Hundreds of traders, if not
thousands, 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 who
were crying, the officials came like thieves in the night to carry out the act.
The traders added that fellow traders were still in their villages and didn’t
know what had happened.
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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