The statue was built in memory of 49 coal miners who were shot to death because they protested and demanded higher wages for their labour in 1949.
A civil society leader and human rights activist based in Abuja, Comrade Obiora Omeje Zigma has made his dissatisfaction known over the dismantling of Iva Valley Coal Miners Massacre Statue at New Market in Enugu, southeast Nigeria.
Zigma is a member of the Center for Liberty International, a civil society organisation.
Mr Sigma made this known in a statement made available to SaharaReporters, describing the statue as a heritage of the Enugu people.
This followed the prolonged delay in reinstalling the pieces back after a road rehabilitation had been completed.
The statue was built in memory of 49 coal miners who were shot to death because they protested and demanded higher wages for their labour in 1949.
He said, "That monument has become synonymous with the Coal City of Enugu. When they were removed, all sorts of rumours were rife about the intention until we saw the rehabilitation being carried out around there.
“I believe they have completed what they were doing and should also bring back the monument. If they are permanently removed, that would amount to an abuse of visual history."
Apart from aesthetic and historical reasons, such monuments, according to Omeje, often become popular landmarks that aid visitors in navigating the city.
He also remarked that the city's New Market axis, as an important access point into the city, needed substantial attention in terms of attractiveness and ease of traffic access.
He is especially concerned about this after the reopening of the formerly closed market gate at the crossroads.
Omeje noticed that the region needs to be carefully managed by the authorities so that it does not become congested as it had been before.
As a result, he advised that in the case of the reopened gate, people should probably have pedestrian access only, with no motorized traffic, to avoid stampedes or clogging up the regions around the Coal Miners Massacre Monument Roundabout.
This, he argued, would help relieve congestion on Iva Valley Road, which he said had become a nightmare for residents of the suburb.