Refuse Overtakes Students Market

The most popular market for University of Calabar (Unical) students and the gateway for about 45% of students into the University community has been overtaken by debris and presently passerby are forced to climb a stinking mountainous heap before they could gain entrance into the university through the Goldie gate. A huge part of the market has been converted to refuse dump reports Idiongesit Imuk

Goldie Market is a popular students’ market in Calabar. With more than 150 shops, kiosk, shades, stalls, etc the market is the commercial nerve centre of Goldie Street as students go there to buy domestic articles on daily basis. The market features a bee hive of business activities from 6:00 am to 10pm every day. Goldie Market has recently lost its glory as pile of refuse dumped close to the market has overtaken its face.

Students rubbing on refuse hip while passing into the school

Goldie Market serves as a major thoroughfare for Unical students residing off campus. They make use of the market’s isle while passing into Unical small gate popularly known as ‘Goldie Small Gate’. Many students prefer passing through the Goldie Small Gate as it is a treckable distance to Unical especially for students who reside in Calabar South area.

One major advantage of the market is its proximity to the school. The market shares boundary with Unical students’ hostel, known as Malabo. More than 90% of Unical students live off campus.

Recently, students have raised complains regarding the indiscriminate dumping of refuse at the market which has caused a huge stack of refuse dump, blocking the narrow isle through which students pass. The huge refuse emit an odious stench which booms around the area even into the school community.

At the entrance of the gate is a security booth which is usually occupied by Unical security personnel. A security officer who spoke with Campuslife said the odious smell oozing from the refuse dump is nauseating and very disgusting for a clean city like Calabar.

A 300 level student in Faculty of Education, Effiong Samuel lamented in nostalgia the recent degradation of the market and its environs. He said: “Gone are days when Calabar was clean. That was in the days of Gov. Donald Duke. Successive governments have not tried at maintaining the cleanliness of the city. When you go to the media they show you clean Calabar Street; that is the Government House and the tourist sites. They do not show you the real residential area where the real Calabar people dwell liek this Goldie Street.”

Campus life gathered that there is a refuse bin usually kept at the market. “Whenever the bin gets full, the officials will come and lift them”, said one of the market women who gave her name as Eka Harry. But recently, the market people have not seen the officials come to empty the refuse bin which has filled up beyond its capacity.

It is usually the duty of Calabar Urban Development Authority (CUDA) to keep Calabar clean. CUDA officials drop waste bins at strategic points in Calabar for people to drop their home-used refuse therein. When each refuse bin gets filled-up, the CUDA officials would come with a towing van and pack them away, empty the waste bin and return it back to the location. In the absence of waste bin in particular location, people would litter the area with refuse on the floor. The CUDA officials would shove the refuse back into waste bin when they come around.

Some time ago, the refuse bin at Goldie Market got filled and the CUDA officials jacked it away without returning it. The refuse has been abandoned unkempt from more than 2 months. A market seller who spoke with Campuslife said “the last time they came to pack the refuse bin was second week of February. Since then we haven’t seen them again”.

But, there is another issue which bothers the market people in addition to the refuse stench. The market sellers complained that they were robbed by some persons who claimed to be officials in a bid to help them clear the refuse. One of the market women, Madam Charity said: “a group of boys came here last month and robbed us. They claimed to be CUDA officials. They told us that the waste bin they use for carrying refuse from our market has gone bad, so we should contribute money for the purchase of a new one. Everyone in the market contributed N500 each and gave to those boys.

“After collecting the money, they disappeared and we didn’t see them again and the refuse has not been packed. When we went to CUDA office, they told us that there was nothing like that. They said those boys were touts and they robbed us. They took advantage of the situation to rob us”.

“Goldie Market is an ancient market” said an elderly woman who claimed she was born Calabar. “The market has been here before I was born. We used to burn refuse each time it gets filled up. When Donald Duke came in as the governor, he started clearing up refuse by putting refuse bin there. That has been the practice since 1999. But recently we discovered that the CUDA officials are no more serious about the sanity of the market”.

A 300 level student of Medicine who simply gave his name as Jerry said the state government should choose another dumping site for refuse rather than causing a huge stench around the market area. Adebayo, 300 level Political Science said the market is very uncomfortable for sale of consumables.

Close to the refuse is a woman who sells fresh fruits, tomato and pepper. She said she can’t close her market because of refuse. “It is not our duty to pack this refuse. It is the government’s duty. I have my children at home to feed. I will not close shop”. 

Sellers use rusted roofing sheets to create a demarcation between their shops and the refuse which lies at the middle of the road while they chase flies from time to time off their sales. Vultures and wild birds perch on the refuse to search for meals, often times scattering them. The refuse grow up every day as people come at night with refuse bags and empty them on the high-heaped refuse dump in the market.

All efforts to reach the management of CUDA proved abortive. But an Environmental Health Officer who spoke with Campuslife at Calabar South Local Government said it is not the duty of the Local Government Council to clean up the streets. It used to be our duty. We can do it more effectively. But, since politicians came in, they decided to take over the whole duty. We sit here in the local government to collect salaries but politicians take over our jobs.
“It is duty to of CUDA to clean up Calabar streets. When their attention is called to it, they will do it”, he said.