Banning hawkers in Lagos has adverse effects on the economy

On the surface, the ban on street hawking by the Lagos State Government looks good. Traffic flow would be great, people hawking would no longer get knocked down and possibly killed by moving vehicles. But have we put a thought to the economic perspective of this ban. Most of the products that are sold in traffic sell more in the traffic than in any other place. Such products as Gala and other sausage rolls, fan ice and the other forms of ice cream, fried plantain, pop corn and variety of soft drinks like Coca cola, Teem, Mirinda and Pepsi all sell in large volumes in traffic. So do newspapers and magazines, audio and visual compact discs handkerchiefs and face towels as well as sweets, biscuits and other confectionery.
Manufacturers of these products need to go to the drawing board and factor out other methods to sell their products since the streets of Lagos have been put off limits to them. There is bound to be a drop in sales in many of these products and this demands that a new strategy for mass sales has to be put in place by the various distributors.
The other part of the ban is that a myriad of street traders have lost their livelihood. It could be expecting too much for to say the government should find alternatives for these young men and women who run relays on the highways. But the government of Lagos needs to improve upon the environment in the city so as to enhance business activity in all its ramifications. It takes quite a lot to register a business in Lagos,. You could wait months on end to get approval papers, electricity is perpetually absent, rendering a variety of businesses that rely on the public source of power impotent. These are some of the palliatives that ought to be considered to help business flourish in Lagos.
Is a there a possibility of some of these organizations opening small stalls at major bus stops by the road so that intending passengers could buy what they desire to eat while they are in transit? One other strategy to out do the competition is to engage in discount sales. Its an irony that the sausage sold by UAC in wrappers is cheaper than sausage rolls that we find at their Mr. Bigg outlets! Cut the prices and they would probably sell more.
The other irony about the law is that those who purchase from the sellers would be fined a sum of N90,000 or go to jail for 6months. Those who sell could probably not afford this sum of money so in a way the fine is more of a deterrent than a fund raising notion. Like some analysts have rightly noted: its the law now and everyone in Lagos is expected to uphold it. Those who break law are liable.