Truck-load of Palliative Foods Dashes People’s Hopes At Ishaga

BY CAMI EZENWA

The hopes of many vulnerable households in the Ishaga area of Lagos, of benefiting from the COVID-19 largess have been shattered.

A truck which brought the largesse to the area this afternoon, eventually turned away with its consignment leaving the desperate and obviously hungry crowd frustrated.

A competent source told The Eagle that the palliatives included rice packed in 2kilogrammes bags and medium packs of popular noodles, Indomie, loaded in a medium truck which was positioning close to the market at about 3pm.

“I had just left the market towards the bus stop when I noticed people mobilisng and it happened that the much-awaited palliative team had arrived, so I moved closer to where the lorry was trying to pack, but the crowd was just uncontrollable”.

The source, a mother of three who said she also operated a retail shop inside the market, told our correspondent that the truck was accompanied by horse-whip wielding uniformed men, but that not even this could deter the desperate crowd. .

“As a person I was thanking God, that at least, I would be able to get the palliative no matter how small and I was ready to stay orderly, but the people that gathered, mostly women traders from the Ishaga market would not just let the team do its work”.

“It is so disappointing, because after trying and trying, the team just asked the truck to move away”.

Many of the people were still lumbering about hoping that the truck would turn back, while others were taking short cuts to see if the truck had positioned in nearby street.

The Eagle investigation shows that Ishaga with its intimidating army of vulnerable households and adjoining poor neigbourhoods, would obviously need the palliatige but with s good sharing strategy.

“It is just painful. Just today that one was close to receiving this palliative, it did not happen. I had said, that even if it one of noodles, that it is something. See now, desperation in people has made that impossible”.

The source also she was wondering whether the team would ever come back to the area, or one individual could just divert the whole package.