Ebola spreads fear in Lagos markets

Across many markets in Lagos these days, the fear of the Ebola disease is the beginning of wis­dom.

Market leaders, as well as traders, are calling on the federal and state governments to check the movement of traders from West African countries who daily troop to the different markets in Lagos and other parts of the country for commercial activities.

Many local markets across the country daily witness large volumes of trade with other African countries particularly, Nigeria’s West African neighbours.

On a daily basis, hundreds of thousands of traders are drawn to the various markets in Nigeria from Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and others, including Liberia and Sierra Leone, two countries where the Ebola virus is currently claiming hundreds of lives.

Many of such traders slip in and out of Nigeria through the country’s porous borders as well as the hundreds of illegal routes that lead in and out of the country.

In Lagos State, for example, many markets that witness unprecedented volume of international commerce abound. It has been reported that about 10,000 visitors enter Lagos on daily basis. This is not to mention illegal migrants who sneak their ways and wares through illegal routes, including the forests. And a good number of these visitors come to trade in markets such as the Ojo-Alaba International Market in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, as well as at the Okokomaiko and Iyana-Iba markets reputed to be the hub for smuggled rice, vegetable oil and others.

Other such markets with international appeal in the state include the Articles Dealers Association (ADA) market located directly opposite the Trade Fair complex, Tejuosho market, Balogun Market and the Idumota market both on Lagos Island.

Sited within the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex is a cluster of international markets, chief among these are the International Centre For Commerce (ICC) or what is known as the Balogun Trade Fair market or the Balogun Business Association and the Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPAMDA) market.

Within the Trade Fair complex, there are other markets, numbering about five, including the Mandilas market, Jewellery market, the African Tyre market and the African Auto Battery market.

“With the deadly Ebola sweeping across West Africa, no one is sure if the health authorities – federal, state and even local government – are looking in the direction of these markets in terms of putting in place, safety measures to forestall any possible spread,” Mrs. Oge Anyanwu told the reporter.

Recently, at a media conference, the Federal Ministry of Health, through its Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and the Lagos State Ministry of Health, disclosed plans being made to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Lagos State Health Commissioner, Dr. Jide Idris announced the establishment of an isolation unit in the state, to be manned by health workers who have been trained on the disease.

The centre, which he said has been equipped with every necessary facility, well-trained workers, sewage and power supple amongst others, is, according to him, a joint venture with the federal Ministry of Health.

The state, as well as the federal health authorities, gave the assurance that urgent steps are being taken to ensure proper screening of visitors coming into Nigeria either through the air or seaports as well as through its land borders.

However, market leaders who expressed fear over the porous nature of Nigeria’s land borders have called on the health authorities to direct its gaze towards the markets where thousands of traders from other West African countries daily throng for business transactions.

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