Alaba market demolition: Ohanaeze to Tinubu: Tell Sanwo-Olu to balance justice with mercy

President Bola Tinubu has been called to intervene in the destruction of the Alaba International Market in Lagos State by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo sociocultural group.

Ohanaeze pleaded with Tinubu to persuade Lagos State Governor Sanwo-Olu to balance justice with mercy for Igbos living in the region.

The state’s Ojo Local Government’s Alaba International Market is home to several damaged buildings, and the Lagos State Government started the process of demolishing them on Friday.

The collaborative exercise was started by the enforcement team of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, or LASBCA, and the Lagos State Task Force.

The crew stated the action was taken to avert tragedy when it went around to reseal various buildings that had been identified by earlier multiple quit seal letters from LASBCA.

Igbos in Lagos State were admonished to cease playing dirty politics by Ohanaeze’s Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, in response.

Isiguzoro claimed that poor politics in Lagos was having an effect on Igbo businesses.

Isiguzoro added in an interview with Obasanjonews24 that “we have been informed that the demolition of some areas of the Alaba International Market has begun; the majority of individuals who called us indicated they were given only three hours.

“The majority of them complained that they are being persecuted because of the general elections in 2023; they also mentioned that they are trying to force them out of Lagos by deliberately destroying their properties.

The wisest course of action at this time is to balance justice with mercy, we implore Mr. President to tell Sanwo-Olu. We would not accept the notion that this is a political witch hunt or make threats over the crisis affecting Igbos in Lagos.

Igbos should quit worrying about politics right now and focus on what they want in Lagos.

“Ohanaeze has already advised Igbos to move their corporate headquarters back home so they have a backup plan in case they are the subject of political retaliation.

“They shouldn’t take our kind of conservatism all the way to Lagos; it should finish in the Southeast. Igbos have been threatened to leave Lagos, but we will not do so since we have helped every state and local government in Nigeria establish their economies, and we won’t leave Lagos for anyone.

“Since Igbos are Nigerians, Ohanaeze claims that Alaba International Market’s demolition should serve as a wake-up call for Ndigbos to visit and invest in Eyimba Economic City.

Ndigbos should remain in Lagos, but they need to stop playing dirty politics since it hurts their companies.

We urged Sanwo-Olu to stop demolishing Alaba and other Igbo-populated markets because doing so would encourage Igbos to continue supporting Asiwaju’s government and help him win because we supported him during the elections, even though Tinubu lost Lagos.