Lagos shuts Aswani Market
By Eugene Agha, 01.21.2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Traders at the popular Aswani market, on the Oshodi Apapa expressway, wept uncontrollably yesterday, as they watched while the State Task Force on the Environment confiscated and destroyed their wares.





Some of the traders who had a premonition of the exercise managed to salvage their goods, others were not as lucky, as they were caught unawares by government officials who arrived as early as 9a.m.

A joint team of policemen from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and those attached to Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade yesterday kept close watch, as government officials shut the market. They mounted guard on both sides of the road.

The closure came barely two weeks after the state government shut the popular Oshodi market.

Even though no life was lost, a yet to be ascertained number of persons were arrested and may soon be charged to court.

The traders, according to THISDAY sources, had been ordered earlier, to vacate the section under the bridge and around the rail line.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/jan/21/209.html

By the end of this year, Fashola will render half of lagos state jobless.

not good!!

Families are gonna go hungry,etc!!

Where does he expect those people to work?

i was speaking to a girl whose dad is a director in the Lagos state government and she said the governor said he is trying to rid the state of non-indigenes.

this got me so incensed.

now i cant for sure confirm the comments from the girl but  if he really made that statement then he has lost the plot and undone every good deed he may have done.

its all well and good shutting aswani and ridding oshodi of traders but how about the people who only sourse of income is selling 'bend down select', 'bread and akara' etc?

i hope he''s building or setting up a site for these people.

fashola,carry on.

they will understand better later when the transformation is complete.

I'm beginning to swing more towards the people criticising this dude for not finding an alternative first before detroying people's means of livelihood.

I pray these guys whose money-ticket are beign destroyed survive; well, somehow.

I'm not against wiping out all the flea markets in Lagos state.
The alternative for the masses suffering to make ends meet,
feed family, send their children to school, pay house rent, and
so many others, is my sole concern. Afterall, the so called leaders
led them into this wilderness in the first place.

I really think the vigour Fashola is using to discharge his duties
should start from the very top. Lets purge Nigeria of bad leaders
then let all other things follow.

can fashola build a mega Lagos City?

yes,he can

The issue is not about building a Mega City, the real issue is the well being of the masses
in Lagos State.

I am with Fashola on this one

What Jobless? Were they supposed to be there in the first place??

What is wrong with people? I mean if they do. . . you complain. If they don't do, you complain. 

If you have a perfect plan, please let's hear it ooooh. . . internet experts.

Besides they are moving them to where there are supposed to be. . . the real market not on the freaking roadside.

OMO IBO:

i was speaking to a girl whose dad is a director in the Lagos state government and she said the governor said he is trying to rid the state of non-indigenes.

this got me so incensed.

now i cant for sure confirm the comments from the girl but if he really made that statement then he has lost the plot and undone every good deed he may have done.

its all well and good shutting aswani and ridding oshodi of traders but how about the people who only sourse of income is selling 'bend down select', 'bread and akara' etc?

i hope he''s building or setting up a site for these people.

our people have started again, so fashola is inserting tribal sentiments in his actions?wonder how you guys come up with these stuffs.

can anyone even yar adua run you out of lagos or any part of nigeria,in this day and age?
pls tell the friend of yours to stop the unnecessary scare mongering and focus on issues, if you dont agree with the various actions because of the affected people's means of livelihood or something else then say so,pls dont attach something thats completely out of it, as for the dad a supposed elderly person uttering such words, all i can say is that im speechless

if indeed our governor wants to turn Lagos into a mega city, then he should
start with the epileptic power supply.



imagine a scenario where a young welder whose welding machine depends
solely on electricity supply closes down his shop due to epileptic power supply and
venture into bend down select business in Aswani market and fashola now came to seal up the place

sealing up market places should be the last on his agenda.

Sisi Jinx:

What Jobless? Were they supposed to be there in the first place??

What is wrong with people? I mean if they do. . . you complain. If they don't do, you complain.

If you have a perfect plan, please let's hear it ooooh. . . internet experts.

Besides they are moving them to where there are supposed to be. . . the real market not on the freaking roadside.

SPOT ON!!

Nigerians: a country where being poor is a licence for breaking the law. Any crime can be explained away by poverty. The market is illegal. Simple

This man has a similar vision I have for the nation, a massive demolition of unwanted structures. Keep it up man!

The issue is not about building a Mega City, the real issue is the well being of the masses
in Lagos State.

You dey mind them. He who wears the shoes knows where it pinches most. One thing is sitting at the comfort of your home browsing the net while your fridge is full and another is having the governor demolish the only source of your bread and your children's welfare.

why does the government have to compensate people for the demolition of Illegal structures?

earTHMama:

You dey mind them. He who wears the shoes knows where it pinches most. One thing is sitting at the comfort of your home browsing the net while your fridge is full and another is having the governor demolish the only source of your bread and your children's welfare.

are those structures illegal or not?

are those structures illegal or not?

Were they illegal from the get go or did the town planning authority made them illegal all of a sudden?. Shouldn't the traders sue the govt for destroying their properties? Where was the govt when they were erecting those structures?

earTHMama:

Were they illegal from the get go or did the town planning authority made them illegal all of a sudden?. Shouldn't the traders sue the govt for destroying their properties? Where was the govt when they were erecting those structures?

you must be kidding me, sue for what? the structures are illegal so their "properties" had no business been there. the question is not where the government was when they were erecting those structures but whether those structures are illegal.

you must be kidding me, sue for what? the structures are illegal so their "properties" had no business been there. the question is not where the government was when they were erecting those structures but whether those structures are illegal.

How will they know the structures are illegal if the town planning authority didn't advise them to stop building the stalls or do you know where and where is legal and illegal to build in Nigeria apart from main roads and causeways?

what is wrong with this Fashola thug?
He can't go around demolishing people's source of livelihood anyhow
Is he going to feed their kids and put a roof over their heads?

Past administrations have demolished even peoples homes and so called flea markets
what happened eventually
You can't bulldoze your way into sanity without creating alternatives,jobs or even paying workers fair wages.
Let's revisit these places in a few years.
no be today we begin see awusa with bow and arrow

what is wrong with this Fashola thug?
He can't go around demolishing people's source of livelihood anyhow
Is he going to feed their kids and put a roof over their heads?

Don't mind the gay.

earTHMama:

Don't mind the gay.

someone needs to stop him
He's gone nuts
what are these folks expected to do
What alternative does he give them?
People should just prepare fo ra surge in armed robbery since these people must survive, somehow

Past administrations have demolished even peoples homes and so called flea markets
what happened eventually
You can't bulldoze your way into sanity without creating alternatives,jobs or even paying workers fair wages.
Let's revisit these places in a few years.
no be today we begin see awusa with bow and arrow

Adisa did the same in lagos years ago. They even demolished Maroko, re allocated it to the high and mighty in the name of development while the original poor residents were unleashed to the streets to terrorize innocent citizens. fashola has started that system again. What kind of gov destroys the source of peoples livelihood because he thinks they were illegal. why not relocate them, increase their rents and structure a working process to collect the taxes from them instead of displacing them in the cold winter?.


For those using the illegal excuse, there are many illegal things in lagos and he should start from those ones instead of harrassing poor market women looking for a little change to help their kids feed and go to school. It's pathetic and I don't think any of you will support this move if your parent was affected by Adisa's demolition years back.

what part of the market was demolished? which of the traders were affected? can some of our NL paparazzi supply pictures.

i need something to base my calling for his head on and i also need something to base my commending him on.

must_a_far:

what part of the market was demolished? which of the traders were affected? can some of our NL paparazzi supply pictures.

Perfect phrasing.

Haha

Good job mr Fashola, get rid of this nuisance market all over  Lagos

Good job mr Fashola, get rid of this nuisance market all over Lagos

Someday he will get rid of your own job too. That is if you have one.

Honestly isokuso plenty for this NL sef. It's only in Nigeria that we tackle effects rather than causes. I'm all for Lagos becoming a mega city but please show some empathy. Did this people get any notice? Were alternatives provided? And as for the poster who said poverty is an excuse to be criminal, thought being wealthy does that.