In this interview, President, Coalition of Associations in Computer Village, Lagos’ tech hub in Ikeja, speaks about the controversies surrounding multiple levies allegedly being introduced by the Iyaloja General of Nigeria, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, at the market.

A coalition of trade unions in Computer Village recently protested against imposition of illegal levies on traders by the Iyaloja General, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, what are the levies traders are being forced to pay?

There is a letter that every shop in Computer Village should pay N1,000 every month and this letter carries the logo of Lagos State which is a criminal offence. I don’t believe the Lagos State Government authorised that levy. We want to ask Lagos State why Iyaloja and Babaloja of the market used its logo to deceive our people that the government gave them the authority to collect levies on its behalf. The government has been collecting levies from us and we have been paying our taxes. The illegal levy also involves payment for offloading of goods brought from outside. Some boys will just come to demand money. It happened again today (Wednesday) when three boys came to confront a trader offloading his goods. I had to intervene and took a video of it.

They said they were from Iyaloja and Babaloja and that traders must pay money for offloading. They charge as high as N10,000 or N20,000 depending on how they are able to extort traders. It is extortion because the money will be shared among the people collecting it. The miscreants can lock up the shop of any trader who refuses to pay. They also collect money from all the street traders in Computer Village every day; some pay N500. In this COVID-19 period when government is discouraging street trading, Computer Village is full of street traders and we are very angry about it. We wonder why government allows this to happen. We are going to write a letter to them. The associations have instructed traders not to pay any levy to anybody. No one can collect any levy from us without the consent of the associations. Members can only pay dues to the associations they belong to.

Do the collectors issue receipts for levies issued?

Yes. But they were only able to collect N1,000 from some people who always come to the market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays against the government’s directive that we should come on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for now.

Do you think the Iyaloja General (Tinubu-Ojo) is aware of these levies?

When this issue started and there was a protest, she invited us. When we made this complaint, she was surprised that they were collecting money. She said they (Iyaloja and Babaloja) came to her and she instructed them not to collect any money from anybody. She said she wasn’t aware of the collection. The point is those people are greedy. Babaloja was supposed to hand over to the new chairman after the expiration of his tenure last year but he refused even though the Ministry of Community Affairs wrote him a letter and wrote to the police and the community, instructing him to hand over. Election was conducted properly but he contested it and he has gone to court. He doesn’t want to hand over because he is not able to give account of over N50m that came into the community. Iyaloja was the auditor but she never did her work. They have not handed over because they have queries to answer. They are ready to go to any length to cover their tracks. They want to continue to make money from the people without rendering account.

Where did the N50m come from?

It was from different sources of income of the community. For example, the community has signage such as adverts that are paid for by companies. We have about eight arcs where the adverts are placed. Those are the assets of the community and we charge N3m to N5m for an advert per year but these people have converted some of those arcs to theirs. When we met with the Iyaloja General, she also complained about them that they were selfish and greedy and that they were using her name. They are dropping her name everywhere. We are saying that we don’t belong to the market women association but if the government wants to force Iyalola and Babaloja (system) on us, they cannot force these people on us. We must be able to choose our leaders and how we want to be governed.

How has the levies affected business?

The thugs collecting the levies are driving away our customers. Many people are afraid to patronise because of the thugs that move around the market unrestricted.

Has the state government intervened in the levy collection?

The state government has not intervened in this issue. The Ministry of Community Affairs has intervened to some extent but they have not done all that we expect them to do. When these people lay claim that the CDA had been scrapped, the ministry wrote a letter and the former permanent secretary said he was going to supervise the handing over of Iyaloja to the new person having gone through the process of election which was held in December 2019.

Are there any projects Iyaloja and Babaloja have executed with the levies?

They have not done any project whatsoever.

What are the dues paid by members of the associations used for?

We use them for the welfare of our members and for the development of the associations. They are well accounted for. Each association has its members. We also bring money together and fund is well accounted for.

Has the fund been used to execute any project in the market?

There is no project in the market we used the money for. The projects we did were carried out in conjunction with the CDA. Any time we have a project, we source money in a special way and do the project jointly with the CDA.

What projects have been executed so far?

I was the CDA secretary of the last regime of the Babaloja. We used part of the money generated by the CDA to rebuild two gates and construct a borehole.

Going forward, what are your plans?

We don’t want tyrants and people who are irresponsible to infringe on our rights. Our people are resolute that they won’t pay any illegal levy to anyone. So, it’s their fundamental human right to resist extortion and daylight robbery. We have reported the matter to the police at Area F, Ikeja.

Has anyone been arrested for collecting the levies?

I don’t know what they are doing because all our complaints are just before them and they said some of these issues were under investigation. Sometimes, they make arrests.

There has been a tussle between traders and leadership of the market – Iyaloja and Babaloja. What is the issue about?

The leadership of the market is supposed to be the associations. We are traders and we have associations. The associations come together and form a joint committee in the community so that we can handle the issue of security and environment. Before now, people paid their dues without making a noise about it because there was an understanding. For about one year now when Iyaloja and Babaloja were installed in Computer Village, they have been using their ‘boys’ to extort money from our members. It is extortion because there is no mutual agreement. People are wondering why they have to pay; which account the money is going to; what the money will be used for and who will audit it. We pay our taxes to local, state and federal governments. When it comes to the running of the market, each plaza has security dues they pay. The community development association is in charge of security and we are partnering the community development association.

Who installed Iyaloja and Babaloja?

Iyaloja General, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo.

Was due process followed before their emergence?

No. The community and the business people were displeased. These people got Iyaloja and Babaloja by hook or by crook because they did it undercover without the knowledge of the majority of people in the community and in the market. The Babaloja was the CDA chairman. He ganged up with some people and with his influence as the community leader, he got the title under false pretences that all the community had agreed to change from CDA to Market Board. I don’t know how they could change the law of Lagos State that established CDA to Market Board.

They also went to the extent of lobbying the Ministry of Community Affairs to change the CDA to Market Board. That (the community agreed) is the lie they sold to people outside and the same lie must have been sold to the Iyaloja General. Of course, she would ask them to bring people but all the time they met with her, we were not informed until the last minute. When we got information on the morning of the installation, we protested at the House of Assembly and we told the House that we didn’t want Iyaloja and Babaloja in Computer Village. Delegates were sent to the Iyaloja General to tell her that she should not install those people as Iyaloja and Babaloja.

Why did she install them despite being cautioned by the delegates?

She said she would not give them certificates. There was nothing we could do about it but we protested. She is the only who knows why she went ahead with the installation because we felt that if anything would happen within Computer Village, the government should have informed us. We relate with the local and state governments but there was no letter to our associations.

Could it be that there was connivance between the Iyaloja General and the two market leaders to install them?

Well, I don’t know whether they connived. I didn’t relate with the Iyaloja General directly until lately when there was another protest over the incessant harassment and extortion of our members who were being forced to pay levies. It came to a climax when the CDA of Ogunbiyi, together with the chairman of Idowu Lane (in Ogunbiyi), installed a gate to prevent bandits from infiltrating the community because of a robbery incident during the COVID-19 lockdown. Iyaloja came with thugs to arrest the CDA chairman, the Idowu Lane chairman and our security committee chairman. They were detained at the police station. They (Iyaloja and Babaloja) sent boys to remove the gate and they took it away. Till date, we have not seen the gate. That was why traders in solidarity said enough is enough and that they would not allow tyranny in the community.

The state government wanted to relocate Computer Village. Is the plan still on?

Yes. The government is still planning the relocation. That is why we are surprised that the government cannot have two policies. This place is not just a market; it is a business hub like Ikoyi. We have shopping malls, plazas and micro stations. The only thing that causes hullabaloo in Computer Village is street trading. They should remove it for people to have free access. Especially at this COVID-19 period, we cannot maintain social distancing with people trading on the street. The government is bent on moving the market and they have awarded the contract to a private firm to develop the place but it is going to take a while. The firm has started the documentation.

Are traders ready to relocate to the new place?

People will definitely move to the new site. It is a business hub but this place is also a hub for some people that have professional business that does not necessarily need to be relocated.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.