By PETER ANOSIKE

A Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nelson Ahamefula Akuma, has described the demolition of shops in Lagos International Trade Fair Complex as malice that was taken too fair.

Recall that the demolition which was carried out on 25 September affected more than 19 plazas and destroyed goods worth billions of naira, according to traders.

Akuma who is the CEO of NESTAK Technologies Ltd made the remark after visiting the demolished sites at Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPMDA).

The business man and politician, who was moved to tears by what he saw, said that there is nothing in the world that the perpetrators would use to justice the action.

According to him, the malicious treatments being meted out to business men and women in Nigeria is one of the reasons why foreign investors would always shun Nigeria.

He said that while the other climes are encouraging business owners to grow, some governments in Nigeria are destroying theirs.

According to him, because of the way companies are failing, most of the unemployed Nigerians youths have turned to the markets to eke out livelihood, adding that with the action of Lagos State government, it means that there is no more hope of survival for the youths.

“I heard that Lagos State officials said the exercise targeted illegal structures built without proper permits and encroaching on drainage channels. But my question is, where is the place of compassion in governance. Government must not always be about being legally correct. What they have done is to destroy the livelihood of struggling Nigerians. It is the destruction of the future of hard working Nigerians. It was a destruction done out of malice. There is no way this country would move forward if we continue like this. There is no foreigner that would see the demolition and would want to invest in Nigeria. The thinking would be, ‘if a crocodile can eat its own egg, what would it not do to the eggs of other creatures?’”Akuma said.

On the other hand, he appealed to the Igbos to make sure that they do due diligence before doing any construction.

According to him, the scripture that whoever is surrounded by enemies should protect himself

He said that the best way Igbo would protect themselves in Lagos is to make sure that they are law abiding and follow due process in whatever they are doing.

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