NIGERIA AND WEST AFRICAN ISSUES

Market Fires in Lagos and Survival of Igbos Though the Igbos had been and are still the lubricant for Nigeria economy, the prize for this is rather too much when you take everything into consideration. Who can count the number of times goods and merchandize belonging to Igbos in markets across the country were consumed by fires set up wicked and questionable means even sometimes remotely by some government agents. When these happen it is often difficult to prove without doubt that indeed it was miscreants mobilized by some unscrupulous government agents that are responsible! Lagos in very recent time has indeed become very notorious and the Igbos and Igbo traders in particular have been constantly fed with law deals. You recall when Gov. Fashola started his ‘Eko ni baje’ he and his agents single handedly branded the Igbos as responsible for the way Lagos was looking. From time to time then his agents while demolishing shops of Igbos across the entire states simultaneously would ask if the Igbos could try what they tried in Lagos at Onitsha Bridge! Even the governor was quoted as saying that any one who is not ready to comply with his directives on environment should come and collect an amount from him to enter luxury bus and leave and before he leaves he would be photographed so that if he ever comes back he should be thrown out of Lagos. You have also not forgotten so fast that while Igbo places of businesses were simultaneously being destroyed across the Lagos state same traders werse also arrested and tax of tree years were demanded from traders whose shops were demolished and where you were unable to get the tax you are tried by kangaroo mobile court and sent to jail. I am sure that you have also not forgotten a batch of such jailed Igbos who had just finished serving about four years jail term and Gov. Fashola fearing that media may pick the story and that would be bad for APC, branded the released prisoners street beggars and bundled all of them over night and dumped them at his much refereed to target, Onitsha Bridge! There is information going around that Lagos government has legislated that any property that gets burnt automatically becomes property of Lagos state government even though the Lagos state government had issued previously an CofO for that property! I don’t want to believe that this is true; however you recall that all of a sudden in one night the Tejuosho market was set ablaze and instantly Fashola and his political father, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other stepped in and took away the property . After taking several years to put in place what ever they had in their plan they now sell a shop for nearly N2 million! Now it is Balogun Market, we are hoping that once again the Governor would not step in to seize landed properties belonging to Igbos and then build it up and start selling same shops at an amount that he had pre-determined. Most likely that is what is going to happen! The question is what does the government of Lagos have in mind for coming up with the wicked, devious and criminal property law and can you really rule out that based on this law there is a remote possibility that the government could possibly send agents to set any market they are targeting on fire to be able to take it over! Come to think of it, why is it that it is always from 3 to 4 am in the Night that the fires always start!? In the day time when traders are around with a lot of activities and even use of electricity there won’t be fire but when they are gone shot down electric supply that is when fire would gut the market! Like I said earlier in my book, “Niger Delta Agonies of Igbos and other nationalities” the Igbos and other Niger Deltans should realize that the wealth that drives Nigeria for the last 40 years come from South East and South South majorly so why should we shy where ever we are doing business in Nigeria. Igbos should stamp their feet on the ground any where within this country to protect our wealth from rascals and hostile state governments. It is irritating to me that a market where Igbos is 90% in majority an ‘indigene’ would come there and lord it over you! For what reason should this ever happen!? Who the bloody hell is the so called indigene!? The Igbos must stop this crazy aberration and show of uncommon cowardice! I charge you to establish authority in any market you have numerical preponderance within and without Nigeria and not only that use that as a negotiation tool to deal with the governments of those states or even countries. In addition the Igbos must realize that the world is a global village and as such any where you are and have the capacity to do something political; don’t waste time to do something! Finally Igbo traders must organize the day and Night securities in all markets they operate even when the government of that state or country has provided something. The two securities must work together in order to ensure the protection of your wealth and where possible send message of a kind to hostile governments that might want to mess up with your means of livelihood. Igwegbe Lawrence Emeka