You won’t believe it is the same street when you return at the close of work at around 6pm.
The NNPC Junction along the Zuba expressway in Kubwa is a bustle of commercial activities every night, but usually clean and quiet in the daytime. There is a huge night market there. But if one is not a night crawler, one will never know what really goes on there.
There is a taxi station for tricycles, popularly known as Keke. And a walk through this place at around 9am, one can see Keke parked in neat lines, waiting their turns to commute passengers to various destinations in Kubwa.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE took a walk to this same place at 6 pm same day, after passing there in the daytime. It was a different ball game. Different wares were spread out on the ground for sale in that same park. Items range from shoes, bags, clothes, phone accessories, snacks, you name it! There was even a man with a sign for POS. It means, you can even do money withdrawals and transfers at this same place, even at night.
There are other places in the Federal Capital City where similar commercial activities are happening.
The Gwarimpa pedestrian bridge along Kubwa expressway is one such places. If you cross the express road in the daytime, there is no single trader on the bridge. But returning from work or just returning from visiting a friend, you would hardly find room to walk on this bridge to the other side. People keep hitting your shoulders. This is because the bridge by this time has become so narrow because traders have spread out their wares for sale. And in order not to step on them, pedestrians have to walk sideways like Crabs.
Other night markets exist along the airport road, Area 1 round about, and in fact on virtually all pedestrian bridges in busy areas in the FCT. Close to the NNPC Towers in the Central Business Area, after the Total Filling Station is another bustling night market in an empty piece of land that is a car garage during the day. But at night, this garage becomes a huge food market where different foods are sold to security men and other workers on night shift.
Curiously one wonders why these traders choose the night for their commercial activities? Chimdu Madu Is a returnee from Libya and said, ‘’the night keeps the wicked people away’’. Chimdu was referring to Tax officials and staff of the Abuja environmental agency.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE sometime recently discovered the trauma that small businesses face, having to pay numerous Taxes before operating their businesses smoothly. So, in order to avoid paying the different Taxes, Chimdu and many petty traders chose to operate mobile shops and use the nights mostly to make sales.
Nkechi Daniel sells shoes, and was also seen selling at the foot of the stairs at the Gwarimpa Pedestrian Bridge. Nkechi said that she had a shop space in the Corner shop when she just started out, but couldn’t cope after some time. She couldn’t pay shop rent because, according to her, ‘’the rent kept increasing every year’’, and her sales were not in correspondence with the shop rent. So, she decided to explore what a friend suggested. Start going out to sell at night. Gwarimpa Pedestrian Bridge was the best choice. Here, there is no shop rent or Taxes., ‘’although they come sometimes, and we need to pay’’, Nkechi said.
There can never be trading without buying and selling. So, as the sellers all have reasons why they chose the nights, 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE also spoke to a few buyers at some of the places visited. Bisi Ibrahim, a civil servant was seen buying some vegetables and told correspondents that the night market availed her opportunity to pick a few quick stuffs on her way from work to use at home. How does one pick good vegetables at night? Bisi quickly answered, giving a high pass mark for her customer. ‘’This mallam usually has fresh vegetables that are good’’, so no need to worry about the night, Bisi said.
But the night doesn’t always have all good stories as another trader lamented having been scammed by a buyer who paid him with a fake N1000 note. Emeka Okolie said he didn’t know prior to the experience that there were fake N1000 notes in circulation. Emeka sells shirts at the NNPC junction, and said the fake note he had collected from a customer the previous night was only discovered when he went to the bank to deposit his money in the morning. Since this experience, Emeka is usually on alert when receiving payment. ‘’I learnt how to check for real notes from the bank’’, Emeka said.
Trading on the pedestrian bridges and other areas not designated as markets is against the law, the FCTA Ministerial Task force on Traffic Management, had said in a statement. The chairman had warned that anyone caught violating the regulation would be appropriately sanctioned and their goods confiscated.
However, despite this warning, residents have continued to carry on their commercial activities on pedestrian bridges and other street corners. These traders are desperate to make a living. Bridget Imaseuen said her husband retired in 2007, and she sells bananas and groundnuts to help sustain the family. Other traders who spoke to 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE, said selling at night was a survival strategy to beat FCDA task forces who normally ‘disturb us’ operate during the day, Mrs Imasuen said.
Also, the traders claimed that sales were more at night than during day time, as this was confirmed by another trader who said she likes buying stuff from these markets because they sell at cheaper rates.
