Osun market women protest, defy govt order

There was protest in Osun State on Thursday as market women took over major areas in Osogbo against the state Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

They alleged that they were being forced to use the recently inaugurated standard weighing scales to sell their products, saying the device has been causing them untold loss of profits.

The state government had launched the scales in June last year but the traders had shunned it and had been using their traditional hand-measure, popularly called “kobiowu/kongo.”

But on Tuesday, some officials of the state government besieged various markets in the state to enforce the use of the scales on the traders threatening that erring trader would be punished.

The protesting traders stormed the popular Ola-Iya junction and other areas around 12:00pm and refused to leave the roads for about an hour.

They accused the state government of selling the scales at exorbitant rates lamenting that its usage had been having negative effects on their businesses.

While claiming that their customers had been complaining about the scales, also known as “Osun Omoluwabi”, the market women marched to the state Secretariat at Abeeree where they chanted anti-government songs and accused Governor Aregbesola of short-chnaging them with the compulsory usage of the scales.

Speaking with our correspondent during the protest, one of the market women, Mrs Fadilat Akanji said they were from all the markets in the state and that they were rejecting the policy because the scales had been causing them shortages.

While speaking in Yoruba language, Akanji said, “we have been experiencing shortages since few of us started using the scales. Even our customers are complaining against the scales. Imagine the government forcing an aged colanut seller to use scales. I sell palm oil and I bought the scale at the rate of N2,500 but I now regret buying it because it has caused damages to my business. All of my colleagues are also complaining bitterly. Some of the scales are even sold for N7,500 to N25,000 depending on the kind of wares you sell. We can’t accept it. Never.”

The protesters however asked the government to provide hand measure (Kobiowu/Kongo) for them to be using tressing that there was no way they could accept the standard weighing scales.

The government had launched the scheme with market women and men to ensure that people get value for their money on whatever they buy from market, and also protect the traders from unprofitable commercial transactions.

Governor Aregbesola, while launching the standard weighing scale last year, had given the assurance that the scheme would eliminate cheating and other underhanded practices that have become the hallmark of trading in most markets.

According to the governor then, “In the quest to be competitive and make more profit, which is driven by greed, traders now devise varying means of short-changing buyers.

“Measures are deliberately reduced through cutting, filling with candles and wax, and sleight of hand. Scales are tilted fraudulently while husks, chaffs, barks and other rubbish are included in goods sold, with the intention of reducing the actual values of what the buyers take home.”