- Crises of urbanisation as indigenes resist relocation of ancient market
It turned out a gory tragedy. The picture of a 10-year-old boy with what looked like a bullet hole in the forehead is indeed gory. Juxtaposed against existential rubble and rampaging bulldozers was nothing but horrific. The bedlam was complete; mass of protesting traders watched in anguish as the Eke-ukwu, probably the largest open market in Imo State, ceased to be.
Finally, modernity won the argument in a never-ending desire by man to continuously upgrade and renew his environment. Until last Friday night, Eke-ukwu, which may be described as an ancestral market sat right in the middle of the beautiful city of Owerri, the capital of Imo State in the southeast of Nigeria.
It must be noted that it was the city that caught up with the market and circumscribed it, for it had existed long before Owerri was named capital. But today, the market has become an aberration if not an embarrassment to a fast-growing state capital. And it has been so for about two decades. The major city thoroughfare, Douglas Road, is nigh impassable, impeded as much by human traffic as the ever-present heaps of refuse.
A stone’s throw from Douglas Road is Douglas House, the seat of the state government. Of course there is a noxious nexus. On a bad day, the din, stench and bric-a-brac of the Eke-ukwu would sail in the vicinity of Douglas House. This is not to mention the environmental hazards a shimmering, sprawling open market invokes on a burgeoning city. There are also issues of touting, criminality and cultism.
According to reports, previous administrations had initiated moves to relocate Eke-ukwu. But each time, relocation had been resisted. First by indigenes who threatened they would die first.
Traders on their part had become entrenched in their comfort zone. Many had found wealth, comfort and security in Eke-ukwu all their lives and could not contemplate any other location even if it were a better option. They would give anything and indeed do anything not to shift from a settled place.
Though the state government said it had built another market to absorb Eke-ukwu, some say it is not completed while others complain about the cost and distance. Government claims it had given them notice for upward of two years as it built the new location but traders countered that notice was short and that they were not allowed enough time to retrieve their goods. The traders also claimed that they have an injunction from the court restraining government’s action, noting that this was yet another case of official lawlessness and disregard for court orders.
While argument and counters in the Eke-ukwu saga may go back and forth till Christmas, urbanisation is the crux of the matter here. The upgrade, renewal and complete makeover of cities and metropolitan areas have become abiding phenomena of the modern man. Old things will continue to give way as new skylines emerge to dominate human imagination. It is a historical fact that most modern cities of the world once hosted sprawling open markets which gave way to modern shopping malls.
While affected traders and some Owerri indigenes may rue the relocation, majority of Imo people may well hail the incumbent Governor Rochas Okorocha for mustering the courage to effect a salutary change in the landscape of the city. There is no doubt that a new lease of life would be brought on the city centre when modern complexes rise to replace the shambolic Eke-ukwu.
But we hasten to admonish that no matter how good intentioned government’s policy may be, it must not supplant the need to apply a human face. The loss of life is unacceptable and could have been avoided. Government must do all in its powers to assuage the parents of the dead child. It is also unacceptable that no one, not in the least, government would flout court orders. The law must be obeyed even at the expense of development. Due process must never be jettisoned no matter how long it takes.
While the indigenes deserve accommodation in the new development, government has a duty to make the relocating traders enjoy as much comfort as possible in their new abode. They deserve no less.
