An Appraisal of Informal Commercial Activities in Osogbo, Osun State Nigeria

Abstract

This study appraises the characteristics and respondents‟ perception of the environmental effects of informal commercial activities; as well as the efforts made by government to manage informal commercial activities in Osogbo. The study utilized questionnaire administration in areas with significant informal activities using random sampling technique. A total of 102 and 182 at 10% were chosen from a total of 1,020 and 1,815 identified residents and informal commercial operators respectively. Frequency and percentages as well as correlation analysis were used to analyze the data collected. The study reveals that trading accounted for the highest informal commercial activities (62.96%) while exposure to severe weather (29.01%) were what respondents considered the riskiest encounter. Waste generation (3.7) was the highest ranked factor that negatively impacted on the environment while O-Traffic which ranked (3.3) was the most effective tool in the management of informal commercial activities. Finding from correlation analysis (r=-0.5, p=0.040) indicated that there is moderate negative significant relationship between perceptions of the environmental effects of informal commercial activities and effectiveness of efforts made by government to manage informal commercial activities at p<0.05 confidence level. The study concludes by recommending that informal operators should be recognized and integrated into the city’s main stream planned commercial activities.