Hundreds of traders at Bola Ige International Market in Ibadan, Oyo State, have appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde not to demolish their shops.
The traders made this plea during a peaceful protest held within the market premises on Thursday.
Newsmen gathered that there are plans to demolish some shops in the market and resell them to interested buyers.
Petty traders in the market’s five zones have, however, appealed to the governor to reconsider demolishing their shops.
The petty traders, while speaking, urged the governor to allow them to build the shops themselves.
They said that they are using the shops to feed their families and educate their children.
The traders, who stated that over 6,000 of them would be affected, urged the governor to direct the contractor to halt the demolition of shops in the market.
One of the traders, Alhaji Ismail Yusuf, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, noted that the traders staged the protest within the market to express their displeasure.
Yusuf said, “We are here to protest and pray against the demolition of our shops. We are here to express our grievances against the plan by the state government and the contractor to demolish our shops. We appeal to Governor Seyi Makinde; we want him to hear our voices. Some people came as developers to demolish our shops and rebuild them. We don’t want developers. We want to build our shops ourselves.
“During the time of Alhaji Lamidi Adesina, he allowed us to use planks; during the time of Chief Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, he allowed us to use containers. Governor Seyi Makinde said he wants us to use blocks. We want him to allow us to do it ourselves. We don’t want a developer. The developer will exploit us. We want Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene and come to our rescue.”
A female trader at the market, Deaconess Oluwatoyin Akinpelu, while speaking, regretted that four people have died as a result of the planned demolition of the shops. She advised the governor to allow the traders to build the shops themselves.
“They want to take over our shops. Four people have died as a result of what they did, while some people have developed ailments. We appeal to the governor to allow us to build the shops ourselves. We want him to allow us to use blocks to build the shops ourselves.”
Another trader, Mrs Moriyeba Babajide, in her own contribution, appealed to the governor to approve the building of the shops by the traders.
“We want the governor to approve for us to build the shops ourselves. They should give us the sample, and we will do it ourselves. That is what we want. We don’t want any developer.”
