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.

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.

The demolition of Owonifari market in the popular Oshodi metropolis of Lagos State on Wednesday has understandably resulted in plenty of uproar among Lagos residents and observers alike. The market which has been in existence for over 40 years undoubtedly holds some form of attachment to it by residents and the traders who have plied their trade there for decades. Many of those affected by the pulling down of the market have accused the Ambode led government of being insensitive, elitist and further trampling on the already down trodden of the society by depriving them of their daily bread.

On the other hand, the Lagos State government wasted no time in defending its actions by stating that it held meetings with the leadership of the market where an agreement was reached to relocate the traders to Isopakodowo market in Bolade-Oshodi. And even projected its human face by allowing the traders pay a paltry N5,000 monthly as rent for the new market; which is said to boast of bigger stores and is generally a befitting alternative for the traders. Government also claims to have issued a quit notice to the traders before moving in to carry out the demolition that fateful morning.

What is not clear is whether the representatives of the traders who held a meeting with executive committee members of the State government communicated the decision reached at the meeting with their members. As is with any matter that affects the livelihood of the masses (even if temporarily), the events of the wee hours of last Wednesday has unsurprisingly elicited many sentimental responses to the action of the government. Some people have even gone on a tangent to declare the move as tribal, since many of the traders are of Igbo origin.

It is worthy of note that this is only the second time in six years that the state government will be embarking on major developmental work in Oshodi. The first being the immediate past governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola’s efforts in 2009, which transformed the highly notorious area; infamously known to be the hotbed of all criminal and nefarious activities, as well as one of the filthiest parts of Lagos into a much better place with a far  less threatening aura. Nevertheless, I for one have never believed that it was all uhuru in Oshodi, especially after the early days that followed the change in government. A regular commuter on that route, particularly at night can hardly miss the gradual return of impunity and traffic gridlock in the area, and more worrying, the growing number of street urchins and miscreants who constantly harass motorists and passersby. At the height of their resurgence, touts and hoodlums brazenly robbed motorists daily by smashing the side glass of their cars, inflicting injury on some of them in the process.

And so, when the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, stated that the main reason the government decided to pull down the market structure was to secure the lives and properties of the residents and the general populace. Divulging further that weapons were found in bunkers within the market, I had no cause to doubt what he said. Oshodi is one part of Lagos which by default has the propensity to erupt in violence at any time. What with the ever present cult gangs whose constant battle for supremacy ensures that a full blown mayhem is only a hair’s breath away from simmering to the surface. The plan to construct an ultra modern bus terminal complete with the full complements of a standard bus shelter in line with the bigger picture of getting Lagos to the enviable status of living up to its potential of becoming a mega city in the mold of New York or Johannesburg is laudable.

Having stated that, when it comes to matters that hugely affect the livelihood of the common man, it is difficult to hold a strait-laced view devoid of sentiments. The truth is that anyone who’s directly or indirectly (particularly those who have done legitimate business there for many years) affected by the demolition would hardly be in the right frame of mind to reason with the government regardless of its noble intentions. A situation where the traders were given ample time to sort themselves out would have been ideal. A notice of three weeks or thereabout is not nearly enough for someone who has occupied a particular place for a long time to shift base. Government can rightly state that it has provided an alternative for the traders, but the said alternative was only being renovated after the former base of the traders had been demolished. All renovations and logistics involved in moving the traders should have been taken care of before the demolition.

A good number of us clamoured for change from the status quo. It’s important to accept that there is no change that comes without some form of discomfort. Paraphrasing the popular saying: It is foolhardy to do things the same way, and expect a different a result. Any significant progress that is made in life; be it the life of an individual, corporate body or state/country will most likely come with some degree of discomfort or adjustment. The construction of the road in my part of town resulted in several fences and shops being earmarked for demolition (and subsequently demolished) in order to give way for the expansion of the road. Many of us were affected. And though it was a less than amusing situation at the time given that affected residents had to find ways to cough out money hitherto not budgeted for to reconstruct fences and shops. At the end of the day, most agreed (albeit grudgingly) that it was for the greater good of all. Today, even though the road construction is yet to be fully completed, there’s a huge difference between what used to obtain plying that route and the reprieve everyone can feel now.

There really is no gain without pain. Change should hardly be defined by a slogan we chant every now and then without fully grasping its import and application to our daily lives. At the end of the day, any action taken in the interest of the larger populace trumps any individual or group interests in any part of the world. And that’s the way it should be.

Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates