Posted By On December 3, 2012 @ 1:57 pm In Business,Business News | 5 Comments

The popular Katangowa market in Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, LCDA of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, will soon be no more. The market is known for second hand clothes business, popularly called Okirika and spare part trading.

With a population of over 30, 000 traders, the market is one of the biggest Okirika market in Nigeria. The traders claimed they have been trading in the area for about 30 years.

Last Thursday, Governor Babatunde Fashola, during a tour of facilities in the Lagos metropolis visited the market as part of plans by the government to build a Digital Village that may cost the government billions of naira in the area.

The plan was to relocate the traders in Computer Village in Ikeja to the area. If this is achieved, what is the fate of the displaced traders in the Katangowa market?

When Governor Fashola was addressed by the traders, he said the government has no plan to relocate them to another area, as they were not the rightful owners of the land.

He said the 17 hectares of land being occupied by the traders and squatters belonged to the state government and the government was not ready to pay compensation to illegal occupants on its land.

The traders had appealed to the governor to resettle them at Amikanle area, which the government had earlier promised to do, but Fashola did not make any commitment to it.

Fashola stated that his administration had kept a track record of resettling and paying compensation to people who had been displaced from their lawfully acquired property.

He, however, said that in a situation where people encroached into government’s land illegally, they should not expect compensation or resettlement when such property is re-acquired by government.

“As far as resettlement is concerned, we have always played an exemplary role . We did Isale Gangan redevelopment, we did Oluwole redevelopment and we resettled the people involved. But in cases where people are squatters, they have no rights over the property.

“The law does not protect illegality, it protects rights and you do not acquire rights by acting illegally. Human rights are legal rights; they are not rights acquired by illegal conduct and we must understand this in a democracy,” he said.

Fashola challenged anybody who claimed to have been deprived of his legally acquired property by his administration without getting compensation to bring forward such claim.

“All of the demolition we did to expand the Badagry Expressway, we are still giving compensation to the displaced people. The people that are displaced in Oshodi will soon relocate to a new market that is ready. We have intervened in Obalende without necessarily displacing the rightful owners.

“I hope that members of the public will understand that they can’t have a right to a place by jumping onto the roadside and saying it is where they must trade. May be, it may be politically popular to agitate citizens who are not aware of what their rights and obligations are.

“People escalate these things. Some people, societies or organisations make profit and get grants at the behest of the so-called masses they claim to be fighting for. The masses don’t have the right to break the law and if they do, we will enforce it,” he stated.

Mr. Femi Adedeji, who spoke on behalf of the traders, said displacing the traders from the market would not augur well with them, as it would have negative impact on them and the state. He claimed that the government had initially said it would relocate the traders to Amikanle area of the state.

Eko Ile: lmao.


Eko o ni baje lai lia...

Aigbofa: I hope this is not part of the properties some people claim to own in Lagos.

Aigbofa: I hope this is not part of the properties some people claim to own in Lagos.

FreeGlobe: Mr. Femi Adedeji who spoke on behalf of the traders..................

Ekomumu, are you referring to Mr. Femi? So discombulated fashola wan send mr femi back to ogbomosho. Very soon fashola will ask you to remove the Eko in your id and replace it with oyo where you come from.

geez*:


Little do you know that virtually all markets in Lagos have yorubas as their spokespersons for obvious reasons but brace up for it, we have plans for your criminal brothers that have illegally occupied government land and return to the barren SE every Xmas to boast that they they own Lagos

Yoruba people are truly tolerant. Imagine! 30yrs of illegality condoned

geez*:


Little do you know that virtually all markets in Lagos have yorubas as their spokespersons for obvious reasons but brace up for it, we have plans for your criminal brothers that have illegally occupied government land and return to the barren SE every Xmas to boast that they they own Lagos

Yoruba people are truly tolerant. Imagine! 30yrs of illegality condoned

FreeGlobe:
Stfu you lunatic! If SE is barren then SW caves has no reproductive organs at all

drnoel:
Am sure u read ur comment before u posted. Why so much hatred of the SE and later u would come and say one Nigeria. Pls people should grow up and try not to allow bitterness or sentiments overshadow u when u post comments. Children read our comments in NL. My little cousin just asked me what u meant and incident know what to tell him. Look, now citizenship is the future not indigenicity. Now am not sure how the Lagos land laws are but if it says someone who has occupied a land for 30 yes should have claims to it, what's stops the Lagos state government from trying to keep its promise. This is peoples livelihood we are talking about.

geez*:


You've still not said anything. I need facts and not just noise



Fine. When Akala becomes the governor or Anambra, Tokyo the governor of Abia, Saheed Balogun the governor or Enugu and Pasuma the governor of Imo then come to talk to me about citizenship and I'll gladly embrace it

drnoel:
Tell me, who is to stop that from happening. If it can happen, then it will happen. As long as the person has lived there a long time and the law of the land allows it, why not. U people should really grow up cos that is what is pulling Nigeria back. Look, one of my uncles who has lived in Lagos for 40 years was given a chieftaincy and he now moves in the oba of Lagos counsel. His nephew contested for cousellorship and wanted to contest for local government chairmanship. These are Igbo men..

drnoel:
Tell me, who is to stop that from happening. If it can happen, then it will happen. As long as the person has lived there a long time and the law of the land allows it, why not. U people should really grow up cos that is what is pulling Nigeria back. Look, one of my uncles who has lived in Lagos for 40 years was given a chieftaincy and he now moves in the oba of Lagos counsel. His nephew contested for cousellorship and wanted to contest for local government chairmanship. These are Igbo men..

geez*:


That's simply because Yorubas are tolerant. No matter how many generations a Yorubaman lives in Igboland, you guys will still treat them like crap so the sooner we begin to reciprocate the gesture, the better for us

Arcard: If indigenes of lagos truly want ppl 4rm oda state to go eh! Dnt dy knw dat lagos wl bcom dry.any way sha lagos no b d only cty fo naija cme enugu its ok or go to port its better sef.

kingingkinging:

BETTER INDEED WITH NO GOOD ROAD, NO ENTERTAINMENT AND TOURIST CENTRES, NO BEACH, POOR SECURITY OF LIFE, ETC.

U CANNOT HAVE ANOTHER LAGOS IN NIGERIA TILL ETERNITY, NOT EVEN ABUJA.

CENTER OF EXCELLENCY, NOT BY MOUTH.

EKO O NI BAJE OO.

Eko Ile: lmao.


Eko o ni baje lai lia...

geez*:


That's simply because Yorubas are tolerant. No matter how many generations a Yorubaman lives in Igboland, you guys will still treat them like crap so the sooner we begin to reciprocate the gesture, the better for us

Kaxmytex: Chai.....lagos wan reduce dere population by all means