- Enugu state gives vacation order to Ogige main Nsukka for demolition of some parts for ultramodern park
- Traders groan over loss of shops, income beg govt to shelve the idea
- Mbah stands his ground, says there is no going back on the demolition, assures traders of fair treatment
For three days now, there has been pandemonium, fear and anxiety in Ogige main Nsukka over the planned demolition of some parts of Ogige Nsukka main market, Nsukka local government area of Enugu state.
WITHIN NIGERIA findings showed that the market is the largest in the Enugu North senatorial zone which comprises six local government areas in the state.
Ogige main market is also second to the biggest market in the state, after Ogbete main market in Enugu metropolis.
According to our source, almost half of the market has been marked for demolition to give way for construction of ultramodern motor park.
On Saturday, May 18, 2024, some persons in uniforms supposed to be contractors to the proposed ultramodern motor park stormed the market and marked some areas that will be demolished. They were also said to have been issued 72 hours starting from Sunday May 19, 2024 to pack out from the market.
Nevertheless, gripped with fear of loosing their wares together with their shops, traders in their hundreds deferred usual Monday sit-at-home order and trooped to Ogige market, packing their wares to safe houses.
Our reporter gathered that some of them went as far as even removing their shop doors and packing their goods to their houses.
When WITHIN NIGERIA visited Ogige main market on Wednesday fear, anxiety and disappointment were written all over the traders in the market.
Many of the traders were seen looking dejected and confused. Traders in their hundreds were seen removing iron doors in their shops for fear of being damaged during demolition.
Some of them who spoke to our reporter expressed their worry and disappointment over the incident.
One of the traders who gave his name as Chijioke Ugwuanyi lamented the ugly situation, saying it has dealt a heavy blow on him and his family.
Mr. Ugwuanyi, a cellphone dealer in the market told WITHIN NIGERIA that ” I have been devastated. I paid my shop rent here last two weeks only to be asked to pack out. Where will I go? Where do I start? I am confused.”
Lamenting further, Mr. Ugwuanyi stated that ” we paid for this year’s tax to the tune of N21,000 each shop but look at our fate. We were crying that prices of goods are very high not knowing that the worse is even coming. ”
Another trader, Mr. Simon Ogodo told our reporter that he has not been sleeping since the incident occurred.
Mr. Ogodo who deals on electronic appliances said that ” some weeks ago, one of the neighbours in the market cleverly sold his shop at N15m. Few days later, we saw the notice that part of the market will be demolished. My shop was affected. I have not recovered from the shock of this ugly situation.
“We are appealing to the government to rescind in their decision to shelve this demolition plan. Let them find another place and build this motor park they want to build here.”
Traders protest
As the appeals by these traders seem to be continuously falling on deaf ears of the state government, on Wednesday, May 22, traders staged a protest.
The traders under the aegis of Ogige Market Amalgamated Traders Association, Nsukka, OMATAN which was made up of over 5000 traders whose shops were marked for demolition were protesting protests planned shops demolition.
The traders caused gridlock in some roads in Nsukka town as they marched in their numbers, clad in black and black attires as they marched from the market through Enugu-road to Nsukka council headquarters, chanting, “Governor Peter Mbah leave over shops for us, that is our only source of living and feeding our families.
Some placards also had inscriptions like “Provide us with an alternative before demolition of our shop,” among others.
Speaking to our reporter, one of the traders Celestine Ugwu said that the traders cladded on black to express their dissatisfaction and pain in their hearts in the planned shop demolition.
According to Mr. Ugwu said that “some government officials on Sunday came and marked over 1000 shops in the Ogige market for demolition, and gave the owner 72hrs ultimatum to vacate the shop.
“The affected shops are shops in the Nsukka Old Motor Park to E-line inside the market.
“The ultimatum has created panic among the traders as many of us are now running helter skelter to evacuate and secure our goods.
“We are not against government developmental policies but we demand that the government should have provided an alternative place for us.
“We are in the local government headquarters today because the state government official asked that the affected people should come with their shop allocation documents for documentation ahead of possible composition,” he said.
In a remark, Chief Sam Onyishi, the Managing Director of Peace Mass Transit whose plaza and other chains of shops in the market were affected appealed to the traders to cooperate with the government so that there will be room for negotiation on the planned demolition.
In his words, “government has every right to use any part of the state for development, but I am hopeful that with the cooperation of the traders at the end of the day it will be a win-win situation for everybody,” he said.
In a remark, Mrs. Ngozi Ozioko, Chairperson, OMATAN, Nsukka, said that the trader can not go contrary to the policies of the state government, but however, said that government should have given the affected traders enough time rather than the 72 hours ultimatum to evacuate.
Nevertheless, responding, Dr. Obi Ozor, the State Commissioner for Transport said that the government’s intention to build terminal stations in major cities of the states was to develop the parks to meet global standards.
He disclosed that the state government had earlier approved the project, adding that Governor Peter Mbah had also on Tuesday approved funds for the commencement of the project.
“The owners of the affected shops should submit their documents through the Chairperson of the traders for verification and compensation.
“The project will last for 12 months, and when completed verified shop owners will be given new allocations.
“The administration of Gov. Peter Mbah is focused and determined to develop Enugu State to become the best in terms of development in the country,” he said.
Narrating further he said that “the contractors that will handle the railway project from Enugu, Nsukka to Uzo-Uwani are already in Enugu, and of course you know the governor is already on his toes to ensure that the international terminal at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu is completed and functional.
“Bus Rapid Transport, BRT, buses with 80-passenger capacity have already been bought and will arrive in Enugu in no distant time. All this is because the state has discovered that half of our salaries go to transportation. We want to reduce the pains of Ndi Enugu and uplift their standard of living.
“We need to start developing Igbo land and change our transportation system so that our people can travel, import, and export their goods with ease.
“We also want to make a passionate appeal that those affected should bring their documents for enumeration, as it will help us to pay compensation and allocate spaces once the project is completed in 12-month time. We will give them the right of first refusal,” Ozor said.
WITHIN NIGERIA investigations showed the proposed demolition of the market has literally paralyzed economic activities in the zone.
Some banks which were bustling with customers were seen being scanty as majority of their customers were affected.
One of the staff of a microfinance bank in the area told our reporter that “this situation is giving us a source of serious concern in two ways. Firstly, we are losing our deposits to the demolition. Most of our customers are greatly affected by the demolition and so, cannot give us deposits again especially in Daily Savings.
“Again, many of those affected traders are our loan customers. How they are going to be able to repay remains a mystery to us. The most painful aspect of it is that many of those loan customers used their shops which are now going to be destroyed as collateral for those loans.”