Keffi market: Al-Makura’s unfinished business and Sule’s litmus test By Kabir Bala Shareef

KEFFI1 MARKET: ALMAKURA’S UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND SULE’S LITMUS TEST

One of the most unpopular decisions taken at the twilight of Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura’s administration was the demolition and relocation of Keffi market barely a few months after the fire incident which gutted property worth millions and improvished traders and shop owners in their numbers.

While it is not this writer’s intention to throw darts at the government or reopen the deep (un)healed wounds of the victims of that colossal tragedy; it  is, however,  imperative that adequate background information is provided so that the reading public can understand why government’s decision to demolish the surviving parts of the market and relocate it to a new site was considered in some quarters at that time, to put it most politely,  “insensitive!”

Some observers suggested that the government should reconsider or postpone its demolition/relocation plan due to the underlisted challenges:

i. Most traders in the market lost their hard-earned fortunes and sources of livelihood, and they were yet to recover from the trauma and financial losses caused by the inferno. Therefore, government’s decision to demolish and relocate the market was, to say the least, ill-timed considering the plight of the traumatized traders.

ii. Most of the traders were not considered or given priority in the allocation of shops in the new market. Rather, politicians and some wealthy individuals (including the market officials), in Keffi and beyond hijacked the process for their selfish financial gains. Therefore, relocating the market to a new site would mean displacing these helpless traders whose shops and fortunes were either razed down by fire or pulled down by government’s bulldozer. And they were neither compensated nor allocated new shops where they could continue their businesses!

iii. There was a leadership/power tussle at the market and local government level. Therefore, government should properly address it so as to pave way for a hitch-free relocation to the new market. It was foretold that if the government failed to step in and settle the leadership feud within the traders’ union and between some influential figures in Keffi, the relocation plan would be greeted with strong resistance which’d lead to making a caricature of the government. Sadly,  that prophecy has since become an embarrassing reality!

Despite of the aforementioned scenario, Governor Almakura still went ahead with his demolition and relocation exercise leaving behind him a dust which has not yet settled. It’s been seven months down the line, yet the fate of Keffi market still hangs in the balance. The old market has not been deserted and the new one has not taken off in earnest. Traders are left to exercise their discretion-to either move to the new market and risk “eating away” their capital due to little or no patronage there or stay behind at the site of the old market and make sales to feed their families while awaiting (in perpetual fear) government’s wrath for defying the eviction notice and flouting the directive to relocate to the new ‘Sambisa’ market!

Although the challenge of relocating an old market to a new one is not new whatsoever, the knotty issues surrounding the Keffi market seem peculiar. And this “peculiarity” could be attributed to the poor handling of the exercise by the authorities, chiefly the state government. For instance, the back and forth movement of traders between the old market and the new one has been happening due to government’s failure to take a firm stand on the matter.

Apart from the heavy human and vehicular traffics caused by the presence of these  “unyielding” traders at the old demolished market, there are also health and security challenges posed by this long sit-out. In addition to the congestion of roads and the attendant harsh effects on the people, the government loses lump sums in revenues which would have increased the state’s IGR. Yet, the government has not taken a decisive action to bring to an end this lingering challenge.

As A A Sule second month in office as the fourth executive governor of Nasarawa state, the questions on the lips of the concerned people of Keffi are as follows:

1. When will Governor Sule look into the Keffi market issue with a view to addressing it?

2. Will Governor Sule uphold his predecessor’s decision to relocate the market?

3. Or will he upturn Governor Almakura’s decision and allow the traders to return to the old market,  reconstruct their shops and stalls and carry on with their businesses?

As the concerned people of Keffi wait with abated breath to see what will unfold regarding this matter of public importance, it is believed that how Governor A A Sule handles this knotty issue will determine whether or not he will pass the litmus test as a decisive yet compassionate leader!

Kabir Bala Sahreef is a journalist, lives in Keffi