Shoppers and traders groaned yesterday as trading activities could not take place at the usually busy Bodija Market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, following its closure by the government.
The market was reportedly shut by the supervising Ibadan North Local Government following clashes between Hausa and Yoruba yam sellers on Friday.
Several shops and a lorry load of yam were vandalised during the clash. No life was lost in the incident.
When The Nation visited the market yesterday, shoppers were seen looking dejected following their inabilityto purchase needed items. All the gates to the market were blocked to prevent traders from accessing their shops while policemen in patrol vehicles kept watch at the gates.
Shoppers lamented the situation before thinking of available alternative markets close to the place.
Most of them later proceeded to Sango, Oje and other markets to make purchases.
On their part, only traders of perishable items such as tomatoes, pepper, fruits, vegetables and fish displayed their wares near the entrances of the market. They were able to serve several shoppers who came for such items.
However, they lamented their loses, saying they were not given access to their shops where they kept large stock. According to them, the wares were already perishing in their shops, leading to huge financial loses for them.
The traders therefore appealed to the government to reopen the market. They disclosed that the yam traders, who attacked each other on Friday, had already resolved their disagreements.
A trader told The Nation, “This is huge loss for us; we can’t get out our stock out of the shops becaause policemen won’t allow us go into the market. You can see that we deal in perishable items. These items can’t survive 24 hours without losing quality. We appeal to the government to please reopen the market to minimise our loss.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mrs. Olabisi Ilobanafor, said policemen were drafted to the market to maintain law and order.
She disclosed that leaders of the two factions that clashed on Friday had held a one-hour meeting with the Commissioner of Police (CP) in the state during which they agreed to embrace peace.
Ilobanafor added that the leaders were already using the opportunity of the closure to educate their supporters on the need to embrace peace so that the market could be reopened as soon as possible.
Yam traders of Yoruba and Hausa origin clashed at the market on Friday over rights to sell yams in the market.
It was learnt that the traders of Yoruba origin attacked a lorry load of yams brought into the market by a Hausa trader, a development they viewed as another breach of agreement between the two parties to first work out modalities on how to bring in yams and share among the traders.
The arrangement became imperative in view of the killing of Yoruba yam traders in the North by members of the Boko Haram sect. Since the sad incident, only Hausa yam traders have been bringing their goods from the north to the market, leaving out Yoruba traders out of business. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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