TRADERS WEEP AS OSHODI MARKET IS DEMOLISHED

TRADERS WEEP AS OSHODI MARKET IS DEMOLISHED
Over 2,000 traders at the Owonifari Main Market, Oshodi, were yesterday plunged into sorrow, following the demolition of their shops by officials of the Lagos State Government. Some of the traders were weeping profusely when our correspondents visited the market. Some of them said the officials came like thieves in the night to carry out the act.
They added that fellow traders were still in their villages and did not know what had happened. One of them said: "We heard they came around 1am. We came this morning to see that our shops have been levelled to the ground. Most of our goods are still trapped inside the market. The goods destroyed worth billions of naira. Some traders even had cash in their shops."
This came as the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said the market was demolished as part of the moves to transform the area. Ayorinde said the demolition was necessary to sanitise and beautify the entire Oshodi area and bring transformation, in particular, to the Owonifari loop as well as the entire bus stop terminals, which, according to him, have somewhat constituted a menace and an eyesore within the locality. But a trader selling electrical appliances, who gave his name as Ogunseye, 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 here. I have goods worth millions of naira in those shops. I rushed down here to see for myself. Lo and behold, there is no more market."
Ogunseye said on December 18, 2015, the state government officials came to give the traders quit notice. He recounted: "We all disagreed with the timeframe. 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 out the problem. "Since Saturday, the market had been sealed. 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 DVD players, said that the two-week quit notice was not enough to vacate a shop one had been trading in for long and get another one. He said:
"We were told that after vacating the place, we would go and meet Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. We were given till January 2nd. On December 31, 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 threw it everywhere.
We all ran away. We were not given any chance to lock our shops. "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 is 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 did not know it would be worse than Babatunde 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 have been deprived of living, what can we do? The governor should compensate us!" A passer-by, 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?"
-New Telegraphn

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