The Director General, Ekiti State Council for Arts and Culture, Ambassador Wale Ojo-Lanre has said that the reconstruction of Akesan Market should be a collective responsibility of all Yorubas both at home and in the diaspora.
Ojo-Lanre who called for stakeholders support also advocated that traditional rulers and chiefs should be involved in the management, monitoring and administration of markets in Nigeria
Ambassador Ojo-Lanre pointed this out during a visit to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi to commiserate with him and victims of Akesan Maket’s inferno which occurred last Sunday
Ojo-Lanre disclosed that Akesan is a historical market of heroic pedigree with a linkage of relevance to all markets in Yorubaland which earned it the title of Akesan Baale Oja that is why its reconstruction should be an urgent concern for all the Yorubas.
While commending the Alaafin for the efforts at rebuilding the Market, the chief cultural officer of Ekiti state urged the foremost monarch not to relent in his effort to ensure a more befitting market is put in place.
In his response, Oba Adeyemi said the Akesan Market is an ancient market which has during the colonial days won best market for 10 consecutive years due to its effective management and cleanness lavished on it when it was being managed by people appointed by the Alaafin.
The Oba said “Then everybody played their roles and there was ‘check and balance’ in the affairs of the market but since the government took over the market administration, everything has completely changed”.
Oba Adeyemi continued “In the olden days, there was an Aroja who was the administrative head, Otun Aroja, Osi Aroja, were his subordinates, Eruku, and his subordinates were in charge of cleanliness of the market and there were also some who were in charge of security of the market, all these are no longer in place, the inexperienced people in government have reduced management of the market to biro and paper and that is why you see traditional markets in bad forms and shapes now”.
Packaged by Mayowa Owogbade
