Tears as Oshodi curtain market goes down
The demolished market
Traders storm Lagos Assembly over planned demolition of Ojodu Market
Just like last year when traders at Mosafejo Market in Oshodi began the year with tears, 2017 is starting on a gloomy note for some traders in Oshodi as the Lagos State government, at the weekend brought down the Olorunsogo market. The demolition of the popular curtain and interior decoration material market commenced around 12:00pm.
Traders stared in grief and disbelief as the 14-building plazas housing 368 units of shops, 144 open stores and 129 small units stores for meat sellers, household items traders among others, became rubbles in a hail of dust. Destroyed commodities varied from curtain materials to hanging poles, sewing machines, electrical appliances, beauty kits, etc.
The police and Lagos Task Force officials were heavily deployed to the area to prevent the area boys from fomenting trouble and looting the goods.
When The Guardian visited the area yesterday, distraught traders were seen milling around to salvage whatever they could from the ruins. Others gathered at the Oshodi Local Council area of Bolade to wail and count their loses suffered from the demolition.
Furthermore, the demolition was still in progress yesterday with the Access Bank building and the shopping complex giving way under the roar of the bulldozers.
Some of the affected traders expressed displeasure with government’s action. According to one of the traders, “those that carried out the demolition came at midnight on Saturday, especially at a time when many of the traders have travelled to the village for Christmas and were yet to return.
“Most of their goods were inside the shops as at the time the demolition was carried out. I could not pick anything from my shop because it was at dawn before I could come here. The value of items destroyed is several millions of naira, as I just stocked for the New Year. Though we were served notice to vacate the place, we were, however, not told the specific time the demolition would be carried out.”
To prevent a similar fate, traders at the Ojodu Market yesterday stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly over an alleged plan to demolish their market.
The panic-stricken traders passionately appealed to the Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, to intervene so that the state government will not execute the demolition.
Leader of the protesters and treasurer ofthe Market Men and Women, Ojodu Retail Market Branch, Alhaja Fadeke Bello, said the traders were surprised, when some officials of the state government gave them only one day notice to move out.
“They called us for an emergency meeting yesterday that they were coming today to demolish the market and we told them that we could not accept that because of the short notice. This was why we decided to come and inform the governor, Speaker of the Assembly and our Iyaloja General, Alhaja Folashade Tinubu-Ojo.”
Addressing the protesters, the Speaker urged them to be peaceful with their protests, promising to get across to the executive on the matter and report to the market leaders in due course.
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23 Comments
If possible take your businesses back home . The sign is bold enough you are not regarded in Nigeria .
God will give us Biafra . A nation to call your own. Our ports shall be open to effect ease of tension towards your life and businesses. I cry with you losses . Take heart .
@Biafran families.
Lolz. Do you include alhaja Fadeke Bello in your consolation? There are real bread and butter issues here. People don’t leave Lagos and ‘go back home’ based on a diasporan’s nostalgic dreams about some landlocked Eldorado. If you are serious about helping out, stop selling fake passports and rubbish t-shirts. Start an endowment fund to assist the needy rather than extort them
keep publicising your stupidity ; Instead of reading in between the line .
Do/can u guys even make anything??
Which port do you have in Ibo land.Your Biafra is landlocked.Except Niger Delta agrees to go with the Ibos.Which will never happen till Jesus returns.
Perhaps you are below 20yrs. You don’t know anything .
Go ask your father what he knows about Igbo land and Biafran nation .
I feel your pains. I am probably same age bracket like your father so no need to ask.
I was already a teenager when Opkara you eastern region premier said he didn’t have money to run the eastern region government.
His region was the poorest even before the mid-western region was crafted out of the western region.
And for the records. I have had an aboh-mbaise woman under my roof for over 20 years.
You probably need the education not me my dear.
Though you know nothing about me and have commented a little bit matured . I sense your mindset being not clean on anything Ibo and Biafra . You must not remind me of Okparas naivism . I still regards him above Pa Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo.
I didn’t mean to berate your person but the intelligence in your comment above .
Secondly , I still doubt your knowledge about Ibo land , Niger Delta and Biafra nation. Excluding Edo and Ondo , the rest states of Niger Delta anytime any day shall go with Biafra .
Then even if Ibo land or Biafra Nation were just the 5 SE States, it is still access to the sea. There is a big difference between being landlocked and having no access to the sea. World class sea ports can be built in Oguta Imo state and Obuaku in Abia state. Both Abia and Imo have tributuaries that run directly into the Athlantic Ocean and can accommodate huge ships. Even Onitsha has an inland port. So when people say Ibo land is landlocked; I school them .
that statement is based on the premise that Niger Delta is not and will never be part of Biafra.
And just for the records there is no land that is absolutely landlocked literarily.We all know that.There are rivers, streams that run throughout Iboland.
I am sure you do know in this context it simply means lack of natural seas and oceans that connect to the outside world.
That being said, lots of countries with same or worse topology compared to Ibo land that are global powers.So being landlocked is no barrier to greatness.
Digressing a bit,the Palestinians once believed they could stab their way to statehood, but they know better now.
The present day Ibo youths also delude themselves by thinking that by abusing everyone and reffering to Nigerians as animals while not even sparing their own parents they will achieve Ibo Biafra nation
They will learn in a hard way that even Israel despite having the backing of the mighty Uncle Sam had to beg Egypt,Jordan just to sign a peace accord.
No need for none Biafrans drinking panadol for Biafrans headache.
Pray for us to have the nation at peace rather than sighting failed states.
We aren’t taking your own ; Yoruba-Hausa-Fulani. Your wife is a Biafran and Biafran shall remain till death . The door of Biafran nation shall be open to every good thinking being .
Even if you don’t support us , don’t be desirous to stand against it .
Good luck
May you live long bro
What has Biafra and ethnicity got to do with this? Lagos State Govt demolished shops and structures in Ikoyi and other places and there was no rancour over the hate or whatever of the Igbo traders. the state has a right to plan for the residents…Oshodi is hellish even after the marvelous work done by Fashola as governor and Ambode has a bold plan to turn it into a transportation hub…those shops are not only hampering the efforts, they are dangerously situated. I know it is a tough time and only wish the government can help resettle the affected traders
What a nonsense comment .!!!!
May your life and yr 2017 be enveloped in such an agony as this victims. Pls say amen .
Amen your wretched and jaundiced life!
Your prayers are nonsensical and stupid…the God I serve Jehovah does not work in such ways; read my post again to understand that I have prayed for compensation/reward for the victims.
And amen to your grief-stricken life . Woeful Abidilagungun .
Tufia!
Ewu
Abidilagungun destruction of the wealth of the citizens is not a prerequisite to any meaningful development, Lagos state government will loose nothing if they plan with the traders to manage the situation and perfectly relocate the market without loosing a dime. The decision of the Lagos state government is destructive, unprogressive, retrogressive, witchhunting and wicked whatever their reasons are. Ambode by every indications is bent on destroying what is left of the Igbos in Lagos after the Igbos survived the stealing and seizure of their money in the Bank by the Yorubas in 1970. But he is not to blame, those Igbos who refused to see the hand writings on the wall and heed to instruction to go home are to blame for their misfortune.
I’m not Yoruba and I’m happy at a divergent view from the mainstream Igbo on social media. I see no reason why ports such as Sapele, Warri and PH were not developed to provide inlets for Igbo enterprise, especially during Jonathan presidency. We must think outside the box
Whether you are a Yoruba or not it doesn’t matter . The point here is don’t support evil . Say no when necessary. His plan to develop the market is ok . But the way he’s going about it is absurd . Destroying those traders businesses is an act of wickedness. Be it to the ibo, Hausa , indigenous etc.
Mind you this is Nigeria . Those traders won’t be duely compensated .
Those ruling Nigeria don’t build rather they destroy, they quite lack the common sense for growth and development, therefore they embark on the wanton destruction of the wealth and financial base of the citizens of Nigeria, even when they lack the ability to create wealth or support their citizens to create wealth.
Such demonition like this should be broadcast on 5 major media in news and print dailies respectively.
We will review and take appropriate action.