Ilorin: Further Remarks On Urban Renewal
By Is’haq Modibbo Kawu
I was not surprised that there was a groundswell of feeling for the earlier piece that I wrote on this subject matter of urban renewal, embarked upon by the Kwara State Government, in Ilorin, the state capital. Most of the responses have been very positive.
I think people appreciate the fact that the anarchic, unplanned, and I-can-do-what-I-like manner of urban space usage, had resulted in an increasingly dysfunctional and unlivable state capital, that has, consequently, become detrimental to the health of all residents.
Something definitely had to give the surprise element in the endeavor of removing shacks, stalls, and shops, from road setbacks, also contributed to the way that the idea and implementation of the process has been received.
There was a very important issue that I underlined in my previous piece, and that was the need to compensate people whose businesses or premises, had to give way, as is always inevitable, in urban renewal endeavours.
In response to that call, I received communication from governmental authorities about the beginning of a process of compensation payments.
A statement released by Ag. General Manager of Kwara State Social Investment Programmes (KWASSIP) Dr Abdulwasiu Olayinka Tejidini, stated that the government took the decision to pay compensation, “to curb the loss of jobs and the collapse of businesses in the state”, as a result of the process.
Following careful investigation and assessment, ten (10) persons were awarded the sum of N801,550; two (2) persons to receive N572,000; and forty-nine (49) others to get N400,000 each. The list comprises those whose shops were affected at Post Office, Tanke, and Ahmadu Bello Way, respectively.”
The intervention had deep humanitarian content because the government was not, strictly speaking, legally liable, to grant compensation following the exercise. I am happy that step was taken, and I hope that moving forward, the government will continue to respond in the same manner.
In truth, once an urban renewal process has been commenced, it must be followed through. One of the most important links in the chain is to ensure that those who have wares to sell are made to relocate to the different markets within the city. But what’s the state of our markets? To find out the actual situation, I got three reporters to visit five markets within Ilorin.
Their remit was to find out in some detail the actual state of things in terms of the number of lock-up and open stalls; the percentage of occupation of these stalls; security in and of the markets; plus toilet facilities and other conveniences, that should make markets habitable for sellers and buyers.
The markets surveyed by my reporters were;
Abubakar Olusola Saraki Market Ita-Nma; Mandate Market; Bababoko/Ojatuntun Market; Oja Oba Market; and the Oja-Ago Market. At the Abubakar Olusola Saraki Market, Ita-Nma, our investigation revealed that there are 1, 200 lock-up and open stalls. Out of that total, only 500 stalls are occupied. The market employs vigilantes for security.
However, there are no toilet facilities, therefore people practice open defecation. The market is partially lit, and access is good. Mal. Raji Murtala, Chairman of the market committee, named inadequate finance as reason why so many of the stalls are unoccupied.
The Mandate Market, has 839 lock-up shops and open stalls, and of that number, 540 are occupied. The market is well secured by vigilante groups, and there is toilet facility which is however, commercialized for maintenance.
Lighting is also partially available, while there is easy access to the market. The general hygiene is fair too. It was discovered that the attitude of sellers to the use of these shops was not encouraging.
Mr. AbdulRasheed Apara, who spoke on behalf of Alhaji Murtala Shehu, the Babaloja, claimed that financial incapacitation was the reason why the stalls are not completely occupied. He added “greed for sales” as an additional reason why they sell by the roadside.
My reporters were informed at the Baboko/Ojatuntun Market, that they had 2,000 lockup and open stalls. All of them are fully occupied. They also employ vigilantes for security and toilet facilities at the market are dysfunctional.
There is a good access to the market and there’s also lighting. Mr Ajayi Oluwafemi, the PRO Bababoko/Ojatuntun Market stated that it’s the urge for quick sales as well as greed, that’s responsible for sellers choosing to sell by the roadside.
There are 900 shops and open stalls at the Oja Oba Market. All of them are occupied. The market employs the services of vigilantes too, and there are no toilet facilities so open defecation is widely practiced. This is, arguably, the epicenter of sale by the roadsides within the city. It’s the real expression of anarchy, defiance, and lack of control.
Alhaja Fatima Onituwo, who spoke on behalf of the Iyaloja, attributed sales by the roadsides to financial incapacitation as well as the greed of making quick sales.
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At the Oja-Ago, it was stated that they have 1000 lock-up and open stalls, but only 400 are occupied. The market employs the services of vigilantes for security, and there are inadequate toilet facilities.
The market is accessible and partially lit. Mal. Bolakale Salihu, the second in command to the Babaloja, attributed the penchant to sell by the roadside to the greed for quick sales and inadequate financial capacity.
What came out clearly from the markets include the fact that the state of these markets needs to be improved. The provisioning of services like toilets and water; the improvement of lighting, and the general security are imperative.
Those who sell by the roadsides must be sherparded into the markets in collaboration with the market associations. We must insist on the fact that sale by roadsides is unacceptable and must be strictly enforced. I believe where push back would be most tough are at Oja-Oba, Zango, Mandate Market, and Oja Baboko.
As we work with the market associations on enforcement, we should also work on a publicity blitz that emphasizes the collect advantage to the community on the steps being taken in respect of a decisive stance against sales by the roadsides within the city of Ilorin.
Related to this is the need to dedicate a specific location for the group that sells second-hand home furniture at the junction of Emir’s Road and Edun Street.
That point is not conducive for such a business because it distorts the aesthetic of that location, contributes to clogging up traffic, and needs to be properly located into a far more conducive setting.
Underlining such a decision is the fact that modernity has its ethos, and these must set out clearly, adhered to, and enforced for the sake of all citizens.
The abuse of road setbacks isn’t just a problem in the business districts of the city. It is an unacceptable reality in the GRA of Ilorin. There are many houses that have deliberately been built right to the drainage points, and these obviously flout the basic standards set for these locations.
The GRA is supposedly for the elite and upper middle class of our society, and these are people who ordinarily should know and help enforce standards. If we are strictly enforcing those standards in other parts of the city, then we must even be stricter in the GRA.
What is good for the goose should equally be sauce for the gander! The enforcement authorities will do well to reclaim ALL setbacks abused inside the Ilorin GRA. That will underline our seriousness about the urban renewal process.
I think two traffic-related issues are also important for the process. Firstly, it is vital to provide very bright, and comprehensive solar-powered street lighting, all over the city of Ilorin. Their presence can and would serve many purposes. These include heightened security, the possible enhancement of nightlife in communities, and even a nighttime economic life.
The other traffic-related issue of urban renewal is to work with the associations of motorcycle taxis and Keke, to determine, allocate, and strictly enforce, routes that these can ply within Ilorin metropolis As things stand today, the traffic situation is unplanned, it is anarchic, and with the unruly manner of the operatives of these modes of transport, they contribute to the disordered nature of urban living in Ilorin.
These operatives are a law unto themselves, but a modern city cannot allow itself to be overwhelmed by a component of its overall structures. The allocation of routes and its enforcement will contribute to the overall structure of security in the community.
A final idea in this tapestry, and one that I had mentioned in my earlier piece on this issue, is to install CCTV cameras all over the city. These would also necessarily have to be solar-powered.
Let me emphasize that I understand that an urban renewal process is precisely that, a process. It cannot be finished in a couple of weeks or even months.
But a decisive first step has been taken, and for the sake of the health of all the inhabitants of the city, the authorities concerned must not allow push backs, emotional blackmail, or populist arguments, to derail the process, or slow it down.
No urban renewal process has ever taken place without the sacrifices of members of the community. But in the long run, everyone harvests a more liveable community together. It’s the reason that communication must be at the heart of the process.
That should go with decisiveness, on the part of the enforcement authorities. Similarly, we must explore the possibilities of legislative intervention in order to give a legal muscle to the endeavour.
You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, as the old saying goes. The urban renewal in Ilorin is already showing encouraging green shoots of growth, and it would be very important to keep the process going.
I spent the week from July 10th to the 17th in Ilorin, and over the entire week we drove round the city everyday, and most of the nights, into the wee hours, so I got a fairly good idea of what has been done, and what remains to be accomplished. The process underway to renew the city of Ilorin deserves the support of all residents.
Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, PhD., FNGE, is a Broadcaster, Journalist, and a Political Scientist.
