Nigeria: Zuba - Abuja's Fruit Market of Filth

Buying and selling of consumables like fruits are expected to take place in clean and serene environments, however at the Zuba International Fruit Market, they occur in an atmosphere of foul odour from mounds of refuse.

As one approaches the market, the pungent odour from the market can make one mistake the place for a large dumpsite with many rotten fruits indiscriminately decomposing around its environs.
The stinking environment where trading activities take place is brimming with scores of rotten fruits assailing everyone including buyers of the perishable products in a clear violation of environmental laws and a threat to public health.

Given the amount of environmental pollution the market generates, it seems the traders are oblivious to the fact that trading in such a filthy environment has several health implications as many of them spread their wares on the muddy ground.

The market is a melting point for major fruit-producing states. About 500 trucks and lorries loaded with assorted fruits come into the market each day while thousands of farmers, fruit sellers and buyers throng the market to do business, Alhaji Nura Haruna, the chairman of the Zuba International Fruits Market Association told Aso Chronicle.

"This market is the biggest in the North Central; people come from Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, and some eastern states to buy fruits here while farmers from all over the country bring their goods for sale here," he said.

"As people are offloading fruits from the trucks, pickup vans are on ground to convey the produce to different locations in the FCT," Haruna added.

A visit to this market leaves one wondering whether the fruits many FCT residents consume actually come from such a filthy environment.

Aso Chronicle learnt that about 50 cleaners are employed to take charge of cleaning the market but this has not saved it from the mess.

It was gathered that there is punishment for anyone that violates the market's environmental law, but this law seems not to be effective as the traders were seen disposing garbage indiscriminately.

While the activities of the traders constitute an environmental challenge, the muddy road that leads to the central area of the market affects free flow of both human and vehicular movements.

The road is narrow, muddy and congested with hundreds of people struggling to find better way in and out of the market. Traders wear rain boots apparently to reduce getting into the muddy and dirty areas that characterize almost the whole market amidst the pungent stench emanating from all directions.

The market is in shambles, a situation market officials said, is fast reducing the volume of business activities there. Several accidents have been recorded; vehicles sometimes slide and crash while trying to gain access into the market, Aso Chronicle learnt.

"When it rains, the entire market will be muddied, affecting free flow of movement through the tiny, muddy road," said a trader, Gloria Opkuveru, who added that the situation is affecting sales as customers find it difficult to gain access to the market.

"I remember some time ago - I think about two years or so ago - some white people used to come here. One day, three of them came after it had rained. They managed to walk their way out of the market without buying anything," Issa Muhammad, another trader said.

He added that the condition of the North Central's biggest fruits market frustrates farmers whose farm produce would go bad if kept for days.

"Anybody who comes here and sees that a market that looks like this exists in Abuja would be disappointed. We need a good garage for the trucks to park after offloading the produce. We are constrained by space, yet complicated by rain," said another trader who does not want his name in print.

Ms. Esther Tyohee is a mango farmer from Gboko, Benue State. These reporters maneuovered through the muddy path amidst huge crowd of customers to meet her where she was selling her mangoes along with two agile young men who helped her get customers.

Asked what she makes of the condition in the market, her response was interrogative: "Are we not paying revenue? They know how to collect money but don't know how to make the market good. Leave me alone please," she retorted at the reporters.

The market union leaders decry the failure of both the Gwagwalada Area Council authorities and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to entertain the several complaints lodged with them about the road, despite the huge revenue generated from the market.

Nura Haruna said they have made several efforts to meet with government officials to see what can be done over the terrible condition but nothing happened. "They couldn't give us the attention we needed and so we were discouraged to push the issue further," he lamented.

If we are generating huge revenue here for the government, why can't they even put asphalt on the roads and the market to make activities run smoothly? he asked, adding that they carry out minor repairs on the road, using the revenue the market generates.

Aside the fruit sellers, dealers of electrical and electronic materials whose shopping complex is situated along the muddy road said they were facing hard times as a result of near-zero patronage due to the bad road.
The dealers are worried that if the road is not rehabilitated, the billions of naira already expended on the shopping complex would be in vain.

Cletus Eze, the market chairman, said: "Of the over 700 shops in the market, only 109 are occupied. Those who had done business here before were forced to leave because buyers are not forthcoming.

"The money we spent on the project is just going down the drain; nothing is coming out of it," he said.
If the road is in good condition, the traders say the market has the potential to generate millions of naira for the Gwagwalada Area Council.

They appealed to the relevant authorities to, as a matter of urgency, look into the worsening and deteriorating conditions of the road and the market.