Encomium
The Ile-Epo Oja market situated at Oke-odo was on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, shut down after a group of Hausa men allegedly harassed Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode while he was inspecting the market. The market was re-opened on Friday 14 April 14, 2017.
In this chat with encomium.ng, traders recount their losses, while the market was closed.
Below are their responses…
Alhaja Bashirat
We thank God now that the market has been re-opened because the closure has affected us a lot. It was difficult for us to make sales during the incident but now that Lagos state governor has opened it for us, we thank God.
Sherifudeen Babalola (meat seller)
This problem of market closure started when some Hausa people harassed the governor when he visited the market. They are too troublesome but we thank God that our governor has taught them lesson, but they just use their own to disturb innocent people’s businesses. Peace has returned to the market, we can now sell. And also instructions have been given that anyone should not sell beside the main road.
Musa Yahya
The incident has now died down, l can’t really say what caused it because I was not in the market when it happened. I just heard that there were soldiers in the market with blackmaria, but before I came back from travel, the market has been re-opened.
Mrs. Idiat Oyekanmi (yam trader)
On a normal day, I sell nothing less than N50,000. Sometimes, I sell more than that, it depends on how the market is for that day.
The closure of the market has a great impact on me, I won’t lie to you. In fact, it has a great impact on every trader in this market, but we thank God for the re-opening.
Mrs. Olansile Basirat (Garri & flour trader)
The market closure is a harsh response from the state government because most traders rely on their daily income. Some traders’ goods got spoilt, especially those selling fruits. All the same, we thank the government for the re-opening.
Mrs. Alani Selimot (Grains trader)
I can’t quantify the loss I made while the market was shut down. But everything is back to normal now. On days when there is sales, we make from N30,000 and above. But we thank God for good health.
-KAREEM AZEEZAT and ALIMI SHUKURAT for encomium.ng
