The incident was a replica of a movie scene at Eke Market Awka Roundabout last week as a flood swept a tricycle into the drainage. If you are within the Awka metropolis or as you approach the city from any point and the sky deems it nice to signal rainfall, particularly on days that it lets loose its fury, and you need to pass through the market road, one of the major and busiest roads in the city, the best advice is to look for an alternative route. Emeka Chiaghanam writes:
Do you need to beat time to meet up
with an appointment or get to your destination during rush hours? You will do
yourself much good if you can connect your destination with another
road?
In what many city dwellers refer to as its
main market; the Anambra State capital has a major trade centre called Eke Awka
Market. The market as it stands today serves as the major market in the Awka
Capital Territory. Before the creation of the present Anambra State, Eke Awka
Market was devoid of the magnitude of business volume it witnesses today.
From time immemorial, the size, and trade
volume of a market determine the status of the place. So many towns and cities
were built around a market. While some towns with little markets later expanded
into mega markets, for others the size has remained the same over time, though
with an increase in the volume of business, one such market is the Eke Awka
Market.
Eke Awka Market is situated in downtown Awka,
going by its name, the market ought to be a weekly market as obtained in
Igboland. However, to enter or exit the city from Zik Avenue, the longest road
within the metropolis, you have to pass through the market. Before the
construction of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, most travelers en route to other
states made their passage through the old road that runs through the popular
Zik Avenue, with the market in view, though, then, the market activities were
not near its present bustling nature.
In the beginning, there was no Eke Awka
Market. But there existed Eke Nwida, where the present-day Dike Park is
located, named after the city’s foremost scholar, Kenneth Dike, the Nigerian
black vice-chancellor of the University College of Ibadan, now the University of
Ibadan. The market was an evening market turned into a mammy market by federal
forces during and after the Nigerian Civil War.
The closest major market that Awka had before
the civil war was at Ogbugbankwa Square, it was the Square where traders
from neighbouring towns occasionally come to sell their wares. Today,
Ogbugbankwa serves as a major loading point for vehicles heading towards
Greater Onitsha, Idemili North, and South Local Government Areas and Anambra
South Senatorial District.
Back in the day, the biggest market in the
old Awka region was the Eke Oyibo, at Amawbia. The town’s status as the
administrative capital of the region, made Eke Amawbia also referred to as Eke Oyibo popular, thus the centre of market activities in the area. With the
growing importance of Awka in the 1980s, began the rise of Eke AwkaMarket. The
creation of present-day Anambra State in August 1996 with Awka as the state
capital boosted the profile of the market, becoming the most active in the
area.
Eke Awka is a compact market tucked between
St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Awka, Dike street, and Ukwu Udala in Amikwo village,
Awka. The market may not be in the league of mega markets known across the
country but holds its own as far as Awka metropolitan area is considered. What
the market does not have in size it makes up in the volume of transactions. The
land where the market stands was once a cemetery for St. Mary’s Catholic
Church, Awka.
The market's present ground speaks of an area
that was once desolate. Activities around the once small and weekly market
suggest the city needs not only the relocation of the market but a mega market
for the capital territory. The once serene graveside now sounds an alarm of
concern.
Awka yearns for a mega market; the status of
Anambra State among the league of states in the country places an urgent need
for a well-structured market that befits the city. Many reasons inform the need
for a new market. Given Eke Awka Market, the strategic position of wastes from
the market poses environmental hazards and health challenges, and the market
lacks a proper waste management system. Traders dump wastes in the road’s
shallow drainage where available. The rainy season on the axis births
fear.
The road and its environs flood because of blocked drainage, resulting from waste washed into the drainage. A flood on the market road has such a sweeping effect that it carries tons of debris in its path. Moving the market to another location will mitigate the effect of the flood as stores and structures erected very close to the road or on drainage will give way for the passage of water.
The site of the market does not help the
aesthetic nature of the capital city. Winds and little rain throw out dirt and
debris into the road. Anambra State is a prime state and deserves premium
visual beauty. The state government can partner with the private sector to
build a mega-market that will not only enhance the aesthetic life of the city
but also double the revenue generated by the Eke Awka. Relocating Eke Awka and erecting a botanical garden in its place would boost the beauty of the city
or having a learning center there would not only attract less traffic but also
advance the growth of the state via knowledge.
Since the state government desires to raise
its internally generated revenue (IGR), a much bigger market will enhance its
economic profile. At present, the government cannot collect levies from all the
shops in the market, as significant parts of the markets are barely private
homes cum shops, besides a new market will eliminate multiple levies collected
from traders, as various groups claim ownership of the portion where some
traders do their business. For hawkers, it is the tale of too many levies
besides those that claim to collect revenue on behalf of the government, often
issuing fake receipts.
Relocating the market to a bigger place will
ease traffic on the market axis. The two major roads within the metropolis
converge into a narrow lane at the market area from Arthur Eze Avenue end,
which forms part of the market, and the Zik Avenue from Amenyi end. Navigating
the market road requires patience, as you have to contend with both human and
vehicular traffic. Plying the road in the evening can sometimes be vexing as
traders encroach the narrow road, signaling traffic in the process.
Articulated vehicles that park on the market’s
narrow road to offload goods compound traffic situations, besides numerous
loading points commonly referred to as pits lines on both sides of the road,
with different people collecting levies from commercial bus operators, the
presence of these vehicles disrupts the free flow of traffic. In addition,
vehicles park on both sides of the road narrowing it by adding to the traffic
challenges on the road. A new market with a garage will serve to eliminate this
and open new routes for transportation in the city.
It makes economic sense and encourages
developmental strides to have a new market, as a significant portion of
underdeveloped areas will benefit from the market situated in another area. A
bigger market will create more businesses and demand new roads that will
initiate economic activities on that axis. The city of Awka, due to its compact
nature and few major roads will benefit from such a project. Linking the market
to neighbouring towns accelerates the development in the hinterland.
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