June 11, (THEWILL) – More than 5,000 petty traders doing business around the main Kano Id Ground (Masallachin Idi) along IBB Way, may lose their stalls as the deadline to quit the area expires.
The Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KNUPDA), had served the traders with a 48-hour quit notice to vacate the area, which expired last week.
Although the traders had protested the quit order, KNUPDA appears resolute on evicting them from the area, as the authority is yet to respond to their grievances.
Some of the traders told newsmen on Tuesday that they are afraid that the authorities might sack them from the area they had occupied for 18 years.
According to them, the place was allocated to them by the Kano Emirate Council through the late Galadiman Kano, Alhaji Tijjani Hashim, while the previous administration in the state officially allocated the area to most of them.
The traders feared that criminals who unleashed mayhem in the area before might take advantage of their eviction to renew their activities.
In his remarks, one of the market’s leaders, Yakubu Tijjani Muhammad, expressed shock at the quit notice, saying, “We are still trying to come to terms with the exact offence we committed that prompted KNUPDA to chase us away from where we do our lawful businesses to fend for our families.”
Muhammad expressed doubt whether Governor Yusuf was aware of the notice because, according to him, “The governor came to perform Eid prayer, he greeted us and addressed us as his people.
“When some members of his entourage attempted to remove our stalls, the governor stopped them and told them that we are his people.
“We are many here, mostly youths, how could you attempt to separate these people from their businesses, you know this will portend danger”, he said.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
