+44 330 818 7254Toyin Abe
As a core component of the informal economy in Africa, street trading has been noted to account for a large proportion of those employed in the informal sector. However, despite its attendant benefit, it has been plagued by the dilemma of double tragedy in Nigeria generally and Ibadan in particular. These tragedies are in the forms of the danger of the road and harassment by government officials. With Ibadan Metropolis as our unit of analysis, this study sought a systematic elucidation of the phenomenon of street trading, within the confines of the aforementioned. Three hundred questionnaires were administered for the purpose of generating primary data and 280 were retrieved. Also, a total of 15 traders were interviewed, 5 each from the three location (Ojoo, Iwo Road and Challenge) chosen for the purpose of the study. Findings of the study established that roads in Ibadan constitute enormous danger to street trading. It also revealed the veracity of harassment by government officials. Similarly, findings showed that the struggle for survival, exacerbated by pervasive and endemic poverty have kept traders on the street, despite the attendant dangers surrounding the enterprise.
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