Mogaji: When Honouring the Dead Inflicts Pain on the Living

Culled from ThisDay

If the grumblings and discomfort expressed by a cross section of people who spoke to THISDAY yesterday over the closure of virtually all markets in Lagos State in honour of the late Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, the mother of former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, is a representation of the feelings of Lagosians, then it is apt to describe it as a typical case of pleasing the dead to displease the living.

Mogaji died on Saturday, June 15, at her Ikeja residence at the ripe age of 96 and was buried on Sunday at a private cemetery in Ikoyi in line with Muslim tradition. The third day Fidau prayer was held yesterday at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS). The prayer session was attended by political leaders across party lines.

Some of the political leaders in attendance were the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan; Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) National Leader, Major General Muhammadu Buhari; ex-Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba; and Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, amongst others.

Until her death, Mogaji was the Iyaloja (President-General) of the Lagos market women and men association and understandably the need to honour her memory was germane; but nobody envisaged the dimension it would take.

But for two days — Monday and Tuesday — all markets in Lagos have remained shut causing acute hardship to both buyers and sellers, resulting in the loss of millions of naira.

THISDAY investigations showed that all major markets in the Lagos metropolis including Odo, the ever-busy Balogun market, Ilepo market in Iyana Ipaja, Aswani, Agege, Mile 12, Boundary, Mosafejo Suru-Alaba, Ajegunle, Ikotun, Ladipo market in Mushin, Oyingbo market in the Mainland, and the Ikeja market, among others, were shut in compliance with the directive. Even markets where spare parts are sold like the Trade Fair market were all shut down yesterday. Failure to comply carried a fine, which THISDAY could not confirm.  

Expectedly, the closure of the market dislocated commercial activities for some categories of traders especially those who sell perishable items like fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, etc. Many of them who spoke to THISDAY grumbled about the huge losses the closure had caused them.  

Speaking to THISDAY, a second hand clothes dealer at the Ikorodu market, Mrs. Ifeoma Ikechukwu, said her loss ran into thousands of naira, as the new bale of cloth she just opened would lose value once it is not sold within two days. According to her, “Once such clothes pass the level of the first grade, it is now the customers that would determine the cost at which to buy them.

“It is not a fair deal. Although I sympathise with the family of the deceased, it shouldn't affect the living in terms of their sources of livelihood. How can they close the market for two whole days? Do you know how much people lost in terms of finances? How can the living pay for the dead?"  

Also speaking, another trader, Mrs. Ruth Shiedu, summed up her grouse in a poem-like format: "Saturday, Iyaloja died. Sunday, she was buried. Monday, markets were partially shut. Tuesday, markets were officially closed. Wednesday, tomatoes and other perishable food items rot. Thursday, inflation sets in. On Friday, government is blamed for the 'hardship' in the land. And in true Nigerian way, Saturday, it's one week after, and the memories begin to fade."

At the Pen Cinema market in Agege, THISDAY saw only newspaper vendors and hawkers, who were being patronised by very few customers as traders in the main market closed their stalls. At Mosafejo market in Oshodi, customers who came to shop were disappointed as the market was firmly shut.

Mrs. Risikat Adeyanju, a pepper seller, said traders acted on the directive of the market leaders. “We are acting on the instruction of our leaders not to open business today in honour of our great Iyaloja who died on Saturday,” she said.
However, Adeyanju did not mind the temporary inconvenience the closure had caused. “It is just three days after her demise and traders in this market as well as those of other markets believe that not selling today would be the best way to pay our last respects to her.”

Yet another trader who spoke to THISDAY at the Odo market, at Cele Bus Stop, said although it was not a crime to honour the deceased given her contribution to markets nationwide, this should not have been done to the detriment of the living.
Simply identified as Mama Ibeji, the tomato and pepper seller said she had lost the meagre resources she used in trading owing to the fact that her vegetables had gone bad.

She said: “I had gone to the market and bought baskets of pepper and tomato which on a normal market day I would have sold off quickly. But I couldn't even finish sales on Monday because of the partial closure and then I didn't even go to the market today (yesterday).

“To make sure I don't lose all my produce, I had to grind the tomato and pepper and then cook it. But again, comes the issue of preservation. I don't have a fridge so I have to warm it every morning. Imagine the quantity of tomato and pepper I have at home! If this was done by a PDP-controlled state now, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) would have been screaming and cursing.”

“Some of us depend on our daily sales to survive and I am sure Alhaja Mogaji wouldn't want to be the cause of hunger to her compatriots,” she added.
But another market woman, Mrs ‘Sewa Ogunjobi, did not believe that the honour was too great, arguing that the closure of the markets was part of a Yoruba tradition that has been entrenched for decades. “What was done is simply a Yoruba tradition and honour that is given to only the Iyaloja of the market,” she said.

Yet Biola Adesogun disagreed that it was a Yoruba culture, but was quick to state that the late Iyaloja deserved the honour, given the role she played in politics.
She said: “It is wrong to call it a Yoruba culture because going down memory lane, we cannot even pinpoint to one market leader that died and the entire markets were closed in her honour.

“It also has nothing to do with Tinubu but the fact remains that this woman was the market leader when the late Obafemi Awolowo was jailed and she was credited for mobilising thousands of women for a solidarity protest at the time.”