Karu is unarguably the fastest growing local government in Nasarawa state. As a matter of fact, Karu town, the headquarters of Karu Local Government Area is “expanding” on a daily basis. No doubt, this is attributed to its proximity to the nation’s Seat of Power, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Karu as it is, is an area wherein different peoples from the length and breadth of Nigeria live. The influx of people into Karu necessitated the need to strengthen the provision of essentials of life, like water, access roads, security and electricity. To a great extent, the Nasarawa state government is doing its best in this regards.

Karu, to say the truth, is gradually becoming an urban settlement. Urbanization, like more things, has its pains and gains. It creates slum and ghetto life, whose inhabitants most often than not, constitute threat to the security of an urbanized settlement. As a matter of fact, the challenges of urbanization are enormous. An urban settlement needs proper town planning,, alongside good road network, electricity, security and waste disposal mechanism among others. The challenge to ensure this in Karu was what necessitated the creation of the defunct Karu Area Planning Development Authority (KAPDA). Now Nasarawa Urban Development Board (NUDB) Karu Zone, was saddled with the responsibility of ensuring “proper town planning” in Karu town and surrounding environs.

As a fall-out of this planning (and in furtherance of Nasarawa state government’s determination to build a solid economic base for the state), the Karu International Market was established. A gigantic edifice, the Karu International Market is a project that gulps billions of naira. It is, an initiative that is worth the amount expended on it. With this huge amount of money sunk into it, it was expected to bring in good returns in terms of revenue for both the state government and other financiers. However, years after its completion and formal commissioning by the previous administration of Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, the edifice is far from being called a market.

Indeed, Karu International Market has been turned into a camp of some sort. Some purported victims of demolition exercise recently carried out by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA), have found for themselves a safe haven in the market. A visit to the market is indeed and eyesore as this multi-million naira initiative of the state government has been turned into residential houses by some illegal squatters. Rather than see the normal lives of buying and selling associated with markets, what a visitor to the market sees or hears is the hubbub typical of a slum settlement. At a rough guess, the market is a home to over one thousand peoples from different climes. How these people get into the market and converted it into their places of abode still remains a subject of conjecture.

Apparently dissatisfied with this sad development, which to say the least, is imitating, the Nasarawa state commissioner for commerce, industries and cooperative, Alhaji Abdullahi Yusuf Loko, said the state government would do something very soon. Alhaji Loko was reported to have said “The edifice is a market and it must be seen to exist as such”. The need to send these illegal squatters packing or in the alternative, provide a residential area for them cannot be overemphasised.

The Karu International Market, no doubt, if put into proper use, will create employment opportunities for a significant portion of our unemployed youths. Further still, it will provide a reasonable source of revenue for the government. It is necessary for the government to expedite action in seeing that the edifice exists as a market and not an abode for some persons. Anything short of this, the huge resources expended on it would amount to a sheer waste.

Nasarawa, as we are all aware, is an emerging state in dire need of socio-economic development. Resources which form the essential ingredient for accelerating development have to be effectively and efficiently utilized. Building a market of an international standard, with all the facilities befitting of its status out in place and abandoning it turning it to a residential area is a clear display of mis-location of scarce resources. No effort should be spared in reversing this trend!

It is a welcome development that the present administration has reiterated its readiness to ensure that the Karu International Market is put into poor use. States, like individuals and organization, need investments to create a better future for the citizens. Every effort should be channeled towards ensuring that Karu International Market, the only international market in the state, is put to proper use.

Seat of Power is optimistic that very soon the market will be put into proper use and the state’s desire for improved economic development will eventually be realized.