At least 60 people lost their lives in various accidents involving cars crashing into roadside markets in the last three months.
The incidents in most cases occurred when vehicles rammed into markets due to brake failure, killing buyers and sellers.
Despite repeated tragedies, federal, state and local governments have done little to relocate markets close to busy highways or make them safer for users.
While some traders in Ile Ife, Osun State, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, said they were aware of the risks involved in doing business in such risky locations, they argued that they continued to use those markets nonetheless because their wares had more exposure and they enjoyed more patronage.
“I was happy when we got the approval to be having a weekly market here. The income I make here in a day cannot be made in the shop where I pay heavily for yearly rent. All you need to have a stand here is buying a ticket from the LCDA officials and that’s all,” Labake Ayeni, a trader in Ile Ife said.
Like her, another trader, Iya Ruka, said she travels from Ibadan on a weekly basis to sell at the market. Even though she is aware of the possibility of vehicle ploughing through the market, she said she believed that “God will not allow evil to happen to her. The God I serve cannot disappoint me.”
Loss of Lives
PREMIUM TIMES findings from various news reports revealed that vehicle crashes into roadside markets killed 60 people between August and October 2020 in Nigeria.
On October 31, a truck ploughed into the roadside market after suffering brake failure, killing 16 people in Akungba-Akoko, Akoko South West Local Government of Ondo state.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the truck loaded with rice ploughed into a market while coming from Ikare-Akoko axis when it rammed into the market.
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