By News Maker Media in Abuja
The Village Head of Karmo Sabo, Chief Umar Garni Sarkin Karmo, has appealed to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to save the community’s Tuesday market from demolition and relocation to a privately owned market in another district, warning that its proposed relocation could threaten the livelihood of hundreds of small-scale traders.
The traditional ruler made the appeal, while addressing journalists on Monday, amid plans to move traders to a modern market constructed in Old Karmo, which he said is outside Karmo Sabo District.
Sarkin Karmo said the community was not against modernisation, but insisted that development should not come at the expense of ordinary citizens who depend on the existing market for their livelihoods.
He said the traders operating at the Karmo Market included people whose businesses were financed with as little as N5,000, N10,000 and N20,000.
According to him, forcing such traders into a privately owned modern market could eventually make it impossible for them to continue their businesses.
He said although the traders had reportedly been offered six months free occupation, there was no guarantee that they would be able to remain after the grace period. The traditional ruler questioned whether the traders would simply return to their villages or become unemployed if they could no longer afford the market charges.
He appealed to the FCT Administration (FCTA) to consider the social consequences of the proposed demolition before implementing it. Sarkin Karmo also expressed concern about the possible communal implications of relocating Karmo Sabo traders to Old Karmo.
Informing that Karmo Sabo, Old Karmo and Idu-Koro have separate districts and traditional structures, despite being neighbouring communities, he therefore urged the authorities to find a solution that would preserve the existing market while addressing legitimate concerns about traffic and roadside trading.
He said the community was already taking steps to ensure that traders did not obstruct the roads when there was an overflow of commercial activities.
Sarkin Karmo cited Dei Dei and Karu, where community markets continue to exist alongside modern markets, as examples the FCTA could consider.
He said he remained hopeful that the meetings with the Abuja Investment Company and FCDA’s Development Control would produce a solution acceptable to all sides. The traditional ruler finally appealed to Wike to intervene personally, stressing that government policies should protect both urban development and the economic survival of ordinary citizens.
