Thousands of traders, at
the Oshodi, ‘Owonifari Main Market’ have been plunged into worry and anxiety,
following the demolition of their shops by officials of the Lagos State
Government in the beginning of year.
According to some of the
traders, the officials came like thieves in the night to carry out the act.
One of the traders said:
“We heard they came around 1am. We came this morning to sell our shops leveled
to the grounds. Most of our goods are still trapped inside the market. The
goods destroyed are worth billions of naira. Some traders even had cash in
their shops.”
A trader, Ogunseye, who
sells electrical appliances said: “I have been a trader in this market since
1976. I was called earlier this morning by one of the traders here that the
whole market had been destroyed. I went mad because I had two shops there. I have
goods worth millions in those shops. I rushed down here to see for myself. Lo
and behold, there was no more market.”
Ogunseye said two weeks
ago, on December 18th, 2015 to be precise, the state government officials came
to give the traders quit notice.
He recounted: “We all
disagreed with the time frame. The officials later gave us till January 2,
2016. On the 2nd, they came with caterpillars and big machines to destroy the
market. Every trader started begging that they should be allowed to pack their goods
because that was their only means to survive.
“The officials listened to
us. They gave us till this Thursday. That night, the Chairman of the market was
taken away by the officials for a meeting. He came back on Monday to tell us
that he would be going to Alausa this Thursday to sort the problem.
“Since Saturday, the
market had been sealed from all traders. Now, earlier this morning, without us
being informed about their plans, they came and destroyed the whole market with
our goods. What do they want us to do? Do they want us to go and steal or what?
We were never given any alternative to move to any other market. The government
officials should have come down to our level before deciding on this. They are
all wicked!”
Abiodun Okusaga, who sells
electrical DVD players, said that the two week quit notice wasn’t enough time
to vacate a shop one had been trading at for long and get another one.
He said: “We were told
that after vacating the place, we would go and meet Governor Ambode. We were
given till January 2nd. On the 31st, we were all surprised as those officers
brought bull dozers. We begged and they left. On Saturday, police came into the
market, throwing tear gas. They sprayed it everywhere. We all ran. We weren’t
given a chance to lock up.
“The next day, we came to
the market to find out that it had been sealed. We had no chance of entering
inside the market. Till today, the market had been locked. I was unable to take
anything out of that place. What am I going to do? I have three children
all in school. They will be resuming soon and I have to look for a way to pay
school fees. Should I go and steal? Where do I start from? Government should
have allowed us to pack our goods before demolishing it. It’s unfair!”
Kofoworola Adedokun, soft
drinks and bottled water seller said the business was her family only source of
livelihood.
She said: “We all thought
it was a good change we voted for; we didn’t know it would be worse than
Fashola’s reign. We had no idea it would be a change to suffering. They made
this New Year a bitter taste in our mouth. Now that we’ve been deprived of
living, what can we do? The Governor should compensate us!”
A passerby, who wished to
remain anonymous, described the situation of the traders as ‘terrible.’
He added: “The government
will soon start complaining of armed robbers becoming rampant. Are they not the
ones causing it?”
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