Trade Fair demolition: I lost everything in presence of my foreign partners — Magnus Ike

By Evelyn Usman

The erstwhile bustling Trade Fair Complex on the Lagos–Badagry Expressway now wears the look of a warfare zone, astatine slightest on Balogun Road, wherever bulldozers pulled down nary less than 19 buildings, connected Thursday, September 25, 2025.

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Defending it’s action, the Lagos State Government said the demolished buildings were amerciable and ne'er got it’s approval. It besides added that the buildings were built connected the canal. 

The affected stretch, 1 of the busiest arteries wrong the complex, is present lined with heaps of rubble, breached blocks, twisted robust rods, splintered wood, and scattered goods. 

The hum of generators and chatter of traders has been replaced with an eerie silence, punctuated lone by the clinking of scavengers sifting done debris successful hunt of scraps.

During a sojourn to the affected country yesterday, Saturday Vanguard observed that from Balogun/Abia Junction, the scars of demolition lay dense successful the dust, indicating a burial crushed of decades of toil, savings, and dream. 

Alleged selective excercise

For galore traders, the astir haunting world was the selective quality of the exercise. Along the Balogun stretch, rows of shops laic successful ruins, portion others stood untouched,silent witnesses to unequal loss. In disbelief, 1 trader whispered, ‘Why ours? What did we bash wrong?”But the question drifted into the aerial unanswered, swallowed by the soundlessness of a assemblage excessively broken,  arsenic each idiosyncratic was imprisoned successful the value of his ain pain.

Almost immediately, the woman of a store proprietor successful 1 of the demolished buildings yelled astatine different trader who tried to console her, “You can’t aftermath up from your bed, bring bulldozers to destruct people’s property, and expect them to beryllium happy,” 

By the roadside, another  pistillate bent low, tugging astatine a portion of tarpaulin from nether the rubble of what was erstwhile a clump of shops. With hands dusty and eyes hollow, she muttered erstwhile approached, “I conscionable came backmost to transportation my tarpaulin. Everything is gone. No shop, nothing!” For her, and galore others, it was the burial crushed of decades of toil, savings, and dreams. 

Not acold away, groups of scavengers hired by immoderate gathering owners worked with grim determination, pulling retired robust rods, aluminum sheets, and breached shelves and thing that could inactive fetch immoderate money.

I mislaid everything earlier overseas partners — Ike

For Mr. Magnus Ike, Chief Executive Officer of Magnum Merchandise Limited, the events of that time are etched successful pain. His dependable trembled arsenic helium recounted the infinitesimal bulldozers rolled into the complex. Yet, successful spite of the devastating effect of the Lagos State Government’s action, Magnus seemed unbroken, carrying connected with a quiescent assurance that suggested determination to emergence supra the ruins.

Explaining the demolition of Thursday, helium said: “What happened came arsenic a immense shock. I was successful my bureau with overseas partners erstwhile the demolition started. Suddenly, determination was noise, breakage, radical running, buildings collapsing. Tear state filled the air. My guests fled successful fear. It was chaos,” helium recalled. 

His demolished buildings: six two-storey structures sitting connected 5,000 quadrate meters housed a diagnostic centre, a crèche, a mall, and offices.

“That gathering was constructed 5 years agone and duly approved by the Trade Fair Management Board, which is nether the Federal Government. Yet Lagos State officials came claiming we had nary support from them. They ne'er asked for documents, ne'er notified us. They conscionable destroyed everything,” helium said bitterly. 

Continuing, helium added: “If Lagos State Government felt determination was an issue, it should person notified us, invited us, oregon written to us. Instead, they claimed we didn’t person Lagos State approval. Strangely, they ne'er adjacent asked maine to contiguous immoderate documents. If specified support is genuinely required for national property, past determination should beryllium wide communication. The Trade Fair Management Board should person informed us. What happened is not right.”

The loss, Ike admitted, was beyond counting. When asked however galore millions helium lost, helium responded: “I mislaid much than millions. What hurts much is the betrayal. Government talks astir overseas concern and ...