■ Concerns, frustration grow in closed Ladipo market
■ Joy, relief in Ile-Epo, Oyingbo as govt reopens shut markets
■ Owode Onirin, Mile 12 markets also shut
■ Traders count losses, blame market leaders
By Christy Anyanwu, Olakunle Olafioye, Agatha Emeadi and Chibuike Okafor
REPRIEVE has come the
way of traders at Ile-Epo Market
in Agbado-Oke Local Council
Development Area of Lagos
State following the decision of
the Lagos State government to
re-open the market last Monday,
October 9.
The market was shut down for
more than one week on account of
contravening the environmental
sanitation law.
Similarly, traders at the Oy-
ingbo Market are jubilant that the
market was reopened along with
the Ile-Epo market.
The state government, through
its major sanitation agencies,
Lagos State Environmental Sanita-
tion Corps (LAGESC) and Lagos
Waste Management Authority
(LAWMA), had in the last few
weeks closed down some major
markets across the state for poor
sanitation condition and non-com-
pliance with the state environmen-
tal laws. Those affected include
the popular Ladipo Auto Spare
Parts Market, Oyingbo Market,
Alayabiagba Market, Alamutu
Ologede Market, Ile-Epo Market,
Owode Onirin Market and Mile
12 Market.
The development caused untold
hardship to both the traders and
their customers from within and
outside the state.
In the specific case of the
Ladipo market, the punitive step
taken by the government impacted
the ECOWAS subregion as thou-
sands of traders from West Africa
usually come to buy automobile
spare parts from the international
market.
When Sunday Sun visited Ile-
Epo market last week, most of the
traders lamented the losses they
incurred all through the period it
was shut down.
They blamed the leadership of
the market for the development,
accusing it of dereliction of duty in
that it failed to remit the sanita-
tion fees payable to the Lagos
State Waste Management Agency,
LAWMA. The failure was attrib-
uted as the primary reason for the
closure of the market.
Multiple sources revealed to
Sunday Sun that the failure of
LAWMA to evacuate the heaps
of refuse and waste that dotted
parts of the market led to sanctions
imposed on the market, describing
it as avoidable.
According to a trader who
spoke on the condition of anonym-
ity, the market has measures in
place to ensure that traders doing business in the place abide by and
comply with sanitation rules, to
avoid situations that could lead the
government to take the punitive
step of shutting down the market.
“Every trader in the market
pays sanitation levies every month
which ranges from N300 to
N1,000 depending on their loca- tion within the market. Those in- side the market pay at least N300
while those in the complex pay
N1,000 monthly. There are people
hired and paid to sweep the market
at the close of trading activities
every day. So, there should be no
excuse as to why the money meant
for waste management agency
should not be remitted,” the source
said.
Sunday Sun further gathered
that the market was slammed with
a N8 million fine by the state gov-
ernment, which was said to have
been paid before the market was
re-opened last week.
Attempts to speak with leaders
of the different sections of the
market were unsuccessful as they
remained elusive when Sunday
Sun visited the market.
For traders at the famous
Ladipo Auto Spare Parts Market
speculations are swirling around
the re-opening of the popular
sprawling market that spread out
from deep inside Mushin up to the
sidewalks of the Oshodi-Apapa
Expressway, close to the ever-busy
Toyota Bus Stop.
When Sunday Sun visited on Wednesday to assess the situation,
a humongous crowd of traders
hung around the area in feverish
anticipation that the authorities
would yield to their pleas, to re-
open the market and allow them
have access to their shops and
warehouses.
President General of Ladipo
Market Association, Hon. Jude
C. Nwankwo, who spoke with
journalists said the leadership had
taken steps to comply with the de-
mands imposed by LAGESC and
LAWMA, to keep the operational
environment clean.
His words: “Our market
was closed by LAGESC and
LAWMA, with the directive that
we keep our market clean. On
this score, we have done our bit
and satisfied their requirement.
Therefore, we are expecting them
to re-open our market. We had
been in anticipation that the mar-
ket would be re-opened yesterday,
but this met a gridlock when the
Lagos State Safety Commission
intervened, to delay the reopening
of the market. The agency said it
wanted to ascertain the safety level
of the market before it will be re-
opened. For this reason, important
inspections were carried out by
the commission and we expect a
positive report from them soon
which will lead to the opening of
the market.”
In compliance with the state
government’s directive on market
sanitation, Nwankwo explained that the market has been cleaned,
stressing that LAWMA officials
were on hand to confirm compli- ance and grant approval.
He also explained that Ladipo
market traders do not deal with
brand-new engines, rather they
sell fairly used engines and spare
parts known in local parlance as
tokunbo.
He said there is no how an
imported tokunbo engine would
not drip some drops of engine oil
during assessment.
He said: “This is exactly the
nature of our business which
led to setting up committees
with responsibilities to oversee,
ascertain and ensure that oil spill-
age is cleaned up immediately.
Again, our type of business cannot
be expected to have a sparkling
clean environment because a bit
of engine oil and perhaps grease
would drip or fall on the ground.
However, we still must ensure we
are decently seen.”
Nwankwo lamented that
Ladipo traders and their families
have been groaning since the
market was shut down, stressing
that the situation has worsened
the hardship they were already
contending with on account of the
difficult economy in the country.
Noting the market is the only
source of livelihood for the trad-
ers, the closure of the market has
also affected other West African
countries.
“Ladipo Market is the biggest automobile spare parts market in West Africa, and, therefore, the
impact of the closure has stretched
out to other West African countries
who depend on this market for
vehicle parts and related parts. We
are pleading with the government
to put a human face on this issue,”
he said.
At the Oyingbo Market, which
is also a wholesale market and
major distribution hub for bulk
foodstuff like fish, stockfish, yam,
crayfish and fast-moving con-
sumer goods, the resolve of the
government to ensure that traders
doing business in the popular
market obey sanitation regula-
tions, a Kick Against Indiscipline
(KAI) enforcement team is now
permanently deployed at the mar-
ket, with their truck parked in full
view, to deter or detain offenders
and store impounded goods.
One of the KAI operatives told
Sunday Sun that the team comes
to the market every day to ensure
that the traders do not sell on the
road and thereby impede the free
flow of traffic.
But more importantly, he said,
the team is ensuring that traders in
the market comply with the gov-
ernment’s directive on the neatness
of the environment
A junior official of the market
association who pleaded for
anonymity, not being authorized
to speak on behalf of his bosses,
expressed joy that the government
showed magnanimity in reopening
the market on Monday after-
noon, considering losses already
incurred by their members during
this hard time.
He assured that lessons learnt
would be implemented in compli-
ance with the relevant market
sanitation regulations.
In line with this, he said that the
market has purchased more than
enough and larger waste disposal
bins.
In a brief chat with one of the
female traders who sells okro, fruit
in bulk, Sunday Sun learned the
leadership of the market has dou-
bled the number of cleaners hired
to ensure that the market is tidy.
They do the cleaning every two
hours, picking up trash, discarded
sachet packaging, and empty PET
bottles.
She lamented: “The issue is
that once they clean up the place,
in less than 30 minutes the place is
littered again because of the high
human traffic of both traders and
buyers.
“Maybe that is when the Kai
officials walk in, to get angry that
our environment is not clean. If
you wait just a little, you will see
them cleaning this place,” the okro
seller said.
Another trader who sells bulk
oranges and snails said that she
and her children almost died of
hunger for the three weeks the
market was shut.
According to her, she had just
bought just N80,000 worth of
goods to stock her shop when the
market was shut down.
She said: “You can see that my
goods are perishable ones. They
all got spoiled. Moreover, I was
penniless because I just spent
money on the goods. How would
a mother feel seeing her children
going to school without eating in
the morning and coming home to
drink garri? It was really bad. I
was crying every day. I thank God
that this is over now.”
