Aba used to be described as the melting point of the
Igbo race. It is a city where at least every family in
Igbo land was not found. Indeed, anybody who is
somebody in Igbo land no matter where he is
residing presently had his roots in Aba. These
coalesce and congregation of Ndigbo in Aba was
not for nothing. The Igbo being by nature
enterprising people; who have taken commerce to
its limits, found Aba, equally a commercial city an
alluring abode.
But regrettably, Aba, a city that used to compare
favourably with ancient cities like Gao, Timbuktu,
kano and others in terms of commerce is now a
ghost of itself owing to some inexplicable reasons.
The past administration could not put adjoining
roads in the city in good condition, making it
impossible for traders who come from neighbouring
states and even Cameroon to access Aba to
purchase their goods, the result being that traders
in Aba were put out of business.
Traders in some parts of Ariaria International are
facing what has been described as double wahala
which could be found in bad roads which dot the
whole landscape of the city and the debilitating
flooding that is ravaging the popular A –Line and
the drug section of the market. Indeed the past
eight years have not been the best of times for
traders in this part of the city.
Aba Metro gathered that in 2014, patent medicine
dealers at the drugs section of the market lost
goods worth over N2 billion to the flood. The traders
alleged that flooding of the area was aggravated by
a building erected on a water way adjacent the
market close to the portion of the State Fire service.
This obstructive structure is reported to be owned
by the son of a powerful former government official.
The flooding, the traders said is further made worse
by the deplorable nature of roads in the market and
the Ukwu Mango area which the last administration
in the state claimed to have rehabilitated.
The traders have, therefore, sent a save our soul
message to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, saying that if
nothing was done urgently, the flood would not only
sack them from their area of business but will also
submerge the entire section of the market which
they said is the pride of Ariaria.
Speaking with Aba Metro, the traders, who
appeared to have regretted the day they got shops
in that section of the market, lamented the double
trouble of daily wading through the muddy and
sinking flood water with its attendant health hazard
and the loss of their customers they have suffered
over the years with no end in sight. They expressed
fear that if the flood was not checked, they would
soon be out of business as the flood is not abating.
A trader at A-Line, who gave his name as Chimaobi,
appeal to the governor to declare the place a
disaster area and do something urgently to save
them from going out of business. "We want the
state Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu to come to our
aid. We are really suffering and don't know what to
do. The past administration was only keen in
collecting levies from the market, they did not do
much to help us and that is why we are calling on
Governor Ikpeazu to come to our aid in order to
help us come out of this ugly situation we have
found ourselves".
Samuel is another trader at A-Line, he has this to
say: "Flood water has entered her shops on several
occasions and destroyed our goods. Last year, our
neighbours who sell drugs lost goods worth over N2
billion to flood and up till moment, nobody gave them
a dime in form of compensation".
Continuing, he said: "We weren't spared either if not
that the drinks and fruit juice we sell can be washed
and dried up in the rain. But some people that sell
travelling bags also had a share of the flood impact.
"In order not to be beaten twice, since then, some
of us now rent some of the lockup shops upstairs
which we use as our parking store and use this
place that we are now as our display shop and at
the end of each market day we pack them upstairs
because nobody is sure of when it will rain next".
When asked about how the situation was affecting
their business, the trader retorted: "How many
persons did you see coming into this flood to buy or
even to price for anything? For you to make any
sales in a day, you have to take your goods to
where is called Enyimba, that is where our
customers now stay and call us on phone to place
their orders.
And for you to do this effectively, you must wear
your rain boots. In fact, there is no trader in this
section of the market that does not owe a pair of
rain boots, otherwise you can not enter or come out
of your shop.
"It's good that you are here. It is not a rumour. We
can only move in and out of our shops with rain
boots. Things are that bad, in fact, the situation has
worsened with the rains of yesterday (early
Tuesday morning)", he said.
