Shops Shut As Business Owners, Stakeholders Say No To Iyaloja & Babaloja In Computer Village

The ever busy and largest ICT market in Africa, Computer Village, located in Ikeja area of Lagos, was shut for several hours today as business owners and stakeholders protested the alleged introduction of the office of Iyaloja and Babaloja in the market.

The protest was said to have been fueled by purported underground moves by individuals who do not have businesses in the ICT hub to gain control of the market by proxy. The business owners and stakeholders marched with placards having different messages and drummed their way through the busy Awolowo Way to the Lagos State House of Assembly.

At the Lagos State House of Assembly, the protesters submitted the letter stating their grievances and were addressed by Honourable Members of the House who promised to look into the issues raised in their letter.
They were equally addressed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Civic Engagement before they proceeded to the Lagos State Governor’s office to submit their protest letter.

According to one of the business owners who spoke to P.M.EXPRESS before the protest, Mrs. Sekinat Adeyemi, the CEO of Seka Computers Limited, she bluntly said that those behind the idea may only be looking for avenues to make money from the market. She said that she was born in Ibadan and had known that the concept of Iyaloja was limited to the Yoruba markets especially the King’s markets known as Oja-Oba and that the King usually singlehandedly appoints who acts in such capacity. Mrs. Adeyemi said that it was wrong for any group of persons to try to disturb the relative peace in the market with such introduction.

Another business owner, Mr. Kazeem Babalola, the MD/CEO of Kay Accessories, said that the move may have been for selfish reasons and control from certain quarters. Like Mrs. Adeyemi, he equally said that the Iyaloja idea is limited to the various Yoruba markets across the Yoruba states and those located outside Yoruba land. Mr. Kazeem maintained that Computer Village is an international market having people of different ethnic nationalities and foreigners and so does not fall within the frame of market for such.

For another business owner, Mr. Chukwuka Okafor, the MD of C.O. Gadgets Limited, he said that he first heard about the Iyaloja idea while growing up in Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre in Anambra State. He said the Iyaloja there was the one in charge of the Yoruba market located around the Marine Road, Ose Okwodu Market (democratically chosen by her constituents) while the Hausa stock had theirs around the Kano Street axis of the town but were all members of the Onitsha Amalgamated Traders Association. Mr. Okafor said the responsibilities of the aforementioned never clashed and there was peace. He wondered why some people may want to bring the Iyaloja idea into an international market while it is not an exclusive Yoruba market. He said those behind the idea must have sinister plans and it must be rejected.

One of the business owners who spoke to P.M.EXPRESS on condition of anonymity, said he heard that the people behind the idea had given the Iyaloja General, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, some reasonable amount of money said to run into millions of Naira to help make the idea possible in Computer Village.