The traders at Pedro Police officers Wives Association market located at Somolu area of Lagos State have appealed to the wife of the Inspector General of Police, Mrs Elizabeth Egbetokun to halt plans to demolish their shops in the market.
A trader who gave her name as Abigail while appealing to the IGP’s wife said majority of them in the market are widows who have no husband to assist them.
“We were in the market on Monday and Tuesday last week when some people including a white man walked around the market and taking pictures of the shops.
“It was one of the people who came to inspect the market that told one of us that they are coming back by November to demolish the market and rebuild it.
“We were also told after rebuilding it, it will be sold to us at five million naira each, I mean the lock up shops, our fear now is that what majority of us are selling is not up to two hundred thousand talk less of three hundred thousand naira.
“We are appealing to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to please to talk his wife to help us.”
Another trader, who didn’t want her name in print said four years ago, some people also come into the market with aim of demolishing it and rebuild it. But they later stop.
“We are appealing to the IGP’s wife to consider us, because the economy of the country now is not friendly. We have no place to go if the market is demolish. It’s through what we sell that we are feeding our retired husband and children from. We are begging.
“Majority of us borrow money to start petty business in the market, when our husband are not getting there retirement benefit on time, we feed them from what we sell.
“Since the day we saw those who came into the market, blood pressure of some of us jerked up over fear of the demolition.
“We are appealing to IGP’s wife as our mother to please help us, so that we don’t die of hunger. We also have widows among us who are struggling for survival. We eat from what we sell in the market.
“When some people came four years ago with the plan of demolishing it, some us had stroke, because they just stock their shops them. We don’t want the repeat of what happened then, that’s why we are begging the IGP’s wife to help us out on the matter.”
Another trader who simply gave his name as John said as for him he just took a loan of five million naira from a cooperative to stock his shop.
Since those people came to inspect the market for plan demolition, he said he was not comfortable anymore for fear of demolition.
“What I sell are perishable goods, I have nowhere to keep them, if anything happens to them that is the end. That’s the only business I have. If anything happens to it my children won’t be able to go to school again and also pay my house rent.
“Aside from me, there are a lot of other people in the market who are also managing. The economy situation of the country is bad, I am appealing to whoever is concerned to please consider us in the market and stop the demolition of the shops.
“If the market is demolish today, God forbid some of us we just collapse and die, because there source of livelihood depend on what they sell in the market.
“We have some who sell food, they feed there children and husband from what they sell.
“If such a place is demolish now, how do you expect such people to survive, when they have no another source of livelihood or income from. I trust the IGP and his wife they are passionate people who listen to the cry of the masses and I believe they will help us and stop the demolition.”
