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| late Alhaja Abibat Mogaji |
By Gboyega Akinsanmi and Chiemelie Ezeobi
If the grumblings and discomfort expressed by a cross
section of people who spoke to THISDAY yesterday over the closure of virtually
all markets in Lagos State in honour of the late Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, the
mother of former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, is a representation
of the feelings of Lagosians, then it is apt to describe it as a typical case
of pleasing the dead to displease the living.
Mogaji died on Saturday, June 15, at her Ikeja residence at
the ripe age of 96 and was buried on Sunday at a private cemetery in Ikoyi in
line with Muslim tradition. The third day Fidau prayer was held yesterday at
the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS). The prayer session was attended by political
leaders across party lines.
Some of the political leaders in attendance were the
National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, who represented President
Goodluck Jonathan; Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) National Leader, Major
General Muhammadu Buhari; ex-Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba; and
Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, amongst others.
Until her death, Mogaji was the Iyaloja (President-General)
of the Lagos market women and men association and understandably the need to
honour her memory was germane; but nobody envisaged the dimension it would
take.
But for two days — Monday and Tuesday — all markets in Lagos
have remained shut causing acute hardship to both buyers and sellers, resulting
in the loss of millions of naira.
THISDAY investigations showed that all major markets in the
Lagos metropolis including Odo, the ever-busy Balogun market, Ilepo market in
Iyana Ipaja, Aswani, Agege, Mile 12, Boundary, Mosafejo Suru-Alaba, Ajegunle,
Ikotun, Ladipo market in Mushin, Oyingbo market in the Mainland, and the Ikeja
market, among others, were shut in compliance with the directive. Even markets
where spare parts are sold like the Trade Fair market were all shut down
yesterday. Failure to comply carried a fine, which THISDAY could not
confirm.
Expectedly, the closure of the market dislocated commercial
activities for some categories of traders especially those who sell perishable
items like fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, etc. Many of them who spoke to
THISDAY grumbled about the huge losses the closure had caused them.
Speaking to THISDAY, a second hand clothes dealer at the
Ikorodu market, Mrs. Ifeoma Ikechukwu, said her loss ran into thousands of
naira, as the new bale of cloth she just opened would lose value once it is not
sold within two days. According to her, “Once such clothes pass the level of
the first grade, it is now the customers that would determine the cost at which
to buy them.
“It is not a fair deal. Although I sympathise with the
family of the deceased, it shouldn't affect the living in terms of their
sources of livelihood. How can they close the market for two whole days? Do you
know how much people lost in terms of finances? How can the living pay for the
dead?"
Also speaking, another trader, Mrs. Ruth Shiedu, summed up
her grouse in a poem-like format: "Saturday, Iyaloja died. Sunday, she was
buried. Monday, markets were partially shut. Tuesday, markets were officially
closed. Wednesday, tomatoes and other perishable food items rot. Thursday,
inflation sets in. On Friday, government is blamed for the 'hardship' in the
land. And in true Nigerian way, Saturday, it's one week after, and the memories
begin to fade."
At the Pen Cinema market in Agege, THISDAY saw only
newspaper vendors and hawkers, who were being patronised by very few customers
as traders in the main market closed their stalls. At Mosafejo market in
Oshodi, customers who came to shop were disappointed as the market was firmly
shut.
Mrs. Risikat Adeyanju, a pepper seller, said traders acted
on the directive of the market leaders. “We are acting on the instruction of
our leaders not to open business today in honour of our great Iyaloja who died
on Saturday,” she said.
However, Adeyanju did not mind the temporary inconvenience
the closure had caused. “It is just three days after her demise and traders in
this market as well as those of other markets believe that not selling today
would be the best way to pay our last respects to her.”
Yet another trader who spoke to THISDAY at the Odo market,
at Cele Bus Stop, said although it was not a crime to honour the deceased given
her contribution to markets nationwide, this should not have been done to the
detriment of the living.
Simply identified as Mama Ibeji, the tomato and pepper
seller said she had lost the meagre resources she used in trading owing to the
fact that her vegetables had gone bad.
She said: “I had gone to the market and bought baskets of
pepper and tomato which on a normal market day I would have sold off quickly.
But I couldn't even finish sales on Monday because of the partial closure and
then I didn't even go to the market today (yesterday).
“To make sure I don't lose all my produce, I had to grind
the tomato and pepper and then cook it. But again, comes the issue of
preservation. I don't have a fridge so I have to warm it every morning. Imagine
the quantity of tomato and pepper I have at home! If this was done by a
PDP-controlled state now, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) would have been
screaming and cursing.”
“Some of us depend on our daily sales to survive and I am
sure Alhaja Mogaji wouldn't want to be the cause of hunger to her compatriots,”
she added.
But another market woman, Mrs ‘Sewa Ogunjobi, did not
believe that the honour was too great, arguing that the closure of the markets
was part of a Yoruba tradition that has been entrenched for decades. “What was
done is simply a Yoruba tradition and honour that is given to only the Iyaloja
of the market,” she said.
Yet Biola Adesogun disagreed that it was a Yoruba culture,
but was quick to state that the late Iyaloja deserved the honour, given the
role she played in politics.
She said: “It is wrong to call it a Yoruba culture because
going down memory lane, we cannot even pinpoint to one market leader that died
and the entire markets were closed in her honour.
“It also has nothing to do with Tinubu but the fact remains
that this woman was the market leader when the late Obafemi Awolowo was jailed
and she was credited for mobilising thousands of women for a solidarity protest
at the time.”
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