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By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
Hello folks, how you are you doing? TRACE Joenal has been closely monitoring unfolding events at Sani Abacha Street since 10th August.
Abacha Street was renowned for street trading. Year after year, TRACE Joenal has been in and out of Sani Abacha Street to discover happenings there.
On the 12th August 2022, barely forty-eight hours after the 10th August violent protest turned fatal and brought the country to a chilling halt, also changed the story of Abacha Street as there was rising political and regional tension once again in Sierra Leone.
The demonstrators were calling for the resignation of President Bio, who was holidaying in London with his family.
The stalls at Abacha Street were destroyed overnight barely forty-eight hours after that protest, leaving a big blow on street traders as the people of Freetown started counting the economic loss suffered as a result of the destruction of properties.
The overnight operation was first blamed on the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr but she was swift to refute the allegation, stating; “It has been brought to my attention via photos on social media that the market stalls at Abacha Street Market were destroyed overnight. I have also seen posts stating that the Freetown City Council is responsible for this. I would like the general public to know that the Freetown City Council is not responsible for this action and did not participate in this night operation.”
Sani Abacha Street, formerly known as Kissy Street, is one of three main routes that lead to the center of Freetown from the east.
The street was named after the later General Sani Abacha who was a Nigerian General who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998.
He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful coup d’etat in the military history of Nigeria. He was the Chief of Army Staff between 1985 to 1990; Chief of Defence Staff between 1990 to 1993; and Minister of Defence.
Abacha became the first Nigerian Army officer to attain the rank of a full military general without skipping a single rank. He was one of the key players that restored peace in Sierra Leone during the 10 years’ civil conflict.
Before the street was renamed, Street trading was not fashionable but that narrative changed after the civil war. Those that came to Freetown because of the conflict refused going to their towns and villages and Abacha Street and its environs being one of the hotspot business locations in the city became targets.
Although TRACE Joenal condemned the overnight demolition of the stalls, but on the flip side, it is a sigh of relief for Freetonians as the demolition exposed the decade of filths on that street.
During the street trading there was no way for Freetown City Council and road maintenance o clean the gutters and repair the potholes respectively.
TRACE Joenal witnessed successive councils and governments and how they have tried and failed to rid Abacha Street off trading, which was a clear justification that there was no political will to remove traders from that street.
Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority in December 2012 named Sani Abacha Street as one of the streets expected to be among the streets cleared to maintain free flow of traffic.
The plan was designed to improve road safety and reduce congestion. The regulatory road safety body requested the assistance of the Sierra Leone Police, Metropolitan officers and others to enforce this exercise.
In May 2013, the Freetown City Council announced that all street traders at Abacha Street should leave as part of Operation Waste Management, Improved Road access and Decongestion or WID.
TRACE Joenal also saw hundreds of traders that marched to State House chanting protest songs. According to them, the government had promised to build markets before ordering them to vacate the streets and on January 15, 2014 Victoria Park market purposely built for traders to occupy but the political will was not there for traders relocate.
Former President Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People Congress (APC) party was quoted by Boye-Thompson in 2014: “The decision to move the Abacha Street traders to Victoria Park is a central tenet of operation WID which was launched by President Koroma, one of his earliest initiatives in his second term.
“President Koroma has made it clear on several occasions that he would do what is right for this country and given the President’s public proclamations on lawlessness, it is clear that he regards any attempt to obstruct the smooth administration of Operation WID as a direct challenge to authority,” he said.
Of recent the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) conducted another operation led by the road authority and the Sierra Leone Police to decongest Freetown Central Business District but that too turned out a failed one.
It is no secret that street traders are using the drainages as their rest room, leaving some part of the streets in the central business district stinky.
Within these few days of no street trading, Abacha Street has paved the way for free flow of traffic, it was a no go area during the day because of the inevitable vehicular and human traffic being experienced on a daily basis.
Abacha Street was not only known for street trading but was also a hotspot or safe haven of robbery. If you lack street consciousness and pass-through Abacha Street you will regain one after.
The attitude of some of the traders along that street was very hostile especially to customers. If one asks for any item and one fails to buy, one will have an unpleasant day due to the insult one will receive for asking and not buying.
The level of noise that was coming from Abacha Street was too heavy for residents and offices in that area. It was like a war front.
The relief of passing through Abacha Street these days is not only felt by TRACE Joenal but even the wheelbarrow man that was beside me.
John was returning to East end Police with his wheelbarrow after dropping luggage at Wilberforce Street, he felt relieved passing through Abacha Street and quickly said “it was hard for us to pass through this street before now.”
If the political will is now available, let the mess that surrounds Abacha Street be cleaned up because TRACE Joenal doesn’t know how long this freedom will last because people believe that laws in Sierra Leone are only effective for few days after that it will be business as usual.
TRACE Joenal will keep an eye on Abacha Street because the race is not for the swift but for those who can endure it.
See you on the morrow.
