Fear, anger as Ambode reportedly orders Oshodi market demolished

Oshodi market demolition — Oshodi Main Market has been marked for demolition, NewroomNG gathered.

“How can this government say they want to create jobs and at the same time be interested in demolishing this market? What do they want us to do if we are unable to secure another place? Do they want us to become armed robbers?”

Those were some of the questions a trader at the Oshodi Main Market in Lagos State asked a NewsroomNG reporter who visited the place on Saturday.

But they were questions our reporter couldn’t answer, so he decided it would be better to pose them here. Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode may get to read this…who knows?

Inside Oshodi Main Market: Some shop owners came around but were too scared to open for business.

“They just came here and gave us two weeks to pack our loads,” the visibly angry trader said.

He continued:

We were going about our lawful business on December 31 when they brought their bulldozer here. They said they were ready to demolish this 38-year-old market.

But the traders said they refused. NewsroomNG gathered that the traders, on New Year’s Eve, blocked the Oshodi expressway and refused to leave till the bulldozer engine was switch off.

The situation was so tensed the police had to flood Oshodi market with armed officers. But the traders insisted that would not be the day their market would fall.

Those who opened their shops on Saturday said they had their bags packed.

They succeeded. But the place was locked up for the rest of the day, and the next. On Saturday, January 2, 2016, the traders returned to the market hoping to do their thing.

“But we don’t feel safe here as you can see,” the trader told NewsroomNG.

“We cannot fully unpack our goods from the bags because we are afraid the bulldozer may return at any moment. Some are even afraid to open their shop. They are just ‘hanging around.’

“The government gave us a new place but the structure cannot contain us. The structure collapsed recently without carrying any load. What about when we move in? Do they want us to die?”