It is a common phenomenon that when you go around the nook and crannies of cities in Nigeria such as Ibadan, you will observe that majority of traders selling or display their goods along the road thereby causing traffic congestion for both pedestrians and vehicles.

This act of selling goods on the walk way or along the streets has become a norm or tradition among traders especially in metropolitan cities like Ibadan. Street trading, a form of squatting characterized by constant movement, often takes place in established marketplaces or near road intersections, leading to various negative impacts on the physical environment. These include traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and an unattractive urban landscape.

Street trading plays a great role in the distribution of goods and services of many cities/towns of the world. Streets traders are those people who offer goods and services for sale on primary streets or pavement. It can be described as a form of squatting; it involves perpetual displaying of goods along roadsides which may occur within an established market places or outside or the intersection of major roads. It is the act of engaging in commercial activities in illegal structures or open spaces (ground) within the parking spaces on roads or building line. A building line is a line set parallel to the centre line of a road within which no building or structure, permanent or temporarily is permitted to be erected by the planning authorities.

Informal economic activity being an umbrella of street trading activities has been a subject of controversy. There is hardly any unique universally accepted definition of the sector because the classification of activities is a subjective and qualitative judgment. However, there are some common indicators in most definition namely unregistered enterprise, those without permit, or license, as well as the underground economy of drug, gambling, smuggling and other vices.

Street or roadside trading is a characteristic of most urban centres of the developing countries like Nigeria. Majority of the traders are migrants to cities with low educational level, and street trading for them represents a desperate means of survival when the hopes of getting white colar job, which brought them from the rural areas have been delayed or dashed completely. The causes of street trading are attributed to low educational level or illiteracy, low involvement of capital. Unemployment is another contributing factor and most people are engaged in such activities, since formal employment opportunities are no more abundantly available. The inability of most streets traders to afford the rent of charges of market stalls is another possible cause of streets trading.

It could be observed that street trading was alien to the traditional Yoruba city and perhaps to preindustrial cities. It is a product of unplanned urban growth, which failed to provide adequate space and accommodation for retail traders as well as appropriate locations.

Notwithstanding the problems constituted or caused by street trading, it plays a major role in the economic development of the third world countries. It has also contributed directly and indirectly to the urban growth and its impact is being felt both positively and negatively.

The advantages of street trading include performing social role by generating employment for people, keeping them away from the evils of delinquency, crime and unemployment. Street trading serves as a training ground for entrepreneurial skills and generates revenue from the taxes collected by city authorities. However, its disadvantages are numerous and monumental. Street trading causes traffic congestion by congregating at points in the city and market places where there are heavy flows of pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Street traders pose potential problem of hygiene and sanitation. They could transmit disease such as cholera as regards to food or fruits sellers. Streets traders burn the waste generated by their activities, thereby leading to air pollution. Streets traders also cause noise pollution like those who sell traditional medicines and sometimes clothes because they use loudspeakers to advertise their goods or wares.

In Nigeria, street trading has reached an alarming stage that it is now a subject of concern to physical planners and city managers. Street trading causes different problems such as encroachment on right of way by the traders, traffic congestion as vehicles cannot pass smoothly on time and defacement of aesthetics appearance of the street. As the street traders continue to litter or dump their wastes on the roadsides, it seriously pollutes the environment resulting in health problems and reduction of the road width or in drainage systems which block the water ways leading to flooding whenever there is high rainfall which a times causes loss of lives and properties and so on.

Traditional markets in Nigeria attract often physical development which leads to the growth of the city with its attendant management challenges. Ibadan metropolis is made up of eleven (11) Local Government Areas. Five (5) of these local government areas are termed to be urban (Ibadan South-West, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan North, Ibadan North-West, Ibadan South-East) while the remaining six (6) are in the rural (Akinyele, Ido, Oluyole, Egbeda, Ona-Ara and Lagelu). When you observe critically all these local government areas there is none that is free from incessant street trading or road side trading.  It thus, calls for concern that the government should find a lasting solution to this environment pollution.  Going round the cities of Ibadan markets such as Oje, Oja-Oba, Ayeye, Orita merin, Sango, Apata, Molete among others, you will agree with this writer that the cities are heavily polluted with street or road side hawkers.

It is in the light of this that it should be emphasized that the government has the responsibility to execute policies that conform to the best practice, that can mitigate environmental nuisance and the security threat which street trading poses to its citizens. It is, therefore, essential for Nigerians to listen and reason along with government in its bid to rid the state of the menace of street trading. Our collective efforts should be geared towards securing a better future for our children. This can, definitely, not be achieved with street trading.

God Bless Nigeria!!!