Traders from the demolished Owonifari electronic market at Oshodi, yesterday kick against the plan by the Lagos State government to move them to the Isopakodowo market stating that the structure of the buildings in the market is unstable, with inadequate space in the market to accommodate them.
The Lagos State government had demolished the market on Tuesday citing insecurity and the need to modernise the Oshodi bus stop.
The Isopakowodowo Market, where the affected traders were asked to move to, was built by the former governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola, and commissioned in 2014.
According to The Vanguard, no stall in the new market was open for business yesterday. Though officials of the Lagos State Public Works Commission, LSPWC were doing some repair work there.
A resident of the area, Mustapha Adekunle, told The Vanguard that the market had never been opened since it was completed and commissioned. “You can see that the entire market is dusty. The government had abandoned the market to rodents.”
Rasaq Adeyemi, one of the affected traders, said the government did not allocate Isopakodowo market to anyone.
“No one is interested in the market because of the incident that happened two years ago when a part of the market sunk.
“Up till now, we have not heard anything from the state government. Do they want displaced traders of Owonifari to also suffer what happened two years ago. I doubt if the foundation is strong because if it is, that incident shouldn’t have occurred.”
Another trader, Mrs. Halimah Dosu, who claimed to have been trading in the demolished Owonifari for 20 years said she was not moving into the new market.
According to her, “People lost their lives. They had families just like we do. If such thing occurs when we move in, what will be the fate of our families? Can the place accommodate us? This week has been bad for every one of us. Most of the traders here are landlords, few are tenants. Everyone is at a loss. We want another place not that market.”
Another trader, Micheal Uzor, said “I am not going to that market. Rather, I will be going to Arena Mall. I believe it can contain all the displaced traders. Also, the it is structurally sound.”
Source: The Vanguard
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