Inside Itam market where illegal ticket agents, groups extort millions daily from petty traders

By Benjamin Jimmy 

Payments for tickets, market levies or any other financial obligation are supposed to come with no serious burden at all on traders in any market in Akwa Ibom State. However, the reverse is the case, particularly at the popular Itam Market in Itu Local Government Area, where such payments have unfortunately become stiflers of businesses, as excessive ticketing and illegal collections from groups suspected to have been contracted by some highly placed individuals, have continued, with no end in sight. The situation has even been exacerbated by other self-contracting groups in the market who collect their own initiated levy with force, violence, vehemence, and even destruction of wares at any slightest provocation.

Worse hit in all of this seemingly broad daylight robbery, investigation revealed, are those struggling petty traders who sell along the road, and have to pay almost through their nose to be allowed to display their wares on the ground – some of such wares, they lamented, are not even up to N10,000 in aggregate.

According to some of the traders who spoke to our reporter during investigation, there are much tickets and illegal collections that are violently imposed on them daily from sources that either do not have a known identify, or have, but with complications and confusions no one can explain.

The traders expressed worry that even those who collect these tickets on daily basis from them cannot be traced to any location or office after their forceful collections.

They alleged that while on their daily raid to collect money from them, regardless of the quantity of their wares, these men who often wear semblances of daredevils take as much as N850 in total for a single day from each trader, an amount they said is spread for collection by different groups of fierce-looking men who would either pack their wares away, or destroy them in the event of being given excuses.

Imaobong Sunday, a trader who sells okra, periwinkle, crayfish, and various other items on the walkway just outside the market, told our reporter that she pays N600 daily for tickets (for both morning and evening collections) and N900 on Saturdays (for both morning and evening), which amounts to over N200,000 in monthly levies.

She noted that the situation significantly impacts her weekly and monthly profits: “During the morning hours, the ticket agents would collect N250 from me as my sales levy. Later in the evening, another group would come and collect N350, totaling N600. On Saturdays, I pay a total of N900. However, each group gives me two tickets worth N50 each, bearing the emblem of the Itu local government council.”

Another trader who gave her name as Mrs. Eno Offiong, spoke with so much vituperation in her voice, alleging that the so-called market authorities, in connivance with the illegal groups and cultists who destroy their wares and assault them when they do have money to pay, have made life for all the traders in the market miserable.

In view of the high-handedness by these illegal collectors, Mrs. Offiong said a lot of traders had stopped trading – not only for reasons of high-handedness, but also for the excessive, stifling ticketing system at the market.

DIFFERENT TICKETS AND OTHER ILLEGAL COLLECTIONS FROM TRADERS SELLING INSIDE THE MARKET

Giving a breakdown of divisions in what she termed forceful collections in the name of payment for tickets in Itam Market, a trader whose space on the ground is by the road, told our reporter that those who sell inside the market pay differently from those who risk their lives to squat along the road.

The trader, Mrs. Idongesit Udo, explained that for those who sell inside, they are compelled to pay N10,000 yearly for what the authorities call ‘attachment’, N10,000 again for ‘portion’, and N4,000 for ‘storage’.

Other levies, the trader continued, are N500 monthly for what they call ‘development’, and N300 every Saturday for sanitation within the market.

She expressed anger that even with the different collection titles, the market had remained underdeveloped, uncared for, as well as unsafe, particularly in the aspect of hygiene and sanitation.

She hinted that the different titled  collections were without payment for shops for those who could afford one, as such payment, she added, was subject to negotiations upon negotiations among the real owners and the then first, second and sometimes third tentative owners of such facilities.

TICKETS AND OTHER ILLEGAL COLLECTIONS FROM TRADERS SELLING ALONG THE ROAD

Another trader whose location is along the road, decried the level of oppression from different sources whose only interest is to forcefully extort money from them, without any sense of empathy or sympathy even for the aged women who often sell little things like water leaf.

The trader who gave her name simply as Grace lamented that traders staying along the road were worse hit by the activities of these individuals, as different types of tickets with different types of groups would visit them daily to milk dry their petty businesses.

Such tickets, according to her, include; N20,000 yearly for a small table space by the road, N300 every Saturday for sanitation, N100 for daily security, N50 for daily ticket, N200 daily for yet another group where collections are made to Itam youth, allegedly, among other illegal collections.

The trader expressed strong disapproval with the enormous illegalities and oppressive tendencies of the collectors, confirming that many small businesses had been shut down, while others were on the verge to join. This, she said, was not unconnected with the heavy burden of ticketing on such businesses and the commando-like and despicable attitude of the collectors when approaching them.

Mrs. Grace also alleged that, apart from the ticket collections stifling their businesses, such collections were also responsible for the high cost of some commodities that ordinarily would have been cheaper and within the reach of average Akwa Ibom buyers.

She hinted that such collections from traders would always reflect on the prices of commodities sold, lamenting that traders at Itam Market were going through a lot of illegal collections emanating from the police on the roads, transporters and the so-called Itam Market authorities.

The seller reasoned that with all these illegal actions festering in the market, roads and elsewhere, life would continue to remain difficult in the state.

The trader further alleged that Itam Market records the highest number of ticket collections from both recognised and unrecognised persons, and also the most oppressed, thugs and cultists-dominated markets in the state.

She however called on the Chairman of Itu Local Government Area, Hon. Ubong Wilson Nkutt, to look into their plights, by putting a decisive stop to all illegal collections which she insisted had made the market notorious for strangling and forcing businesses to their untimely exit.

Other market women who were on the sidelines during the interview, jointly appealed to Governor Umo Eno to wade into their predicaments that appeared to have kept them as subservient for the maruders who continue to milk them of their meagre resources for their selfish interests.

They also called on the Chairman of Itu to withdraw all his illegal ‘boys collectors’ whom they alleged were compensated with the ticketing business for their loyalty and political support during the elections.

OTHER REVELATIONS

Further investigation by this reporter revealed that most petty traders had been left with no choice than to sell by the road, owing to the fact that the shops inside the market had all been sold out to traders from a certain tribe who could afford any price tag.

It was also gathered that more that 70 per cent of the shops inside are owned by traders from this section of the country, ( name of the section withheld), while over 60 per cent of those trading along the road are from Akwa Ibom State.

It was also gathered, allegedly, that the market authorities often pushed out some traders whom in their estimation would not be able to pay for spaces, and such spaces, our reporter found out, were sold to those from that particular section who could afford to pay any price. This, it was also found out, had been a regular occurrence, especially on Itam Market day where visiting traders could pay anything to acquire spaces.

POSITIONS OF SOME BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS  

These situations, business development experts say, portend danger that might turn into a flame if government continues to turn its eyes away from the situation and allow manipulations and extortions soar with reckless abandon.

They also attributed the high cost of livelihood in Akwa Ibom to the continued rape on people’s businesses in the name of collecting levies for sanitation, development and others that never happened, not even in any little measure.

The experts expressed worry that Itam Market had often led in everything bad, including the issue of unionism and its domineering influences which were a thorn on the flesh of many traders and businesses at a time.

While alleging that the Chairman of Itu Local Government Area might be complicit in all the unfortunate extortions and tribal oppression, they also accused him of using businesses of old women struggling daily for survival to compensate political loyalists.

The business development experts therefore, called on him to look into all the illicit happenings giving Itam Market a bad name, and take over the surpretendency of all structures, with a view to balancing the scale for mutual coexistence, as well as easing off the burden of ticketing on struggling businesses.

From our analysis of the different types of levies – legal and illegal there, and the crowded nature of the market with traders in their thousands, tickets collectors would be making millions of naira daily from businesses – some of such businesses surviving on loans and contributions.

All efforts made to locate the market authorities to hear from them proved unsuccessful, as all the traders contacted said the men had no specific or definite location or office within the market where one could meet them for anything.

Our reporter was told that they once had an office, but left the place sometime ago to nowhere any one could tell.

TICKETING AT AKPAN ANDEM MARKET

At Akpan Andem Market under the control of Uyo Local Government Area, our reporter gathered that ticketing or ticket collections were not indiscriminate, but more streamlined that a trader could easily tell how much to pay as tickets daily – something one cannot certainly say about Itam Market.

A trader selling crayfish along the road by the market confirmed in an interview that payment for tickets had been civil and less of drama in recent times, as it was no longer a thing of surprise as to how much to pay daily for each location.

The trader who feared to mention her name to our reporter, disclosed that traders selling by the roads around the market pay N100 daily for ticket, except for Saturdays where they pay N200 for ticket levy and another N200 for sanitation.

She also revealed that those hawking in and around the market also pay, but as little as between N100 and N150 each, depending on the location where the hawker would penetrate.

A shop owner trading inside the market told our reporter that every shop pays N1,200 in aggregate monthly, which he said covers local government, security and sanitation levies.

The trader, who was overtly unfriendly towards our reporter however managed to answer a few questions that ticketing in the market was not  throat-cutting, as Uyo Local Government Area and the market authorities had made it easier for small businesses to be able to pay for tickets and still survive.

On the attitude of the recognised  and unrecognised collectors, he dismissed that there were no individuals nor groups collecting money for whatever reason illegally.

He insisted that all the collectors were all known to the traders and therefore, payment had always been a smooth sail for many, except for the attitude of some levy collectors and traders.

A hawker who was seen along Udo Umanah Road by the market confirmed to our reporter that she pays N100 daily for ticket.

She however added that a hawker could pay more if he or she hawks into certain areas in the market where there are also other levies to be paid for.