In a bid to uncover the causes of the seeming desertion in the Muhammadu Buhari International Market, Karu, two QUEST TIMES journalists—OLALEKAN ADIGUN and OMOTAYO EDUBI—conducted an investigation. Both journalists are concerned about the increasing number of government-funded projects that have been abandoned nationwide.
The Buhari Market was the subject of ADIGUN and EDUBI’s investigation because it is touted to be the biggest in Nasarawa State and was constructed with millions of Naira in taxpayers’ money.
In this market, the investigation found out that store allocations exposed political corruption and nepotism.
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Additionally, the investigation revealed that the market’s enormous, mainly empty spaces may have attracted criminal activities that might pose a threat to the state and, considering its proximity to the FCT.
The Muhammadu Buhari International Market is situated in the heart of Mararaba, a district of Nasarawa State’s Karu Local Government Area. The market was named by the government of Nasarawa State in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari, who inaugurated it on February 6, 2018.
According to some analysts, the facility was launched as a campaign initiative just before the 2019 elections.
The edifice was built for the purpose of boosting socioeconomic activities, according to the government’s official justification. When the market was first opened, Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura stressed its significance by saying it would “increase economic activities, improve our level of living, and produce jobs for the teeming populace.”
Visits by the QUEST TIMES team to the multi-million Naira edifice that the President himself personally commissioned reveal that the market may not have succeeded in meeting its intended objectives.
We set out to investigate claims of corruption in shop allocations, political favoritism, and close to abandonment that have plagued the market for half a decade since it was established.
“Shops allocated to highest bidders, politicians”
According to QUEST TIMES’ investigations, the locked shops are presently occupied by individuals who are allegedly linked to certain high-ranking politicians in Nasarawa State and Abuja.
The local petty traders we spoke with claim that the fact that the shops are too pricey for most people is a major factor in the seeming desertion of the market. The majority of the closed wharehouses, according to one of them, are supposedly owned by politicians.
The market’s poor customer traffic was another complaint from the traders.
QUEST TIMES observed on one of our visits to the market that despite numerous attempts by the state government to entice traders to use the market, the potential users still were unable to gain access. Instead, the vendors prefer to set up shop outside the market, where business seems to be growing, and exhibit their goods—mostly fairly used clothes.
One trader inside the market says, “Most of these shops you see [pointing to some closed shops], all these House of Reps, Senators, former Governor, na dem buy am. They just put their goods inside.”
Our investigation shows that the state government has made some cosmetic efforts to entice traders to “load the market” or make it buzz with economic activity. Taking traders out from under the bridges was one of the tactics. Again, political concerns masked this.
The Nasarawa State Government relocated some traders from under the Mararaba bridge in 2021 in an effort to fill the market. Governor Abdullahi Sule reversed this decision when the traders wailed bitterly and complained repeatedly that he was making them suffer and that they would not support him for reelection in 2023.
A certain Yakubu Ahmed Ubangari, who is purportedly the son-in-law of former Governor Al-Makura, is in charge at the market. He serves as the Nasarawa State Market Management Bureau’s Director-General. He controls who receives what, when, and how in the market based on his strong connections to influential political figures in Lafia.
One employee of the Karu Local Government claimed that since his time serving as the Secretary of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB) during the Al-Makura government, he has not missed an occasion to demonstrate his influence. According to reports, Sule, the current governor, is godfathered by Al-Makura, Ubangari’s in-law. Sule is said to have vowed an unwavering loyalty to the former.
As far as we can tell from our observation, he is the only person a potential tenant needs to meet in order to be certain of receiving a space. Otherwise, in order to obtain the shops at pricey levels, one must go through some middlemen or third parties.
In order to meet him, our team had to go past his all-powerful personal secretary by pretending to be a couple looking to open new shops.
The Governor’s Director-General for Strategic Communication and Press Affairs, Yakubu Lanai, had been contacted earlier by QUEST TIMES. He sent us in the direction of Ubangari, stating, He will gladly answer all your questions.” Gladly, he did!
Ubangari’s staff showed us some spots but only if we “can pay for them.” We returned to his office after he had shown us around, but this time, we were greeted by his all-powerful private secretary, who informed us that he was “in a meeting” in a slightly nasty manner.
The state government’s allocation of the shops was mostly done to reward political actors and cronies for votes ahead to the 2019 elections, according to a security guard who has worked at the market over the years. Consequently, the typical trader might not be able to afford them.
We messaged former Governor Al-Makura on WhatsApp to inquire about this claim, but he has not answered. We called him, but he didn’t answer.
We were informed that the majority of the market’s stores have been allotted by the state government since 2019.
A long-time petty trader at Karu market claims that the Al-Makura administration’s commitment to help dealers who couldn’t afford to pay for shops at the market with stalls or open markets “was never done.”
The shops were distributed as recompense based on political patronage, a security guard at the market told us under the condition of anonymity. He claims that those “linked to politics” are expected to acquire the stores, not the true businessmen.
We pressed him more, but he refused to answer because he was worried about losing his job.
“Criminal hideout, hard drugs market”
Due to its proximity to Abuja, the nation’s capital city, the mainly abandoned portions of the building have started to draw criminals, hoodlums, and robbers who indulge in illicit activities like the sale of illegal drugs and extortion.
After a security meeting at his palace in June 2022, the Esu of Karu, Dr. Luka Panya-Baba, issued a warning against the influx of criminal groups into the area. The monarch said that outsiders were responsible for the majority of the atrocities committed in the area.
The security threats posed by these urchins have led the authorities at Karu to impose strict measures like curfews.
The security situation within and outside the market does not appear to have improved despite these local precautions. There have been reports of an increase in crimes including pickpocketing, phone theft, theft, drug use, etc., both with and without the use of small guns.
In what a small trader named Audu described as a “criminal hideout, hard drugs market,” several urchins were seen freely roaming the premises, smoking Indian hemp, and consuming other illegal drugs while exchanging pleasantries and smiling. This was especially true at night.
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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) office is right next to the market, and its officers appear unable and clueless to cope with these crooks.
A longtime trader who doesn’t want his name in the press said the criminals “settle” (bribe) NSCDC and police officers regularly.