The Alaba Rago market, one of the major markets where Northerners carry out their businesses without harming anyone, was demolished between Tuesday and yesterday.
A part of Alaba International Market, Alaba Rago, (rago tranlates to ram in Hausa), is primarily a livestock market which receives perhaps the largest of rams and goats transported from northern Nigeria into Lagos.
While the Alaba Internati onal, also known as Alaba Electronics, is dominated by the highly enterprising and resilient Igbos, the Alaba Rago is a sort of economic community of Hausas in Lagos.
The northerners not only do business in Alaba Rago, they also live there. However, on the 19th of May, 2022, the market people were given a 14-day ultimatum to vacate the vicinity because of certain reasons, which include: ‘the need to revamp; den of criminals; weapons discovered; concern on international trade; defacing of the Lagos State University (LASU) Ojo Campus’.
However, observers have pointed out that the market have been demolished and no single Northern elder or politician condemn the act because they’ve successfully diverted their attention to Kano emirate.
Reacting to the demolition, renowned public commentator, Reno Omokri, on his X handle, posted: “Alaba Rago market was demolished between yesterday and today, and there has not been an outcry from Mutanen Arewa in Lagos that this demolition was targeted at them. No social media trend accusing the Lagos State Government of “ethnic baiting”.
“No Presidential candidate of Northern origin stoking sentiments against Lagos and its people. Neither did the leaders of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) or the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) interfere in a purely local matter. Rather, Mutanen Arewa and all their institutions and elders cooperated with the Lagos State Government.
“We pray that all others in the Nigerian project will learn from the peaceful religious, social and economic co-existence between Mutanen Arewa and Lagosians.
“May God bless Nigeria, and may God bless Arewa, and for the peace, progress and stability of our nation, may political and military power in Nigeria NEVER slip out of the hands of them and their Southern allies”.
