Peter Anosike
The founding father of Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPMDA), Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Badagry Expressway, Lagos, Sir Jossy Egwuatu, has called on those fomenting trouble in the market to sheathe their swords and embrace peace.
Egwuatu who led the traders from Idumota in Lagos Island to their present location said that what is currently going on in the market is highly regrettable.
According to him, after what the traders passed through in the Lagos Island, it is very unfortunate that they would be fighting now that they are on their own Promised Land.
He said that every trader in ASPMDA was there to look for his or her daily bread, adding that it was only peace that could make that possible.
He noted that where there are two or more people, there are bound to be misunderstanding.
He, however, said that it is the ability to forgive and move on that shows maturity.
The founding father expressed optimism that the traders would in the near future bring themselves together as one family and focus on the reason they are in the market.
His words: “ Misunderstanding or crisis is not new in any human organisation because we are not God. And talking about being able to manage people, I would give the leadership of ASPMDA a very big thumb up because we have done well in that regard.
“ASPMDA has not been in tumult like the other big markets. We have hundreds of thousands of youths in the market and from different backgrounds. So, I want to give the traders credit for good behaviour. What is going on now in the market, sooner than later, it would be over. However, I still want to call for understanding, especially from the petition writers. There are constituted authorities in the market like the market leadership as well as board of trustees of the market.
“If you see or hear something that you are not comfortable with, instead of writing to the police, report to the leadership of the market. If you report and nothing is done, you take it a step further by reporting to the board of trustees. If the BoT refuses to do something about it, then you can take further steps. I don’t think that petitioning the police should always be the first step, unless the petitioners have malice on his mind”.
Journalist joins financial market, counts blessings
David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
The founder and President of a technology research firm, Afro Dex Lab in Nnewi, Anambra State, Mr Emmanuel Adams has explained why Crypto currency, one of the focal arms of his business is gaining grounds in the industrial community, Nnewi and beyond.
Adams, a journalist and former reporter with an electronic medium in the Southeast spoke to journalists at the weekend to mark one year anniversary since he ventured into the business that made him call it quits to journalism.
He described his new found means of livelihood as legitimate, one that requires attention, sufficient business acumen for one to excel and very exciting.
“We are marking our one year running the business in addition to expanding our ecosystem. We have so many things in stock this year. We will create more adoptions so that people will be able to spend their Crypto currency at various points. We have our current erc20 token globally now. That is our Afrox,” he said.
He explained that his company was looking at a situation whereby people would begin to appreciate the Crypto currency, which he said runs with Bitcoins globally to make payments in Africa and Nigeria in particular, “like you can just walk into supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations or schools and you are able to make payments with Afrox and maybe Ethereum for their services.
“That doesn’t replace a country’s legal tender. But it should be understood that you can agree with someone to use your GSM phone for exchange for another thing. That doesn’t make the phone a legal tender, but it is matter of agreement between and among parties.”
He said he had been able to break even since he left journalism to join the financial market.
He explained that it runs the same way Bureau de Change is operated as dealers run their businesses with ease.
He noted that the system had made it possible for people to make transactions with their overseas’ partners without experiencing the encumbrances often encountered sometimes in the exchange rate processes.
Nnewi business community reacts to border closure
David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
An industrialist in Nnewi, Anambra State, Prince Sunday Okoye has said that border closure by the Federal Government had to a great extent affected both the small, medium and large scale businesses in the industrial community. 
Okoye noted that the effect of the policy had even been felt more by some industrialists in the industrial community who were finding it hard to export their goods to the neighbouring countries and those that needed raw materials for their production. He insisted that it was unfair for the traders to be refused entry of their goods, even those for which they had already paid Customs duties.
He was worried that consumers were facing inflated prices of imported products with some of them having doubled in prices.
“If the border closure continues, there will be breakage in the inter-relationship between the neighbouring countries. And also there will be a lot of increase in prices of products due to inability to transact business with them.
“Secondly, the traders will continue to find it difficult to export their goods and it can also affect our foreign exchange earnings. Definitely, this will lead to serious hardship in the country. Is Nigeria currently producing enough for itself? That is the unanswered question.
“Let the policy be reversed as we go into next year so that there will be normal flow of business activities in Nigeria to relieve us of untold and avoidable hardship,” he said.
Similarly, the immediate past Chairman of Nkwo Nnewi Butchers Association, Chief Amobi Nnoluka said that the butchers appear to be the worst hit in the border closure policy, adding that they no longer do their business with ease.
Chief Nnoluka told Sunday Sun that their business activities had almost grounded to a halt due to insufficient supply of cows to satisfy their customers’ demands just as he questioned the rationale behind the policy, in the first instance.
He noted that the current closure of the land borders amounted to indictment on the security operatives designed to man the Nigerian land borders, wondering why it was difficult for them to control the borders as was done in the past.
“Does it mean that the Customs, Immigration and all other security operatives who are supposed to check the Nigerian borders are no longer doing their job? This closure is suffering the citizenry unnecessarily. And it has eventually increased the economic hardship in this country.
Border closure: We’re suffering –Okolo, African Tyre Village official
…Appeals to FG to reopen closed borders
Peter Anosike
The Chief of Staff to the President of African Tyre Village, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Chris Uzoma Okolo, has appealed to the Federal Government to reconsider the closure of the national borders in the New Year.
He claimed that the reality was the cure has become worse than the disease.
He said that the border closure has caused untold hardship to a lot of innocent Nigerians as inflation is now hitting the roof.
Okolo said that what the Federal Government succeeded in doing by closing the borders was to make smugglers and some officers and men in the paramilitary richer because even the foreign rice that was given as one of the reasons for closing the borders flooded the markets during Christmas.
He said that many people who are doing genuine businesses and have people patronizing them from across the borders were the main victims of the policy.
He also said that the decision has brought hostility to Nigerians leaving in the other countries of Africa.
He also said that the expectation in the neighbouring countries was that the borders would be opened in the New Year, adding that if this is not done, the lives of Nigerians living in those countries would be under serious threat.
His words: “African Tyre Village, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, is the biggest tyre market in the whole of West Africa and as such buyers come from the neighbouring countries to buy and take to their different countries.
Ovation as Ifelodun Market Association chair gives account of stewardship
Peter Anosike
The passage in the Bible which says, when the righteous is on the throne, people rejoice, was proved right when the General Chairman of Ifelodun Market Association, one of the 16 sections that make up Alaba International Market, Hon. Ismali Oyedele-Olabiwoninu gave account of his stewardship.
Speaking at the association`s Annual General Meeting/End of Year prayer 2019, he said that when the current executive of the association came on board in April, 2016, they inherited over N9 million debt from the previous executive. Giving a breakdown of the debt, he said that it accrued from electricity bill, totaling over N8 million; sanitation bill of over N700,000 and security bill of over N100,000.
He said to make matters worse, the revenue for the month of April, 2019 from warehouse/packing store had already been collected by the previous executive, adding that a paltry sum of N40,000 was handed over to the new executive.
However, he said that with the support and cooperation of his executive, they have reduced the debt to only N2 million, without selling any property of the association.
He disclosed that security, market development, electricity and environmental cleanliness were the major priorities of the executive, adding that a lot have been done in those regards.
According to him, with the combined efforts of the Nigeria Police Force, Ojo Division, Department of State Security, Force Intelligence Bureau Lagos Annex and Zonal Intelligence Bureau, the security challenges in the market has been drastically reduced.