Displaced Alakoro Traders Seek Govt Assistance

The displaced traders of Alakoro market, Apongbon, Lagos Island have cried out to the government to provide them an alternative place to continue their trade.

No fewer than 5,000 traders at the market were displaced while goods estimated at N2 billion were destroyed when government officials led by policemen and military personnel pulled down Alakoro Market last week.

Alakoro is a major market that promotes Nigerian-made products and boasts of patronage from South Africa, Ghana, Mali and others.

Some of the traders who spoke to P.M.NEWS BusinessWeek said they lost over N20 billion to the demolition. They, however, appealed to the government to relocate them to another area.

“It is a pity that government has decided to render us jobless and useless in a country where many are trying to feed themselves. This is a great injustice. I have no job to do now. My shop has been demolished and my goods destroyed. Really, I don’t know where to start from here,” said Temitope Ajayi, a 25-year undergraduate who sells textile materials in the market.

She appealed to government to help relocate her and other displaced traders to enable them  continue their business. “My appeal to government is that it is not just enough to demolish markets and render people jobless. They should provide an alternative for us. Since they don’t want us here, let them provide another place for us.”

Another trader, Uchenna Okorafor also called on governent for assistance for the dispaced traders.

He said: “First, we want government to investigate this matter. We believe that government is really not directly responsible for this demolition. Whatever the case maybe, I am appealing to government to please help us. Let them allocate a land to us and we will develop it.”

 P.M.NEWS BusinessWeek gathered that before the demolition was carried out, the office of the Federal  Ministry of Works gave the traders  a week notice to leave the market to enable them reconstruct it. But unfortunately, someone else has come to take over and want to forcefully make them his tenants.

It was also gathered that the traders and the market ownership has been in court for more than 12 years. During that period, several notices had been served on the traders  warning them to leave the market.

“Several times, they come to paste notices warning us to leave the market. We thought it was like every other threat, but this time around, they really shocked us with the sudden demolition. But we suspect that this action is not coming from the government because they would  have called and informed  us on when and where we should relocate to,” Azuka Ifeanyi said.

—Henry Ojelu & Motunrayo Idris