Biggest Building Materials Market, Closed

The Ifeolodun Local Council Development Area on Tuesday, January 15 shut down   the biggest building materials market in Nigeria.  The market comprises four distinct markets – Agric, Odunade, Coker and Marble all located along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

The order closing the market was signed by one Mr.A.R Tella. On behalf of the council. The closure of the market is not unconnected with the failure of the traders to comply with environmental sanitation standards.

Some of the market union executives who spoke with THISDAY expressed their frustration, pain, despair and agony. For them, it is a hard knock and a terrible fate to befall anyone at the beginning of a new year when people are struggling to kick off their business keel, after the heavy expenses of the yuletide holidays.  

According to the Secretary-General of the Agric, Coker Building and Plumbing Materials Association, Simon Obi, on January 14,  the union went to this local council to sort out the Kick Against Indiscipline’s (KAI) invasion of its field (the loading and offloading bay) on Sunday, where they also demolished some structures they classified as illegal.  Obi said it was while they were at the meeting that they heard of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s observation recently while on an inspection tour of the on-going rail construction work on the Lagos Badagry Expressway.

And that the governor had frowned on the filth around the market, particularly the messy surrounding of the on-going ten-lane road and rail construction area which it was said was littered with human feaces.

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He further said the union acted swiftly to the complaint by calling out their people on Tuesday to clean up the area. And that while they were still on this exercise, the local council swooped on them and sealed their market along with others.

He insisted that though many of the shop owners have their warehouses across the road, but never responsible for the dirt and rot found in the construction area. In his words “You can see things yourself, is this market not clean or can you smell anything here? The fact remains that people living around this area do not have toilet facilities and since there is no serious work going on there, they and some miscreants have found it a safe haven to ease themselves.  

For him and other traders, it remains a shock  how the markets can be described as being dirty, especially as the market unions have in place several strategies and modalities in keeping their immediate environment clean while taking other measures to ensure its compliance with every known law and market rules by the state government.

He told THISDAY that the four markets have different unions who distinctively ensure that every Thursday, shop owners observe the environmental cleaning session.

And for the evacuation of generated dirt, he stressed that these unions have signed up with Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) through a PSP operator which comes every week to evacuate their dirt.

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A member of the market, Mr. Christopher Nwafor alias Baba Ido, said that the closure of the market is the worst thing to happen to any man in a new year. That they just returned from the Christmas break and ordinarily market in January is usually dull and so people were trying to manage their lives and pick up their January bills which are usually huge. According to him “We were never given any warning or notice prior to this closure, or how would we have known that the government had problem with us?”

On his experience and loss so far since the closure, he said “We can’t pay our children’s school fees nor pay our expired rents and yet we don’t know when this will end. In fact, it is becoming difficult to feed our families.  What a terrible way to start a year with! It has been a huge loss.”

Efforts to speak with the market leaders at the Oduade market proved abortive as they could not be reached.   However, some shop owners  said they were at a loss as to the reason given for the closure of the market. That these markets remain the best in neatness, organization and compliance with state laws and market rules. This is the first time to seal the market since its existence.  

While with the Coker Building Materials and Allied Product Dealers Union’s executive, Mr. Paul Obanya, the Secretary of the Union corroborated what the Agric, Coker Building and Plumbing Materials Association said, but noted that they were not privy to the Governor’s observation and yet promptly went into action when the Ifelodun Local Council officials came around and asked them to close their shops and embark on the clean exercise.

Obanya hinted the Coker wing of the market regularly cleans the surroundings. He further said that the area has poor drainage system and such makes it prone to flooding. And that this union has on its own carried out several projects costing them thousands of naira to tackle the flooding problems. Surprisingly, they are being greeted with the closure of their market. That even the new gutters built by the government are yet to have water channeled into them.  The offence which they were accused of committing can hardly be true

At Marble end of the market, Mr. Livinus Nonso-Nwachukwu, the Provost of the Marble Union, said since the closure of the market the various unions have jointly made repeated visits and appeals to the Chairman of the Ifelodun Local Council Development Area, to review the action.

The fear that it may all be a means of generating more revenue came clear when a new notice posted around the market fined each unit N1.5 m for the various offences it outlined. The letter with reference IFLCDA/ESWM/VOL5/1/13, addressed to the various market with caption Notice to Abatement of Nuisance(s), Contraventions & Breaches Pursuance of Lagos State Sanitation Law 2000 and Other Relevant Laws/Regulations read in part “Sequel to the routine inspection carried out in your market… indicates that you failed to Unlawful and unapproved shops extension towards and on top of drainage channels-over…. Shops/plank structure/kiosk; Insanitary and dirty environment; Non observance of weekly market sanitation exercise; unlawful and illegal usage of walk-ways/setbacks in display wares/markets;

Unlawful and unauthorized parking and ticketing; Indiscriminate and Insanitary dumping of refuse along the median/walkways/expressway and fail(sic) to provide sanitary dust bin for depositing refuse or waste of any description. You have therefore contravened the provisions of the above laws. Hence your market remain closed until you abate the said nuisances to the satisfaction of the environmental health officials and thereafter liable to a fine of 1.5 million naira… payable to Ifelodun Local Council Development Area, First Bank Account number 2015522061 or Union Bank Account Number 0033579143. Signed, Tella. A.R. Adeyemi, Head, Environmental Services and Waste Management. For: Executive Chairman Ifelodun Local Council Development.

Meanwhile, Mr. Denies Igboanugo who addressed the Marble Market Union members, advised them to be patient with their leaders as meetings and negotiation are on-going with the government, but noted that the hardship is becoming unbearable. He described their ordeal as horrible as hunger is biting hard by the day on them and members of their families. Reacting on the fine imposed on them, he wondered how and where the local council chairman expect them to get such huge sum from considering the fact the market has been closed for a week now.  A member who preferred anonymity wondered why government will choose to treat his citizenry like slaves and foreigners.

However, when the local council chairman was contacted, he told our reporter that the markets had remained shut because traders were reluctant to comply with the environmental sanitary standard, insisting unless their shops are reopened they won’t comply.

When confronted with the rumour making the rounds, that the motive behind the closure may not be unconnected with the council’s drive for more revenue, as traders  have alleged that the delay in reopening the markets was because of their inability to raise the outrageous amount demanded by the government as a condition.  Though he debunked the allegation, he stressed that his government is not particularly interested on the payment of any money by the traders, rather since an offence has been committed, the traders will have to pay the fine stipulated by the law.

On how much the law specified for an offence of this nature, the chairman, told our reporter to come to the council’s office on Friday, January 25, and should call him before coming. However, several calls put through to his line were not answered. However, as at the time of filing this report, three out of the four markets were reopened on January 24 having paid the sum of seven hundred thousand naira each, a reliable source confirmed. The Coker unit of the market as a result of their inability to raise their own money remained shut until about 2.30pm on Friday after it had faithfully paid its own ‘fine’.

What remains a puzzle to discerning mind is how the law quoted by the Ifelodun Council Development Area supposedly to have been infringed upon by these markets and traders could be so unstable and subject to negotiation. Considering the huge amount stated on the letter issued to the traders as fine for the offences allegedly committed, does it not amount to using a gun to kill a fly? Can an environmental offence attract such an outrageous fine? Is the motive behind the wave of market closure going round the city for revenue generation strategy or government’s commitment to safe and healthy environment for our collective good?