Inside the unseen economy of street hawkers

    Emmanuel C. Macaulay | Insights | Dec 02, 2025    
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They appear at every traffic stop, bend, and intersection — moving with the rhythm of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano. Street hawkers are often dismissed as a nuisance, yet they form one of Nigeria’s most efficient, invisible, and misunderstood economic engines. Behind each bottle of water sold through a car window is a sophisticated chain of logistics, pricing, risk, and survival — a street economy that thrives where formal systems repeatedly fail.

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