Despite generating significant revenues, dirty markets abound across Nigeria due to overlapping tax authorities, systemic corruption and inadequate waste management operations. Weekend Trust reports that the issue of unhygienic markets, worsened by inadequate sanitation facilities and overcrowding, is widespread despite government’s frequent crackdown and temporary shutdown of popular markets to enforce basic hygiene standards and protect public health. Most times, refuse is frequently dumped indiscreetly by traders and customers, an action that often blocks drainages and exacerbates seasonal flooding in some markets. Findings by Weekend Trust revealed that many major markets across the country lack public toilets, the environments are usually unkempt; and most times, heaps of refuse are left at major points, leading to different types offensive odour. Traders and buyers who spoke with our reporter at Wuse market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) raised concerns over the poor sanitation of the commercial hub, saying it affects their health and businesses. While market users accused the authorities of failing to evacuate heaps of waste regularly, cleaners and market officials who spoke with our reporter insisted that sanitation workers were doing their job on a daily basis. They blamed indiscriminate dumping of refuse by some traders and buyers for the situation experienced in the market. A trader who has operated near a refuse collection point for 15 years noted that the condition of the market had worsened compared to previous years. He said, “The market is always dirty. This place smells very badly. Sometimes my customers complain, but I don’t know what else to do.” He said workers who dressed in red shirts and boots usually evacuated refuse three or four times a week, but the collection point beside his shop had remained unattended for more than a week. “Everybody around here dumps their dirt here. Before now, they evacuated everything daily before it piled up, but it is different now. It wasn’t like this before,” he added. According to him, market cleaners sweep the surroundings every night and gather the waste at designated collection points, but it is sometimes left there for days. “It is very tiring here. It is not something I would say I enjoy, especially as I am selling here. Sometimes I perceive rotten chicken and turkey smell. And I can’t put my hand there to clear it because it is very dirty. It is dirtier now than before,” he noted. The trader said sanitation exercise was conducted every last Thursday of the month, yet it does not always address the problem. “They close the market until 10am for sanitation. Sometimes they clean well, but most times, even after the exercise, there is still refuse here,” he also said. A buyer who identified himself as Mr Samachukwu described the condition of the market as unsatisfactory. He said, “It is not encouraging at all. Anytime you come here you must see a refuse that has not been cleared.” He urged those responsible for waste management to disinfect refuse areas after evacuation. “They should use disinfectants after clearing the refuse because of health-related issues,” he added. Samachukwu said the poor sanitary condition of the market sometimes affected his decisions on what to buy. “Hygienically, it is not good, especially around where food items are sold. But we don’t have any option because this is the nearest market to where we stay or our offices,” he noted. He also complained about lack of public toilets, saying, “There was a day I almost urinated on my body because I couldn’t find any convenience around here. The government should do something about it.” Another buyer who declined being named said the poor state of the market was obvious to anyone who visited. “You don’t even need to ask anybody before knowing the condition of this market. It is visible and smelly. There are places where people urinate. You can’t pass there comfortably. I would rate the management zero on cleanliness of the market. They don’t take care of the market at all,” he alleged. Mr Shoaib Bala, who said he had patronised the market for 20 years, noted that refuse collection had become irregular over the years. “They used to remove the bins and change them regularly, as well as cleaned the environment, but now, they don’t do it consistently,” he also alleged. Sunday Eze, who sells household items, said the deteriorating situation in the market was affecting patronage. “Some customers come and hurriedly move because of the smell. They don’t stay long enough to price goods properly. It affects sales,” he said. Peter Audu, a butcher, said the situation usually got worse during the rainy season. “When it rains, the water carries waste everywhere. We work here daily and shouldn’t be like this,” he said. Emmanuel James, a regular shopper suggested that the issue should be treated as a public health concern. “If fo
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