By: Manoah Kikekon
The Lagos State Government has completely demolished the sprawling Alaba Rago market in the Ojo area.
The operation, which took place on Thursday, reduced hundreds of stalls and structures to rubble, erasing a key livestock and merchandise hub that took traders over five decades to build. The scene was one of devastation, with former shop owners sifting through debris to salvage any remnants of their livelihoods, their voices thick with anger and despair.
The government's justification for the demolition hinges on urban planning and congestion. Officials stated that the market had unlawfully extended beyond its original boundaries, encroaching critically on major roads and contributing to the infamous traffic gridlock and environmental disorder in the area.
They declared the action a necessary step in a broader initiative to restore sanity, order, and proper infrastructure development to the state. However, this reasoning has done little to placate the affected traders, who allege the operation was carried out with brutal suddenness and a complete lack of due process.
The demolition has ignited a firestorm of emotional reactions and pressing questions regarding compensation and resettlement. A prominent trader, voice trembling with emotion, captured the collective sentiment: “We have spent over 50 years building this market. We’ve suffered to establish our businesses here. Yet, in a single day, they came and demolished everything without any notice.”
The central grievances now are the alleged zero warning before the bulldozers arrived and the absence of any communicated plan for financial compensation or a designated alternative location for the displaced thousands, leaving an entire economic community in limbo.