Kunle Adelabu
-Institutes January 2 as annual prayer day
The new Iyaloja – General, Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Alhaja (Chief) Ashake Wahab, has unveiled her agenda for developments across the market within the council.
Alhaja Wahab unveiled her plans to the leadership and other members across the 25 markets out of the 28 under her management at the first – ever New Year Prayer held at the Mikson Onas Hall, along Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way, Igbogbo, recently.
At the gathering, January 2nd every year was inaugurated as annual prayer day for markets within the Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA.
Her agenda includes leadership training and capacity building for members, regular visitation to markets, enforcement of discipline, constant security sensitization, enforcement of accountability and transparency across markets’ associations and encouragement of improved relationship and information dissemination.
“I thank you all for your attendance despite the short notice. I did not even expect a large turnout like this because of the impromptu nature of the communication, and I thank you for abdicating other things to answer this call.
“The gathering is necessary to start the new year with prayer and also place our journey and activities as an association, in the hands of God. That is why we called for this prayer session.
“It will not be a one – off thing, it shall be a continuous session. Today, we are inaugurating January 2rd every year as our day of prayer as a market association.
“Come next year, it shall be bigger than this because there will be proper and enough time to plan towards it. Each market shall have their tables. Please, inform your members when you get back home that we have inaugurated an annual prayer session which will be holding every January 2nd”, she said with the general approval of market leaders and members present.
While unveiling other agenda for the year, Alhaja Wahab enjoined members of the association to always make themselves available for the meeting with Chief (Mrs) Folashade Tinubu – Ojo, every Tuesday at the state secretariat, where she described as another institution where she said that they will learn more about market operations, improve their skills and network.
The Iyaloja – General of Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, also mentioned leadership training, enforcement of discipline and good conducts in markets, award/honour for best market, security and regular visits among others, as parts of her developmental agenda.
“In other to improve our skills at managing our markets, running profitable business and improve our relationship with members of the public, we shall be introducing regular leadership training. We shall be inviting resource persons to engage us in what we need to know to change our orientation, lead well and make the public have different perspective of us.
“This is important for all of us to improve our knowledge and capacity in market organization, personal developments and improve on our business dealings”, she said.
While speaking on discipline and enforcement of rules across markets in Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, the Iyaloja informed market leaders and members present at the prayer session of her intention to embark on regular market visitation to enforce rules against indiscipline, overnight activities, secuirity among others.
“Starting from this year, we want to familiarize ourselves more with our people across the market under the Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA. We shall be doing this by constant visit to our markets. Through this, we want to see how organized and harmonious our markets are.
“Because at the end of the year, we shall be organizing awards to honour the cleanest market among others. This is our way of encouraging improvements in our market organization and administrations.
“We also want to see unity and cooperation among traders. This is why we are going to be interfacing with members across markets during our visits to hear from them. We want to know their feelings and perceptions in their various markets.
“We also want to charge you to be security conscious. Ensure that you are observant and charge your members to do the same. You have to report any suspicious thing in and around your market to the market leaders and appropriate authorities.
“You must get fire extinguishers in your markets which is standard security measure. This will come handy whenever there is fire. Paying serious attention to this is what we needed to prevent our markets and properties from being burnt down.
“In addition, always ensure that you switched off electrical appliances when leaving your markets.
“We shall also be interfacing with necessary security arms in this regard. This is also important because we want to have cordial relationship with them to manage cases of police coming into any market to arrest traders without the consent of market leaders.
“That also is another challenge for our leaders to ensure that you are firmly on the ground to know all that is happening in your markets.
“We must discourage fight, discord and cursing in our markets. These are negativities that adversely affects markets. In our markets, we have various deities like Aje and others, and they abhor curses and fighting. We must do everything to make these deities stay and bring prosperity to us by not fighting and cursing”, she warned.
Alhaja Wahab, speaking on the need for accountability and transparency, informed market leaders of the need to have proper bank account for save keeping of funds. This, she said, will guide against inappropriate stealing of public funds and problems being encountered by associations whenever anything happens to anyone holding their money.
“We have observed that most associations do not operate bank account and lack proper monitoring of their funds. This will form major parts of our visitations to markets. During our visits, we shall be looking at the state of your accounts to ensure that we are healthy financially, and see to it that members’ monies are safe with the association.
“It is important to have bank account for safe keeping of monies generated from members. This is how to promote accountability and transparency in our dealings and build lasting trust.
“This is the only way to prevent unfortunate development whenever we need our money and when anything untoward happens to any of our fund managers. Let ensure that we open an account with any of the reputable banks in existence, to keep our monies”, Iyaloja -General charged market leaders.
Alhaja Wahab, who also encouraged the opening of WhatsApp platform by each market, also charged traders on the need to instill discipline in their children and guide them properly.
“You must develop interest in your children as much as you have in your trades. In actual fact, you must invest more in them because they are your future. It is also important that we allow our children have the knowledge of our trades.
“The President of Nigeria was raised by Iyaloja, and so with many important personalities. We have bankers, doctors, engineers, professors and many more that are children of Iyalojas and Babalojas. We too can train our children to be great in life.
“Don’t say that you do not know how to operate phones or use all the social media platforms. Make good use of your children that you have sent to school and trained them to make use of it to your advantage. Let use them to promote your trades and communicate what are being said on your market WhatsApp platforms to you.
“You create new customer base with your phones. They can order for your goods and make sales. This is why we sent our children to school and also need to train them in whatever they do”, she said.
Speaking earlier, the Baba Oloja – General, Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, Prince (Hon.) Jimoh Ogunmuyiwa, welcoming members, called for more cooperation and support for one another to advance collective interests.
He said that the meeting, aside initiating a prayer session, was also to know plans by the markets leaders in the council for 2025, and carry members along in decision – making process.
Hon. Ogunmuyiwa, who is a former Chairman, Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, also acknowledged the supremacy of Iyaloja general in the market organization, and charged other chieftains and members to do the same.
He assured members of more organized and prosperous market associations under the new leadership, and called for support and cooperation.
Representatives of the each of the 25 markets present at the gathering offered prayers for prosperity in various market, unity within the association and also pledged their support for the leadership of the association.
The event featured distribution of food items and merriment to over 100 market chieftains, members and guests in attendance.
