Reactions have trailed the Bauchi State Government’s decision to remove all temporary structures along major roads within the Bauchi metropolis, including kiosks, fruit sellers’ points, and other small-scale businesses that juxtaposed themselves along the routes.
A statement by the State’s Physical Planning and Development Control Board earlier gave the affected business owners a one-week notice to comply with a vacation order, demanding them to remove those temporary structures or face a forceful ejection and subsequent demolition by the Board’s operatives.
The demolition exercise had since begun along the Wunti Market area, where an overhead bridge project has been ongoing. Meanwhile, operatives of the Board were seen around Yelwa, Gwallameji, and Tsakani, satellite communities along Dass Road, pulling down and clearing vacated structures along the express.
Some of the affected shopkeepers, who spoke about the incident while accepting the outcome in good faith, called on the state government to look into the matter with a human face, pleading for more time beyond the 48-hour ultimatum the operatives usually give before vacation.
A vacating shop owner in Gwallameji, opposite the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi gate said, “We are not aware until last week that we got news from the state government directing us to remove and vacate our business premises, which we built for years and this is where we maintain our day to day life, but nothing we can do except complying with government directive”.
A POS business operator close to the Polytechnic entrance who seeks anonymity decries to the authority concerned and attributes the outcome as a total setback to almost all the affected businesses.
“I’m a student and here’s where I earn my living for pursuing my academic journey. Today I was given a notice of 48 hours to vacate and don’t know where to hide to continue my business. I’m pleading with the state government to give us some grace to search for a location.”
A man selling foodstuff who was affected expressed his concerns, saying the situation has left him with no option of where to move his business as the government has not provided them with a new location, noting that his family depends on what he gets every day to feed them.
The government said it has embarked on the project to clear the metropolis of illegal and temporary structures on roadsides to restore the city’s beauty and to implement its ambitious tree-planting campaign to fight climate change.
