Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Igbo Youths Kick; Petition President Bola Tinubu, Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu… Say Ndigbo Are Nigerians!

By Sam Egburonu, Editor

Following the confirmation this weekend that the bulldozers belonging to Lagos State Government will roll out tomorrow morning, Monday, June 19, 2023 to commence the demolition of the popular Alaba International Market with the first earmarked 17 structures, there is tension and cries of agony at the fulcrum of Nigeria’s commercial capital.

NewsOrient Network reports that notwithstanding the cries and protestations by Ndigbo, the historic demolition exercise is set to be carried out tomorrow, Monday, June 19, 2023.

The General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Arc. Gbolahan Oki, confirmed this decision of Lagos State Government on Friday during an assessment of the buildings already earmarked for demolition.

The LASBCA boss used the occasion to issue final warnings and notices to the occupants of the affected structures.

The Lagos State Government, in what looks like another confirmation of its determination to carry out the exercise, has also written in it’s website: “The marked inscriptions from LASBCA seen on different parts of the buildings that were looking physically distressed had vacation notices as far back as 2016, 2020, 2022, and several others issued to this year, 2023.”

Gbolahan Ojo, in a statement on Friday, during the assessment exercise, monitored on Channels Television, had also said there is no going back on the planned demolition.

“These buildings marked within this Alaba International Market would have been included in the list of 349 distressed buildings earlier published in different national newspapers this year but because the occupants were always harassing our officers, it was impossible to capture the details of the structures and include them in the publication…

“What we have done now is a joint exercise carried out by both the Lagos Task Force officers and the demolition gang of Lagos State Building Control Agency. The buildings would be demolished…”

“We know that this area is a commercial centre and one of the busiest markets in Lagos State but despite this, we cannot fold our arms and allow irregularities to continue to thrive in the market where the lives of innocent persons would be put at risk because of the failure of a few set of individuals who have refused to do the needful,” Oki said.

REACTIONS OF NDIGBO

In it’s reaction to the development, the Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in Lagos State over the deteriorating relationships between Ndigbo and Lagos and over these planned demolitions.

The Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, in his reaction to this planned demolition exercise in Alaba International Market said: “Some people threatened Igbos to leave Lagos, but we won’t leave any part of Nigeria for anybody because we have contributed to the development and building of economies with every state and local governments in Nigeria.

“Igbos are Nigerians; so Ohanaeze is saying that the demolition of Alaba International Market is a wake-up call for Ndigbo to come and invest in Enyimba economic city.

“We supported Sanwo-Olu during the elections, even when Tinubu lost Lagos, we urge him to halt further demolition of Alaba and other Igbo-populated markets as this would make Igbos to continue to support Asiwaju’s government and make him to succeed.”

For some years now, Igbo youths and traders in Lagos have repeatedly accused Lagos State Government of deliberate policies to destroy Igbo businesses in Lagos and chase Ndigbo away from Lagos State.

Just two months back, late April 2023, shortly after the hotly contested elections in the state, Lagos State Government demolished some houses at Rockview Estate in Ajao, Lagos State reportedly belonging mainly to Igbo landlords.

Reacting to the exercise then, an Igbo youth group under the aegis of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) reportedly sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

In the message, the President General of the Igbo group, Goodluck Ibem, expressed concern over what he described as “the singling out of the Igbo in the demolition exercise.”

He also alleged that the houses under demolition were owned by landlords loyal to the Labour Party (LP).

It would be recalled that in 2016, when some parts of Oshodi Market was demolished under the government of Governor Akuwunmi Ambode, some affected Igbo traders reportedly alleged that the market was suddenly sealed up, 21 days notice given to them but that they were not allowed by the task force officials on ground to remove their goods before the market was eventually demolished and crushed with their multi million Naira goods.

So, as the minutes tick by and the operators of the assigned Lagos State bulldozers dress up to crush Alaba International Market, concerned Nigerians are wondering what would be the final outcome of today’s curious developments in Nigeria.

Source: http://newsorientng.com

Photo Credit: BNN