...As 'landlords' collect rent from 'tenants'
The abandoned new Federal Secretariat buildings in Abuja have been turned into an illegal bazaar where all sorts of items from food to flesh are traded, National Mirror investigations can reveal.
What's more? Certain persons have assumed the position of landlord in these buildings and are making cool money collecting "rent" from traders who want to set up shop within the sprawling premises which has gone to the dogs due to the failure of the government to complete the projects and allocate space to its ministries, agencies and departments.
Some of these ministries and agencies currently rent space from private persons at high rates. In spite of the fact that the buildings are decrepit and overgrown with weeds, a visit to the premises which is adjacent to the new Federal Secretariat would elicit grief from whoever understands what public institutions mean in other climes
. Simply put, the buildings have metamorphosed into filthy ghetto markets, filled with all manner of debris. National Mirror investigations show that the premises has become car park, trading stalls, auto mechanic workshops, barbing salons, among others all at once.
The worst of all sordid practices within these buildings is the manner in which refuse is managed. At every corner of the perimeter of the buildings you find refuse, most of which are decaying and polluting the environment.
This seems not to concern anyone within the vicinity. Unfortunately too, much of the food sold by vendors within these buildings is prepared just close to the refuse heaps, which customers are not aware of for obvious reasons. The flooded ground floor constitutes a major challenge for buying and selling in the wide space within the buildings, thus seemingly bringing a check on those who allot the space.
For over two decades, the buildings have remained at the first floor level where work was stopped on it, while others, adjacent to it and currently occupied by different ministries of government have about 11 floors each. The buildings were originally part of the new Federal Secretariat in Abuja ,where most of the Federal Government's ministries and other major national Commissions and Boards' headquarters offices are now located.
Sellers at the buildings revealed the sharp practices on the site to our reporter. According to one of the retailers, who pleaded anonymity, "For one to get a small portion of land for a shop within the buildings, one would be required to meet Shema (a middle-aged, businessman who also manages activities at the market) He will take you round the part of the buildings that has not been occupied by anyone. If you like wherever he gives you, he will ask you to pay N10, 000.00 for registration.
"It may be more than that, depending on what the person wants to sell. But after that registration, Shema will measure the land and give it to you. It is left for you whether you come to the market again to start your business or not.
But, you must pay N300 to him every Wednesday while you pay N1,000 every last Friday of the month. But, none of these payments is receipted because the market is illegal; that is what he will tell you before you start.
Most often, some of the Environmental officials would come and send us away, but within few days, our people will come back." Is Shema an employee of the Federal Government charged with the responsibility of managing this site? No, he is not.
He is like any other seller in the market. He is however the only person, as claimed by the people in the 'market', who manages activities on the premises. Our reporter located Shema under the guise of being an intending retailer like others.
The soft-spoken, dark-complexioned man explained: "These buildings are owned by the Federal Capital Territory Administration and managed by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board. So, they are not directly part of the Federal Secretariat. It is only when they are completed and handed over to the Head of Service that Head of Service of the Federation can now give them to any ministry that he thinks should own the buildings. The market here is truly illegal.
But, we are just there temporarily." When asked how he remits his revenues and to whom they are remitted, he declined to comment. But, he said: "I am not a staff of the government. I am also a seller like others here. This place is managed by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board.
They are the people in charge." Items sold at the market include consumables namely all food items; clothing materials, shoes, bags, roasted yam, phones, beverages and numerous others.
A meat seller at the market, who refused to give his name, told our reporter: "Do you think government or the people in charge of this place will ever think of completing the buildings? The money all of us here pay to them every month is much. We are up to a 100. Consider what that will be when you calculate it in a year. This is money that doesn't go to government purse," he said.
National Mirror
People just love to do illegal things in this country without thinking of the punichment they'll get when they're caught. It's so sad that happens here....