods, including bread worth #850,000 (with a physical
cash value of #450,000), amidst threats to life and emotional trauma. The
father of three manages the petty business with his wife and had to console his
wife, who was depressed by the barbaric treatment by ACTDA officials. On the
same note, Mrs. Ekweozor Chinyere lost her goods valued at
#550,000 amidst high aggressive intimidation by the enforcers.
In another report, a victim,
Ms. Ifeanyi Nzubechukwu, who sells petty snacks and minerals,
cried as she lost goods valued at #150,000. A playback of the videos of the
activities of Ossy Onuko shows the extremities and power drunkenness. Albeit
the fact to build a high-class capital city without any provision for a site
for these petty traders.
Democracy is said to be the
government for the people. It is pertinent that a government aimed at bettering
the lives of its citizenry would ensure alternative provisions like relocation
and allocation of structures given a certain amount of time. The likes of
Babatunde Fashola did so, providing measures against the slummy Oshodi. TA Orji
did the same by providing an alternative market location against trading around
the popular Tower premises. Rochas Okorocha did the same, taking precautions
before embarking on rules on street hawking and Douglas market. Our dear
governor is a capable intellect and can make better decisive steps to alter
destinies of the people positively.
Continuing the report, the next
evening, officials of the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority stormed
Kwata Junction, behind Zara Stores, destroying wares, chairs, and tables of
food sellers with so much vendetta. A brave attempt by onlookers, like this
reporter, to capture them on the phone was met with intimidation from officers
of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). One Mr. Nelson, an
occupant of Pax Christi who also took out his phone to record what was
happening from a distance, was harassed in his office by the AK-47 wielding
NSCDC agents numbering five, who threatened to deal with him if he failed to
provide his phone used in recording them.
After much resistance by Mr.
Nelson, the NSCDC agents left, promising to come back with reinforcement. Some
of the petty traders rued their losses even as the ACTDA officials left with
some of their properties, including a gas cooker, canopy, and its frame, while
all chairs, umbrellas, and tables were destroyed.
In the accompanying video, the
thud of the hammer as it lands on the tables being destroyed, despite the
distance from which the shot was taken, tells so much about the bile with which
they carry out these nefarious acts. The question then is, if you're carrying
out a legal act, why are you afraid of the camera? When these government agents
go on enforcement, they go with the media, so what then changed?
The same brutish activities
continued until the weekend. On Sunday, eyewitness reports between 12:30 to
12:50 pm revealed that two widows managing a street restaurant were brutalized,
and their goods destroyed, with their foods spilled on the ground. Onuko seems
to lose focus on the elephants in the forest to chase rats and lizards in the
room. Several gigantic structures in some parts of the city are not in sync
with building laws and city landscape. However, since they belong to prominent
personalities, hence the sign, ‘’Don’t Touch’’ inscribed on them, meaning they
are avoided and protected.
Earlier in the Solution
administration, many had listened and envisioned a rebranded Okpoko. Ossy Onuko
was supposed to assist the governor in unlocking investment ideas and
reigniting local talents. Rather, his approach has been that of banditry and
suppression. Suffice to say, this same man was a firebrand social activist
during his university days. Unlike today, his actions and character have taken
a nosedive.
Anambra people, especially
residents of Awka, had craved a breath of fresh air when the governance began.
But the method of approach to build a formidable capital city seems tyrannical
instead of legendary. As of the time of this report, the reporter expresses
appreciation to Prof. Lilian Orogbu for her outspokenness and kind magnanimity.
The office of the lawmaker reached out to some of the affected traders and
gifted them cash in various amounts to cushion the harsh economic effects.
Also, attempts to reach the person of Ossy Onuko or his media aide by phone
proved abortive, as none was willing to pick calls.
We call on the respective authority to draw the attention of the ACTDA boss and his crew to review their actions. Second, it is pertinent to note that these reports are just a selection of a few, as time and space would not permit addressing the mammoth crowd whose livelihood was abruptly disrupted without a warning letter or the option of a fine. We call on well-meaning Nigerians, at home and abroad, to help make our voices heard.
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