Town Planners Seek Indigenous Solutions to Street Trading in Nine Eastern States
Town planners in the nine states of Nigeria’s old Eastern region have been urged to develop local solutions for street trading instead of copying models from other countries. At the Eastern Planners Forum in Awka, participants said street trading is a major part of the informal economy and should be recognised in urban planning. The states represented were Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Rivers and Anambra. A former president of the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners said existing master plans often fail to provide formal spaces for traders. He suggested building on local systems, including the Igbo apprenticeship model, to support entrepreneurship and improve trading environments. A study presented at the forum found that street trading in Awka remains a vital but vulnerable source of livelihood. The researchers called for targeted policies that improve traders’ welfare while making cities safer, more inclusive and better organised.
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