By; JAMES YOHANNA, Kaduna
Traders and shop owners in Kaduna Veterinary Market have been thrown into uncertainty over looming demolition exercise in yet another phase of the State Government Urban renewal project .
The present anxiety amongst traders was hightened by a three week quit notice handed shop occupants attached to Eastern plank of the market overlooking Benin / Warri street junction along Ibrahim Taiwo Road by Kaduna State Urban and Property Development Authority ( KASUPDA. )
A visit by New Nigerian Newspapers to the market located at the Southern plank of Kaduna Central Market renamed Shaikh Abubakar Gumi in 1992 in memory of the late reformist Islamic scholar , was greeted by mixed feelings from traders seen discussing the development in groups .
A cross section of traders who spoke with our correspondent expressed worries over what they described as continued displacement of petty traders doing legit business , urging governor elRufai to halt the demolition exercise before more and more families were thrown into disarray.
Musa Yusuf , owner of a cosmetic shop decried high rate of their members he revealed had been displaced from the market due to ongoing demotion exercise of markets across the state , attributing rising insecurity bedevilling the state to sacking of civil servants , destroying shops , swelling the number of unemployed people in the process , many of who he noted had taken to one form of criminal activity or the other , all in a bid , according to him to cater for their families.
He however , sounded a caveat of not justifying crime and criminality as means for survival .
” Governments , Kaduna in particular must be compassionate and wear human face in implementing reforms and Urban renewal project to cushion the domino effects their action would have on the masses who are always at the receiving end of government policies.
” Survival has become for the fittest as more and more households have lost the financial supports of their breadwinners , ” Yusuf said.
” A trader in baking items and materials who simply identified herself as Mama Chi-Chi said she had no alternative shop to move to , should the state government add veterinary market in her list of demolition.
” I rise from sleep with a heavy heart and uncertainty of what may befall us when we come to the market for our legitimate business.
” Whenever I see any pasted paper on the wall around our shops , my heartbeat increases , thinking it may be quit notice as our other colleagues have gotten theirs .
” How long can we endure this mental torture of palpable fear of losing our shops and only means of livelihoods to demolition in the name of urban renewal ? ” she asked .
Malam Aminu who opined that reforms must come with collateral damage pleaded with his fellow traders to give the present administration in the state the benefit of doubt and believe in sincerity of purpose of governor elRufai’s plan for the state.
” If this vet market is demolished today , I will be affected as well because I have no other place to go to but I will seek solace in the fact that God will never starve His servants as He takes care of an atom size of his creatures , so He would surely take care of my needs as he has been doing all these years , ” he said.
Mr. Chris Emeka who said he had been in Kaduna trading in stationery for three decades pointed out to our correspondent that demolition of the vet market was only a matter of time before it’s carried out .
” All markets in Kaduna have been touched with the exception of Veterinary and Checheniya which I believe would not spared as well.
” I have always admonished our people to embrace their fate in good faith that God will surely provide alternatives for us .
” We should put our trust in Him that He shall never let us down because all we are doing here is legit , ” he stated .
