Makinde’s Policies Leave Gbagi Market Traders in Bitter Tears, People Vow to Respond with Votes | By David Oluokun
David Oluokun,
Ibadan, November 1, 2026
Anguish and despair have enveloped Bola Ige International Market, Gbagi, as traders lament what they describe as harsh and insensitive policies under Governor Seyi Makinde.
The market, widely regarded as one of the best-planned international markets in Southwest Nigeria, has according to traders lost its spacious and orderly layout, with car parks, toilets and pedestrian walkways allegedly converted into shops.
Traders allege that agents acting on behalf of the government collected sums of N2 million and above per shop from them, with a promise to rebuild and modernize the market.
“I borrowed N2.5 million to pay for the new shop allocation. For two years we have waited and nothing has been built. Now they have demolished the little we have,” said Mrs. Folake Adeyemi, a fabric dealer in Block C.
“My goods worth over N4million are still under the rubble. We were not given any notice,” said Mr. Chinedu Okoro, an electronics trader.
The traders say no significant rebuilding has taken place more than two years after the payments.
The situation escalated on Saturday, November 1, 2026, when shops were reportedly demolished without prior notice in an exercise traders believe is aimed at taking over the market under the guise of redevelopment. Many affected traders have been left counting their losses, weeping what in Yoruba is described as “ekun kikoro” – bitter, agonising tears.
For the traders, enough is enough. Speaking in their thousands alongside their family members, the traders have vowed to express their displeasure through the ballot, stating their resolve to reject Governor Makinde and his anointed candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, at the polls.
