ABSTRACT
Informal street markets are influenced by diverse human agents and social forces across the globe and continue to shape millions of lives, especially in Nigeria, the most populous nation and largest economy in Africa as at 2013. The informal street market is a key employment sector, even though it offers low incomes, which are incommensurate with the expectations of workers, and with the positive social and economic impact of their work. Poor urban residents such as those described find solace in street markets, yet their progress is limited by intercommunal, ethnic, religious, sectarian, and political conflicts that claim property and lives. This chapter examines the socio-demographic backgrounds, jobs, and the impact on the local urban economy of migrant street market workers in the city of Sokoto. Strategies and instruments deployed in the street market to secure customers' patronage include appeals to the social, the ethno-cultural and the religious patterns.
