The Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF) hereby calls on President Bola Tinubu to immediately halt the ongoing onslaught on Northern traders and their business associates in Alaba Rago Market, in Lagos State.
We strongly condemn the systematic and unlawful demolition of shops and places of worship at the Market by the Lagos State government and warn that its action is capable of igniting retaliation in the North.
The account of the victims indicates that the demolition, a land grab disguised as a modernization attempt, was carried out without regard to due process or notice to allow them to salvage their goods and other assets. Damages to the traders have been put at over N20 billion.
This inhumane action, which has left thousands of Northerners without a source of livelihood, is a clear manifestation of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s desire to drive away members of certain ethnic groups from Lagos State.
The Governor needs to be reminded that there are countless areas in the North where Yorubas live peacefully in their communities without molestation.
In Kaduna State, for instance, areas like Oriapkata, Ibadan Street, Ogbomosho Road, Sabon Gari, and parts of Malumfashi, Funtua, and Dandume are dominated by Yorubas who have become indigenes.
In many Northern states, there are communities occupied by Yorubas, and at no time were they labeled as squatters or persona non grata.
It’s therefore an absurdity for the Lagos State Government to consider the Northern community in Alaba, who have lived in the area for over 80 years, as squatters who can be ejected at will.
The Alaba Rago Market, spanning over 10 hectares, has been a hub for traders from all Northern states for over eight decades, predating Nigeria’s independence.
The market’s historical significance and cultural importance to the Northern community cannot be overstated.
The demolition of the market, including 40 mosques, is thus a heartless act that has left the community in shock and despair.
The Governor should be aware that Lagos has served as Nigeria’s capital and remains the country’s economic capital today.
The desire, therefore, by the Governor to Yorubanize Lagos by ejecting Northerners and Easterners is unconstitutional and anachronistic and will be resisted.
The ABMPF views this strategy as an open provocation against Northerners and Easterners and urges Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to reverse this decision and provide adequate compensation and relocation plans for the affected traders and worshippers.
It is noteworthy that while Northern communities have welcomed and accommodated Southerners, especially Yorubas, allowing them to conduct business and own properties without hindrance, the reverse seems to be the case in Lagos, the state of Mr. President.
We call on our political leaders, especially Governors and lawmakers, as well as traditional and religious leaders, from the North, to intervene in this matter and ensure that the rights of Northerners are protected.
Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa,
(Ajiyan Yauri),
Chairman
