Talk of the moment CEO comrade Akanbi Azeez Olalekan sympathises with the family of HON Adepitan
Lets love at part of what he had experienced as chairma
Chairman, Mushin Local Government Area, Hon.
Babatunde Adepitan has said that he was chased out of
the Ladipo Market on various occasions in his bid to
ensure peace at the market.
He further said that the Aguiyi Ironsi Market had to meet
certain conditions for it to be re-opened because it was
very problematic.
“Out of the 36 units in Ladipo Market, others are law-
abiding and very coordinated except for environmental
nuisance. But Aguiyi Ironsi had issues we had to address
before it was re-opened. The leadership of the market
had some issues that bothered on power tussle which; if
not properly addressed, could lead to perpetual chaos
which could also degenerate to a serious problem. So,
that was why it was shut down.
On allegations that he was using his powers to intimidate
the traders, Adepitan said such claims were unfounded,
adding that he was even helpless in handling the
situation, just as he alleged that the embattled market
leader, Jonathan Okolie was the cause of the problems,”
he said.
The council chief also disclosed that there were
instances of breakdown of law and order because the
chairman of the traders’ association was alleged to be
hell-bent on being in power forever.
He said: “A market where there is no peace; where we
have ‘Bakassi Boys’; where a leader imposes himself on
the people as he allegedly refused to conduct elections or
handover power after his tenure had elapsed in 2009;
where people are allegedly killed and maimed is very
uncomplimentary. The market being within my local
government, do you expect me to go to sleep? I think
that gentleman’s intention was to make himself a life
president. That was why he was ready to go after
anyone who opposes his ambition.
“The way he was going, Okolie wanted to take Aguiyi
Ironsi Market from the local government. Imagine an
individual having the intention of taking over
government’s property by force? And the worst part of it
all was that he allegedly went about dishing out false
propaganda that the market belongs to the Igbo and that
the Yoruba wanted to take it away.
“The issue remains that Okolie had allegedly chased a lot
of the traders out of their shops with the help of his
‘Bakassi Boys,’ who he stationed in the market. There
are so many aggrieved parties there. And anyone who
says I use my office or powers to intimidate him must be
a joker. This is because, as the chairman, there were
instances I went to the market and I was almost chased
out by the hoodlums Okolie stationed there.
“During one of my visits to the market, he mobilised
people to be singing ‘we don’t want you; you want to
steal our market.’
The question here is who owns the market if the local
government that is the real owner is now labelled the
thief? All documents to show that Aguiyi Ironsi is owned
by Mushin Local Government are available.
“Another problem is that the ‘Bakassi Boys’ that Okolie
brought in to foment trouble allegedly slept inside the
market, which is against the law. A market place is not a
residential place. But he believes that once those boys
are there, nobody can overthrow him because they are
fully armed. It was also alleged that he has a shrine in
that market. If it is true, that indicates that he was using
every power to remain as the traders’ leader.
“If you cast your mind back, you will recall that it took
the courage of the chairman of the Special Taskforce to
enter into that market before those boys were arrested.
The ‘Bakassi Boys’ were alleged to have threatened even
the police. They were always dressed on red T-shirts
with red caps and were always armed.”
He said the local government was not able to handle the
situation because the situation needed the deployment of
massive security apparatus, which no local government
can afford.
“The local government is a third tier government which
does not have the machinery to enforce certain level of
order. We only have power in the paper and I can show
you copies of letters I have written to the law
enforcement agencies, including the Inspector-General of
Police (IGP). The security apparatus the state
government deployed the day the market was shut could
not be mustered by any local government.
On the actual cause of the crisis at Aguiyi Ironsi,
Adepitan said the crisis that rocked the market started
before his tenure, “even though it became worse
following some clandestine ploys by some unscrupulous
individuals to hijack Aguiyi Ironsi Market, which is the
sole property of Mushin Local Government Area.
“That land was allocated to Mushin Local Government
Area by the former governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Since
markets are under the pueview of the local government
areas, the state handed over the land to Mushin Local
Government Area. The local government at that time was
said to have entered into a 25-year lease agreement with
a developer, the late Alhaji Hassan Olajoku, who
represented Paramo Company, to develop and manage
the place. It was agreed that he must remit a certain
percentage of the revenue to the local government on
monthly basis.
“Along the line, Paramo allegedly could not develop the
place and he was said to have invited some traders in
the market to participate in the development of the area.
Paramo had a separate agreement with them which was
to build and manage for 12 years. We were not party to
the agreement but from my understanding, it appears
both parties agreed that the traders will build, manage
and pay a certain monthly percentage to Paramo for 12
years. Paramo will, in turn, remit some money to the
local government on monthly basis.
“The trouble there has been affecting our internally-
generated revenue (IGR). It was alleged that Okolie did
not allow Paramo to operate in order to pay us our
money. In such situation, you do not expect us to fold
our arms when our interest is affected. All we were
interested in was that elections should be conducted so
that peace will reign and everyone will be happy.”
On how he intends to ensure peace and security,
Adepitan said all the stakeholders have signed an
agreement, adding that he was consulting with
stakeholders at the Aguiyi Ironsi on the way forward.
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