Makurdi Modern Market has before now remained a melting business hub in the Benue State capital, built by the Aper Aku administration in early 80s, it is designed to provide ready world class luck up shops for traders dealing on the provision and sale of various classes of goods and services.
Only recently, this centre, which for residents of Makurdi town and visitors has been a delight, is fast becoming a show of itself. Built with about 2,500 shops, there are currently less than 500 stalls occupied by traders.
It is a mixture of business people cutting across cultural, ethnic and religious divide. A visit to the market recently by Pilot Metro painted a picture of a graveyard as few traders and customers are left in the near empty shops in contrast to the ever busy commercial activities.
Apart from the constant fire outbreak which have destroyed several stalls and denied traders the opportunity to do business, the sharp increase by government in the cost of shops has been identified as a killer factor discouraging commercial engagements.
Chairman of the traders association in the market, Mr Patrick Ajie, recently told our correspondent that the traders are disillusioned about the development as they continue to wonder why the state government have chosen to turn its back on the market.
The concern of most traders according to Ajie is why the state government would decide to neglect the reconstruction of the destroyed shops when the market provides appreciable internally generated revenue, IGR, for the state.
“It is obviously a source of concern why the government chooses to be insensitive to the plight of the traders, particularly the 2005 fire outbreak and the subsequent ones, making it difficult for those who lost their shops in the different infernos to return to the market for business,” he lamented.
Mr Ajie also noted the sudden increase in ground rent which according to him is arbitrary since what the traders realise from their sales is not enough to justify the payment of the increased rent.
For instance, what is known as Oneya shop, which used to be N12, 000 per annum, has been increased to N50, 000 while one bay or shop which initially goes for N14, 400 now goes for N50, 000.
A double shop which was given out to traders at the rate of N28, 800 now goes for as high as N100, 000. Four bays or shops, initially at N72, 000 is presently given out at N200, 000 while a warehouse which was rented out at N72, 000 now goes for N250, 000.
This increment which Mr Ajie said was made when Mr Alex Adum who was commissioner in the ministry has caused most of the traders to move to other smaller markets in Makurdi, particularly Wurukum, North Bank, Wadata and High Level where the rent is low.
“It has affected us so much. If you were here in 2010, all these places were shops and containers, you know our boys graduate every year and people relocate from other places, but the former commissioner came and destroyed everything even though it was approved by the ministry of commerce and industry,” Mr Ajie emphasized.
Traders have written to the state House of Assembly standing committee on Commerce and Industry and other relevant bodies to come to their aid, but at the moment, there seem not to be any response.
However, the state commissioner for commerce and industry, Mr Terfa Ihindan, who spoke to this reporter on phone last Wednesday, confirmed the increment and said it was the only proper thing to do as what was being paid was too insignificant to run the market.
The commissioner who said it is not the policy of this present government to take money from one sector to run another, regretted that the sum of N67m spent on the road leading to the market was yet to be recovered since it is difficult for government to realise N5m from the market in a year.
He said government is trying to reconstruct the market and disclosed that a task force against illegal shops, particularly those who have residential houses to shopping malls will soon go into action to shut down such shops. Mr Ihindan sited Abuja, Onitsha and other cities where shopping mall yield big revenue to government, and said that of Benue cannot be different. Meanwhile, a visit to High Level and Wurukum markets witnessed mammoth turnout of traders and customers transacting business leaving little or no space for people to pass.
One of the traders who left the Modern Market for Wurukum said he was forced to leave since he was not having customers and therefore saw no reason staying behind to pay for what he may not earn.