The last may not have been heard of the demolition of illegal structures inside the Oko Oba abattoir by the Lagos State government as members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria, Lagos branch have threatened to move out of the state if government goes ahead with its plan.
The situation has generated tension in the abattoir as the cattle dealers have vowed to resist attempt to carry out the demolition.
The state government through the Commissioner for Agriculture, Oluwatoyin Suarau, had in 2017 said that there was no going back on the planned demolition.
The government had ordered the dealers who are members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders and butchers association, to move out of the market over its plan to rebuild the structure.
The dealers have accused the commissioner of not being sincere in his action insisting that the state government was being mischievous.
The Chairman of Miyyeti Allah Group, Alhaji Abdullahi Liliga, said it was the state government that moved them to where they are presently occupying to make way for a transit camp which was to be built by the state government.
Liliga said that the plan of the state government then was to return the dealers after the transit camp had been completed.
He said that in a dramatic twist of event, government through the ministry turned around to say that they should move out of the entire market with their cows.
He said: “Government had informed the breeders about the plan to upgrade the market and demolish shanties. We reached an agreement with the commissioner that the mosques and public toilets would not be touched. But to our dismay, three mosques and 22 public toilets built and managed by some of our members were demolished. All the toilets and bathrooms were built with the necessary approved documents.
“In this market we have cattle dealers coming from other West African countries. They usually arrive at night and when they come they will need a place to take their bath, rest before they continue with their transactions in the morning.
“Breeders need to stay close to their livestock because the animals will be fed, what happens to the animals by the time the dealers are asked to leave? This and other things are what we have drawn the attention of the state government to but it looks as if the commissioner is determined to displace us. In the first place it was the state government who relocated us to this place from Marine beach, Apapa and now they want to throw us out.”
Secretary of the association, Maikudi Usman said the Fulani cattle breeders were astonished by the demolition despite the several meetings held with the commissioner.
He said that most of the shanties they demolished were not built illegally, saying they were duly approved.
He said, “What happened was very unfortunate because we never expected what is happening to happen which explains why we have been meeting regularly with the government…We cannot incur these losses alone, government must do something about it.”
The Public Relations Officer, Lago State Ministry of Agriculture, Bosun Ogunbanji, said that government has said the demolition of ‘illegal’ structures and shanties in and around the Oko Oba abattoir in Agege was supported by cattle breeders and butchers in the market.
He said the state government was determined to sanitise the market and reposition it to the standards obtainable in advanced countries.
