DAYO AYEYEMI, SUBAIR MOHAMMED and OLUWASEGUN ILARA write on the imminent relocation of Africa’s largest ICT hub.
After at least two failed attempts, the Lagos State government says it is poised to relocate the popular Computer Village on Otigba Street, Ikeja, to Katangua Market in Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area of the state and the new hosts are making demands ahead of the forced movement, Saturday Tribune has learnt.
Speaking exclusively with Saturday Tribune, the chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC) of the LCDA, Mr Ernest Kasunmu, disclosed that they were bracing up for an uptick in robbery once the over 8,000 traders are moved there.
He urged state government to complete all abandoned road projects that link the market to the outside world before traders from the popular Ikeja market, regarded as the largest ICT hub in Africa, are brought in.
According to him, link roads to the market have been abandoned since the first term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2019.
He, however, expressed confidence that the relocation will boost trading activities within the district while calling for the construction of a police post and the positioning of RRS patrol vehicles at strategic locations for crime control.
He said: “The economy in that area will be improved but the Lagos State government needs to complete and upgrade infrastructure in the district to be able to accommodate the large number of traders relocating to the market.
“The link road needs to be completed. Once the link road inward and outward the LCDA is completed, traffic congestion will be minimal.
“The major road beside Agbado Oke-Odo secretariat should be completed. The adjacent road that leads to Ekoro Road and the road that leads to Katangua should also be done.
“Once all these abandoned roads are completed, traffic congestion will not be much of a problem. The construction works have been abandoned since the first term of Governor Sanwo-Olu.
“Katangua Market is a big market with large number of traders moving in and out daily. The number will be overblown with traders from Computer Village joining them, so there is the urgent need for the government to construct parking lots for traders and visitors to the market.
“Before now, many of the houses in that area were demolished for the expansion of the market.”
On the impact of the relocation on crime, he said: “When you talk of crime, no government can eradicate it; it can only be reduced to the minimum. The police will need to buckle up on the security challenges that will accompany the relocation.
“Definitely, there will be a spike in petty robbery and the police must be up to the task to control this surge. The Oke-Odo police station is very far from Katangua Market. There is another police station at Meiran which is also a very far distance to the market.
“So, there is the need to have a police post very close to the market to protect traders and visitors. If the RRS is stationed in strategic locations, they will swiftly respond to distress calls from traders. This happens in almost all the markets across the state, therefore, it needs to be considered, too.”
A dark history
Representatives of the state government have been talking on the choice of Katangua Market which, about four years ago, was busted for illegal and unlawful dealings in human organs.
In a comprehensive report put together by Saturday Tribune, a trafficking trail was established within the market whereby desperate young men were being talked into selling their vital organs like kidney abroad.
The code name for the illegal business within the market was ‘life giver’.
Saturday Tribune was very close to unraveling the leadership of the trafficking gang following an interview granted this newspaper by a terrified survivor.
The illegal organ trade ran in coded language and through many layers of middlemen, pointing to an environment riddled with criminality, which the Katangua community feared could escalate with the coming of the traders who are mostly young people, the kind Saturday Tribune discovered were easy prey for those recruiting for the organ trafficking patrons.
The victim (Ogor), who showed Saturday Tribune the scars from the surgery he allegedly had in India to have his kidney removed for N850,000, mentioned a certain Paul as his recruiter and a certain Obinna as the main agent in the market.
When Saturday Tribune reached out to Obinna by phone, he denied being a part of the organ-harvesting syndicate in the market. He demanded to know who spoke to the newspaper and mentioned his name. The request was turned down.
Why we chose Katangua –Govt
The state government, however, said it chose Katangua for the relocation because Ikeja is a strictly residential area.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Electronic Geographic Information System and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde, made this known last week during an assessment visit to the market. The ICT market, which began as an ICT accessory market at Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, in the early 1990s, has been in existence for about three decades. It is said to be home to about 3,000 small and medium ICT enterprises, with over 8,000 employed within the market, according to Phone and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (PAPDAN). A Stears business report estimated that about N1.5 billion is generated daily in the market.
Dr Babatunde said: “Where the Computer Village is located is, was and will continue, by law, to be a residential area; hence we must follow the law. Katangua is the area designated by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, particularly the Office of Physical Planning. We chose Katangua because of the good road network. We are certain that we are not going to be having traffic problems once Katangua is ready to receive the people from Computer Village.
“The expanse of land is such that when you drive in, the person would get lost because of how huge the place is. It is not something that was not well thought of, it is within the model city plan for the area. We are moving the village to a place where their business would thrive while maintaining the status quo. Ikeja Computer Village was a residential area before. It is presently and I think it will continue to be a residential area. We must ensure that things are done according to the law. Since the law says it is a residential area, it should remain as such.
“Katangua Market will majorly accommodate the traders within the Computer Village. They would have market stores and outlets. They would also have secured title to the stores allocated to them so that if they want to take loans with the properties they have within the market, they can use that with any bank. In addition, there would be banking facilities, clinics, schools, creche, storage facilities, and some housing including hotels where those who come to the place from outside Lagos would be accommodated within the area.”
Why market should move –Experts
On what happens to Ikeja Computer Village after the planned relocation, President, Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Alhaji Sulaimon Yusuf, a town planner, said since the buildings there were privately owned, they should be reverted to the original usage, which is residential.
“Based on high degree of repair and conversion of buildings that will be required, property owners can come together and redevelop the property through partnership with the private sector and not government.
“It is not the business of government to redevelop the place, but they can help to streamline, monitor the process to fit into the Ikeja Model City Plan of the Lagos State government.”
Lagos-based town planning practitioner, Dotun Oladimeji, said the government did not just plan to relocate Computer Village, property owners advocated the relocation of the market.
“Therefore, the place should revert to residential status it was known for in order to perform its function of providing accommodation to the people,” he said
Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Lagos chapter, Awomosun, said he has not seen the redevelopment plan of the Lagos State Government concerning the location after the planned relocation of Computer Village.
However, he said the present location should be reverted to its original residential use, while rehabilitation of buildings, internal walls and other basic infrastructure should take place
“I think the place should revert to residential. Rehabilitation of buildings, internal walls and roads and other infrastructure will take place,” he said.
According to him, total redevelopment of the location is possible by providing basic infrastructures.
President, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Mr Bisi Adedire, stated that originally, the location was designed for residential purpose but commercial activities messed up the place in terms of noise and other environmental pollution.
Considering social interaction, he said the location could only be good for residential purpose.
If the location is reverted to the original residential usage, he said, it would be conducive to living while crimes associated with commercial activities would reduce or be eliminated completely.
“Original aesthetic for Ikeja will be clearly shown. End will come to hawking and street trading so that the urban space will clearly show.
“It is very good to use the location for residential purpose. The permissible height of building in the area is five floors. Besides, the place will provide accommodation for many people working at Alausa Secretariat. The essence of planning is to have aesthetics,” he said.
How we started –Baba Loja
One of the market leaders known as Baba Oja, Mr Adeniyi Olasoji, in a YouTube interview, gave an insight into how the Computer Village Market came to be and how the relocation plan of the government is being handled.
He said: “ I am the CEO Global Motors Resources Limited and also into IT, selling laptops and phones and networking. Around 1997/1998, this place used to be occupied by Clearing and Forwarding Agencies and lawyers because this place is closer to the courts and to the airport, but one or two people started bringing used computers here, from America, UK and China and I was part of the pioneer people bringing them from America, so we had about ten used computers sellers here renting small shops.
“Then the lawyers started moving out for reasons best known to them. The cost of renting was going up and people started selling computers and accessories from there. The landlords were happy that they were making more money through the computer people, so they started encouraging computer people to start coming here until it sprang up to what we have today, with people breaking their houses into plazas around year 2000. To be honest with you, the history of this place is deep. Nobody can say I was the one that made the computer village the way it is.”
As a pioneer trader in the market, US-trained Olasoji disclosed that he knew the very beginning of the neighbourhood because he was CDA chairman of the community for five years.
He said: “I was the CDA chairman of this community for over five years, so I am very familiar with everybody. I know about this neighbourhood, I know about the security. I know about the environment and that was how I became the Baba Loja. The Iya Loja was the auditor when I was chairman of the CDA. It is like we were transforming from CDA to marketing board. We secured this area very well. We have a good record. We know there are petty thieves going around breaking shops, but we have a rule that anybody caught will be taken to the police station and from there he will be taken to court and we have been doing that successfully,” he said.
On the relocation plan of the state government, the market leader said: According to statistics, we have between five and six thousand shops here, not to talk of the people on the street (hawkers/vendors). We have some people that showcase their wares on the street.
“It is a big market, number one in Africa, and a lot of money is being generated there. So, we pray that this will go and we will have our normal life.
“We started this (renovation/relocation policies) during the regime of Senator Bola Tinubu (as Lagos governor). What is happening now is a playback of Babatunde Raji Fashola’s time.
“We went for a programme and he said that he would turn this Computer Village into what obtains in places like London, Tokyo, China and New York. That was the programme on ground, no vehicles would be moving in here and there would be big plazas everywhere. But we are now hearing that we are moving to Katangua. So, it (the renovation plan) has failed and it is Katangua we are facing now. Let’s be patient and see how it goes.”
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