Ladipo Market: Tension builds over election in Aguiyi Ironsi section

By Evelyn Usman

Elections in most international markets in Lagos State are often marred by violence, especially as the election draws closer. The Aguiyi Ironsi International Market Traders Association, Ladipo, Mushin area of Lagos is no exception. As the election season reaches its peak, the tension in the market becomes palpable.

Lagos market history of electoral violence is well-documented. During and after elections, traders have clashed brutally, with reports of dangerous objects being used to intimidate opponents. The police have struggled to maintain order, and at some point, the markets were forced to shut down temporarily. As the current election draws near at the Aguiyi Ironsi ‘s end, a bitter power struggle is brewing.

Tension

As the election season reaches its boiling point, the introduction of membership cards as a yardstick for voting, has sparked a firestorm of controversy. While the Chairman, Chief Chukwuma Onyebinama, insists that the introduction of the membership card was meant to ensure that only genuine members of the association could cast their ballots, the decision was however met with fierce resistance from the opposition group, which described it as a blatant attempt to disenfranchise them.

On August 18, 2024, the air was thick with tension, when members of the opposition group who were denied access to the monthly meeting in the market because they were not with their identity cards, reportedly protested the action.

The opposition group had alleged that they were attacked in the process with some of their members injured. The group wrote a petition to the Lagos State Government, over alleged harassment, intimidation and threats to their lives by the market’s executives and task force committee.

The true position

However, Onyebinama explained that after taking over the saddle, one of the measures implemented to prevent fraud and ensure a smooth election was the creation of a database that would track paid-up members of the Aguiyi Ironsi International Market Traders Association.

This database according to him, would among other benefits, serve as a verification tool to ensure that only genuine members were allowed to vote and prevent non-members from hijacking the electoral process and to maintain the integrity of the election.

He said the data base which included vital information such as names, contact details, and payment records of all members, was done within one month of assuming office, adding that it would further make it easier to identify and weed out impostors.

Membership cards

Another decision reached at the general meeting according to him was the need to implement the payment of N2,000 monthly dues and the issuance of a membership card that would serve as a verification tool to ensure that only authorized individuals, specifically cardholders, were allowed to attend meetings and participate in voting.

He posited that it also adds an extra layer of security and exclusivity, guaranteeing that only legitimate members were involved in decision-making processes. By presenting their membership card, individuals, he said could prove their membership status, allowing them to exercise their rights and privileges within the organization.

The trouble

Explaining further he said: “When we were debating if we should pay for identity cards or not, the general house said we should use the money from the annual dues to give members their identity cards.

In September 2023, I told members to pay their annual dues and get their identity cards. A grace of four months was given to members to pay, and they were told that whoever did not pay by January 2024 would not be allowed to attend the meeting of February 2024, which would be for only members of the association. Everyone was reminded from last year September to January 2024, and by February, the meeting was held peacefully. So were those of March, April, and May. There was no meeting in June, but in July, as we were about to hold the meeting, we got information that our opposition held a meeting overnight to disorganize our meeting.

“I hinted the task force chairman not to allow anyone without an identity card into the meeting. After the meeting, I heard there was a problem outside the gate. I was told the opposition group stormed there, armed with dangerous objects. When they tried to overpower our security and task force, one of the task force officials disarmed one of them and used the cutlass to scare them away”, he said, insisting that no member of the opposition was injured in the process, as alleged.

He added that the photograph of the man reported to have been injured was fabricated, saying “he (man in the picture) expressed surprise when he saw his picture in the newspaper.
Besides, it is worthy noting that this is not the first time we are introduced cards. Previous Chairmen had their cards. But the difference in this one is the payment of monthly dues and the fact that it guarantees one to vote”.

The instigation

Onyebinama also alleged that “As we speak, the opposition party has been circulating messages to members of the market not to pay their Motor Vehicle Administration Agency, MVAA fees which are for the Lagos State Government, as well as Storage fee which is for the local government and annual dues and their monthly dues..

Again the closing time for traders here is 6 pm, just as it is in major markets but you have some members of the opposition group, leaving three to four hours after the stipulated time and when accosted, they will petition the Police, alleging threat to life”.

Police wade in

He said he got an invitation from the CP Tactical unit in Surulere, Lagos, and the Intelligence Response Team, IRT Abuja, over an allegation of harassment and intimidation against him and some members of the association’s task force. However, the Police, according to him, told both sides to resolve their differences amicably and allow peace to reign in the market, because they were brothers from the same ethnic group.

Former Chairman’s position

Also throwing his weight behind the use of membership cards as a means to vote in the upcoming election, the immediate past Chairman of the association, Mr. Azuke Muogbo, said it was the only way to ensure a free and fair election.

He said: “The reason for this whole issue is because the election is around the corner. They are fighting against the use of membership cards for election, whereas members of the association have agreed to use it, to ensure that only members vote on that day.

During my predecessor’s tenure, we had a similar issue. Each election committee we constituted always complained about the need to have this card, which members are supposed to present on election day.

“The Local Government Chairman also complained about the two years tenure in office. This made us amend our constitution, and the three-year tenure has been passed into law. The opposition agreed. But they don’t want to accept this membership card as a yardstick for voting. This is because during the election, contestants go round and get traders in Ladipo to cast their votes, and this has been a major problem.”

“I don’t want to be partisan. I want to speak as a stakeholder; we want peace in the market, and because we want peace, I think to use our membership cards to cast votes.

If the present Chairman has done well and is voted by the people, let him go back for a second tenure, and if he has not, let the people decide who to rule them. For us to get it right this time around, the association insists that only those with membership cards should be allowed to vote,” he stated.

As the Aguiyi Ironsi International Market Traders Association looks to the future, several key developments are expected amidst the lingering tension, one of them is the reconciliation efforts by the association’s Board of Trustees to reconcile and promote unity among both divides.

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