The recent visit of the Osun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Rev. Dr. Bunmi Jenyo, to Ayegbaju International Market raises serious concerns about the direction of market administration and the welfare of ordinary traders.
Ayegbaju Market was established to promote commerce, expand trading opportunities and improve the livelihoods of market men and women, particularly ordinary traders whose economic survival depends on affordable access to stalls and shops. It must not become an avenue for displacing the poor while politically connected individuals benefit from the conversion and reallocation of public commercial facilities.
The market was developed under the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola and commissioned in July 2014 as part of a wider effort to restore Osogbo's commercial importance. Its facilities included open stalls, mini-stalls, meat and fish sections, warehouses and cold rooms. These provisions reflected the market's intended commercial purpose and the need to accommodate different categories of traders.
Against this background, the reported demolition of kiosks without transparent guarantees of alternative trading spaces is deeply troubling. Removing traders' means of livelihood while allegedly reallocating spaces and stalls to favoured individuals is not market reform; it is a potential transfer of economic opportunity from the vulnerable to the privileged. Government must publish the criteria governing allocation, reallocation and any proposed demolition.
Even more disturbing are concerns that structures originally intended for trading are being altered or converted into factories for salt production and sales, reportedly benefiting interests connected to those exercising authority over the market. These allegations require an independent investigation, full disclosure of approvals and contracts, and clarification of who owns or controls the facilities concerned. Public commercial infrastructure must not be appropriated for private advantage.
The displacement of traders in the fish and meat sections would compound the hardship already confronting small-scale traders and their families. These are livelihoods, not disposable structures. Any reorganisation must protect existing occupants, provide suitable alternative spaces before displacement, and ensure that affected traders are not priced out of the market.
The Commissioner's invocation of Governor Ademola Adeleke's name and the traders' electoral support for his administration cannot substitute for accountability. Government exists to protect citizens' interests, not to use political loyalty as justification for policies that may undermine their economic survival.
We therefore call on Governor Ademola Adeleke to urgently:
1. Suspend further demolitions and structural conversions pending an independent review.
2. Publish the records of stall allocations and reassignments.
3. Investigate allegations of preferential treatment and private appropriation of public assets.
4. Ensure that displaced traders receive suitable alternative spaces before any further action.
Ayegbaju International Market is a public economic asset whose administration must be guided by transparency, fairness and social justice. The promise of government must be measured not by official visits or assurances, but by whether ordinary people can earn a living with dignity.
Governor Adeleke must ensure that Ayegbaju remains a market for the people, not a preserve for privileged interests.
Signed:
Comrade Wale Balogun
Convener, Mẹkunnu Kọya
16/10/2026
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