Tokunbo Wahab
Tokunbo Wahab, Lagos Environment Commissioner has drawn a clear line that many Lagosians cannot ignore.
He has asked Sarah Martins, a popular actress to stop cooking on the roadside
Reason is to demonstrate that she is not above poor Nigerians who sell pure water, fruits, or bananas on the roadside, and are handcuffed, paraded, and sometimes spend the night in a cell.
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As a result he asked Nollywood actress Sarah Martins who repeatedly cooks at busy Lagos crossroads, by asking her “desist.”
This is the same Lagos government that publicly humiliates elderly women for roadside trading and demolishes small businesses in the name of environmental enforcement. Yet in this case, despite the fact that Sarah Martins had reportedly already been cautioned last year, she was allowed to continue the activity and walk away without arrest.
Cooking at major intersections across Lagos is not a minor issue. Crossroads carry spiritual significance in many local traditions, and seeing such activities carried out repeatedly in public spaces has raised serious concerns. If the government is strict enough to arrest vulnerable street traders for far less, why is a celebrity treated differently?
The question is simple: if an unknown woman had done this twice, would she have received a gentle reminder or a pair of handcuffs? Lagos authorities cannot claim to enforce the law equally while appearing to shield the famous. Either the rules apply to everyone, or the government should admit that in Lagos, enforcement depends on who you are.
