A former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has called on Lagos state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to regulate street trading in the state, rather than subjecting the traders to inhuman treatment by security men, in the name of enforcing ban.
George in an open letter written to Sanwo-Olu stated that in the 21st Century, it is an act of wickedness for government officials to treat street traders like bandits and terrorists in the state.
“Where is our dignity? Why should officials subject them to harrowing experience on a daily basis? They are not armed robbers and they should not be treated as such. It is despicable to treat street traders like terrorists. They are just trying to survive and Lagos is not the only place where we have street traders.
“What your administration needs to do is to regulate their activities. You can also set up skill acquisition programmes for some of them so that they don’t become idle.
“Remember that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop,” he said.
He explained that the essence of governance is to alleviate the suffering of the masses, but it is surprising that the government announced that its Environmental Sanitation Corps arrested no fewer than 63 people for allegedly crossing the highway and engaging in illegal street trading.
Continuing, he said, “Mr. Governor, we all know what led to the Arab Spring in North Africa years ago. That should not be allowed to happen here at all.”