The bulldozers of the Lagos State Government are extra busy these days. First in Ijora-Badia, a sprawling shanty town, which is adjacent to Orile and Costain train stations, and later in the more upscale Itun-Omo Estate, in Odoragushin area of Epe, rumbling and rampaging bulldozers moved in, reducing hopes, dreams and futures to rubbles. In both cases, the government of Lagos State states unequivocally that, “Our intervention is a strategic one, to upgrade the quality of life.” But the affected communities are as bemused as they are traumatised. The refrain on every lip is “We voted for this government. Is this what we will get in return?” There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the landlords and residents who are saying with one bitter voice, “Fashola has finished us.”
The saying: “It is easier to destroy than to build” cannot be more apt. What took over a decade to build in Itun Omo Estate in Odoragushin Community of Eredo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, was reduced to rubbles in less than eight hours. The once lively community was reduced to ground zero. No fewer than 100 buildings were felled by rumbling and rampaging bulldozers of the Lagos State Government. Expectedly, the landlords and residents did not find the fate that befell their community funny.
The landlords claimed to have lawfully acquired the parcels of the land on which their buildings were erected. Government, on the other hand, has a different story. The land on which the community sprang up was marked as an industrial area in the master plan of Lagos State. Until now, the landlords and residents of Itun Omo Estate had lived happily.
Some of the mansions that dotted the estate could be compared to what is found in the highbrow areas like Banana Island, Victoria Garden City and other choice areas anywhere in Lagos and Abuja.
But their happiness vanished within a twinkle of an eye. Before their very eyes, their sources of joy faded away as they helplessly watched bulldozers pulling down their palatial homes one after the other. Many could not hold back tears.
Others who could not control their emotion fainted, seeing their once magnificence abodes crumbling. Those who could summon up courage managed to evacuate few of their properties from the buildings before they were completely brought down. They never had any premonition of being in the unenviable position of worrying about where to sleep, being proud owners of befitting homes. But today, they are confronted with the reality seeking shelter anywhere.
Many of the bulldozed buildings, some completed and others in progress, boldly bore their approved plan numbers, conspicuously written on them. But government insists these approvals were fraudulently acquired from town planning officials.
As early 8 am, a combined team of officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offence Unit had stormed the community to enforce the demolition order.
Some of the residents who had left home before the arrival of government’s agents had to rush back home from their work places. Others said they travelled from as far as Ajah and Ogun State and other neighbouring towns to evacuate their properties. On sighting the bulldozers, some of them jumped on the roofs and hurriedly removed them, either to use them to roof new buildings or to sell them off to recoup some of their losses.
Some were too confused to take any purposeful decisions. They just sat there totally confused on the next line of action. One of the evicted landlords told our correspondent that properties worth hundreds of millions of Naira were destroyed by government
.Mr Omosheni Tajudeen Debowale, one of the affected landlords told Saturday Mirror that he purchased the land on which he erected his dream home from one Alhaji Ashafa, who is popularly known as Oloye, in 2004 but built his five-bedroom bungalow in 2007.
With tears streaming down his face, he said, “I obtained all my papers validly from the government. When they began threatening us, we went to Alausa to have a meeting with them but we were told the Permanent Secretary of the Land Bureau was not around. They reschedule the meeting for March 13. But today, March 5, they are demolishing our houses.
“They brought a white man to measure my land before this latest action. It is sad that with my children and aged parents, I have been chased out of the building I laboured to build so as to have a decent life. It is painfully regrettable”.
The level 14 officer of Ibeju Lekki Local Government Education Authority added that, “I sought information about the land before commencing work on it. I went to the Office of the Surveyor General. I charted the land and was told the land is free from government acquisition and revocation.”
Valuing his demolished house, Adebowale said, “As at 2008, it was worth about 6.7 million. I spent my life savings to build a decent life for myself after all my years of labour. There really is something fishy going on here. The chart the government brought was different from the original chart.
Another affected resident said, “Where does government want us to start from? People have taken loans to build these houses, and in a twinkle of an eye, the houses are pulled down. Ah! This is wickedness!” Mr Taiwo Quadri, who had barely completed his four- bedroom bungalow when the bulldozers came in described the development as a great setback for him. “Everyone knows what it takes to build a house in this harsh economic condition. If one now struggles to build it and this happens, where and when does one start again? It is painful, sad depressing”.
A top official of the government, who craved anonymity, spoke to Saturday Mirror at the demolition site said that the land where the structures were erected was wrongly acquired. He said the building owners used what he termed ‘fly co-ordinate’ to fraudulently, obtain their purported building approvals. He said, “They must have been swindled to acquire the land in the first place. Both the left and right side of the town are designed to be an industrial scheme.
That is why government always educates residents on radio to seek information when acquiring land.” Speaking with Saturday Mirror, the taskforce boss, ASP Bayo Sulaimon who led the demolition exercise said government would not sacrifice the land for the selfish interests of some individuals at the expense of the larger public, adding that the place is meant for an industrial area that will serve the rest of Lagosians. According to him, if the industries are established, the community and other people living in the area will also benefit through employment opportunities inherent in the project.
He said, “Before commenting on the demolition of their buildings, I think the question we should ask is: How did they come here in the first place? The place has been earmarked for a project and apart from that, they built without approvals and government cannot allow individual interest to override public interest.
“They ‘fly co-ordinate,’ by taking the chart of a location that is free of government acquisition to dubiously get building approval. It is like taking the survey of Oregun in Ikeja to seek building approval from government in Alausa in the same Ikeja. “To those who are building on government land, thinking that nothing will happen, government will rise up and take action one day. This is also a message for both land grabbers and unsuspecting buyers” On the allegation of short notice, Sulaimon said that he had been to the place more than four times, adding that the last time government officials came to the community, they were chased away with charms and other weapons.
“We have been on this matter for a very long time; they are only being economical with the truth. I have been here more than four times. They build on government land to whip up sentiment; they were probably cajoled by these miscreants called ‘Omo Onile’ to quickly build on government land, thinking that once the structures are erected, nothing will happen again. That is the strategy used by miscreants that are selling government land to unsuspecting members of the public. People should seek information from government on any land before paying or building on the land. If they have genuine Certificate of Ownership before the acquisition by the government, they will be duly compensated.”
Meanwhile, independent investigations by Saturday Mirror revealed that the land was meant for LAGBUS factories, where Macopollo, the official manufacturers of LAGBUS buses will assemble them. It was gathered that the LAGBUS boss and other foreign experts from the Marcopollo head office had visited the community several times in preparation for the establishment of the planned worldclass factory. The tears are flowing even more freely in Ijora Badia, one of the slum communities in Lagos State where the situation seems more pathetic.
Located in Apapa Iganmu Local Council Development Area,(LCDA) Ijora Badia is a shanty town and those who are affected by the demolition exercise are already at the very bottom of the societal ladder where life is an endless struggle to make ends meet. Olori Edaema, one of those affected by the demolition, spoke to Saturday Mirror. “The demolition affected me badly. The worst thing is that we were not aware that the caterpillar was coming to do this to us. I lost my properties.
I only manage to rescue few things and before I knew it, the caterpillar had scattered everything. We are all Nigerians. We are not foreigners. I have gone to the governor’s office to register my complaint. We are human beings but we have been treated like fowls and goats. All fingers are not equal that is why you see some people living in this kind of place. We all cannot live in big houses as the government people are living. But the poor people are also human beings like them.
I am begging Fashola to have pity on the poor people. And if he does not want poor people in Lagos, he should dig the ground and bury all the poor people. That option would be better than what has happened to us now,” she wailed “Some people who went to night duty returned home only to see that all they have in this Lagos had been scattered. It is not good at all.”
Also speaking with Saturday Mirror, Ayo Olawande who is nursing a onemonth- old baby lamented the unsafe condition her baby has been exposed to as a result of the demolition.
She said, “Since our house was demolished, we have been staying here under the shade. Just look at my baby, she is just a month old but look at mosquito bites all over her. Just look at rashes all over her body. Is this what a good government should do to innocent babies? I don’t know what to do to save me and my family from the situation we are now in.
We just hope and pray that God would come to our rescue. It is not fair at all. The government should find alternative for us because so many things has happened to me. I lost all my properties during the demolition.
Since I have no place to hide my head, I lost my job because I could not settle down to prepare for work. It has been one problem or the other since the government pulled down our houses. How would I take care of my baby? Where would I bring the money to rent a house and cater for our wellbeing?” she wondered.
Another nursing mother, Joke Oyinlonyi said that she and her baby have been sleeping in the open since the bulldozers razed down the structures they called their homes, rendering them homeless. “We have been sleeping outside since this demolition took place.
Things have not been easy at all with us. My baby is not even doing well. It is not a good thing to expose little babies like this to sun, rain and dirty environment like this. The government should please help us and provide us with shelter.
They should not leave us like this. No house, no food, nothing. We are just living as if we are animals or goats. It is not supposed to be like this. They did not even inform us to evacuate our personal effects before the demolition. Since the unfortunate incident,
I have been wearing just this one shirt. It is not good for a nursing mother at all. I was not at home when the bulldozers destroyed this place. For the sake of these little babies, innocent children, they should try and get us a place to stay,” she pleaded. Esther Emmanuel, a septuagenarian, was an Ijora-Badia landlady before the demolition exercise.
She said the exercise ‘broke the tree on which her entire family leaned,” while wondering “where will I go from here”. She said, “I had two structures on this land and as you can see, none of them is still standing. They have both been demolished. I am now stranded. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have who to run to for survival. I have been left here in the cold, in the sun, day and night with nothing to cover my head. “Where do you think that I have been sleeping?
I have been living like this since they demolished my two houses. If the government that has everything in their power cannot help me, who else do you think can? I have been living here like this. If I want to sleep, I sleep here. If I want to eat, I eat here. I do everything a human being should do right here in the open.” Asked if she had a prior knowledge of the demolition exercise, she claimed ignorance.
“I was not aware that bulldozers were coming to clear our houses. Maybe other people were aware but for me, I was not. Nobody told me of anything. I was woken up by the noise of neighbours when the demolition started, as people were shouting “caterpillar, caterpillar.” It was very early in the morning and as I heard “caterpillar, caterpillar,” I ran out and discovered that houses were being demolished. I saw police and soldiers everywhere. I was not so scared because it has happened before. “Immediately I saw the bulldozers bring down other people’s structures, I woke up my children and we started parking our loads out. Although I did not salvage all, I managed to take the im- portant things out before the caterpillar reached my structures.
The caterpillar did not destroy my personal effects but it brought down my houses. And that is why I am lying down here a sad woman. I had a 10-room structure here. I occupied a room and parlour, while the other eight rooms were let out. My survival majorly depended on the eight rooms I rented out. My tenants were paying N1,500 per month on each room. I was also selling soft drinks and small-small things (smallscale provisions) to complement the rent I was being paid from the rooms.
But how I would survive now, I don’t know. I look up to God. Only God can help us. God can change the governor’s heart and he would provide us accommodation for the time being before the land issue is settled. My means of living is now gone. I have not eaten since morning,” Madam Esther lamented. “As I am here now, I don’t know anything again. I don’t know what to do next. I am confused. Look at my legs, look at me.
Mosquitoes and other blood sucking insects are feeding on me. I could not even take my bath this morning. I have cried, cried and cried and I am tired of crying. Can’t you see how I am resting hopelessly here? Do you still need to know how I feel right inside of me? It is a feeling of agony.”
Also speaking, Durojaiye Effuru, a neighbour who was on a condolence visit to Madam Esther Emmanuel said, “Those of us living across the big gutter were not affected by this exercise. I am here to sympathize with Mama Esther. Since this demolition took place, we have been living in fear. We don’t know what is on the mind of the government. They have the power and the means and could move in anytime. We are therefore living in fear by the day. This kind of thing has happened here before not once or twice. This one, they took us by surprise as there was no notice given to us.
“If there is a way, the government should put a concrete plans on ground and ensure that the people here are compensated accordingly and settled down instead of this intermittent demolition and unsettling of the people.” Effuru and many others are probably unaware of the fact that the Lagos State Government plans to build a low cost housing estate on the contentious land. While commenting on the demolition exercise, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, had said, “Let me say for the Ijora Scheme that our intervention is a strategic one, to upgrade the quality of life there.
It is about a kilometre to the Orile and Costain train stations and we intend to accommodate the present occupiers in new units in addition to other people who will desire to live there.” When Effuru was informed of the governor’s plan for the new Ijora-Badia, he simply asked, “What would be the benefits of the new housing estate to those who have been living here for so many years?” And even if the government wants to start the building of the low cost housing units immediately, they would have informed us earlier so that we could relocate and make appropriate adjustments.
But the bulldozers camped around this area on Friday and very early on Saturday morning, they gave us this sad weekend gift. Where they started the demolition, the occupants could not rescue any of their possessions. The police were everywhere and anybody who dared to challenge the demolition was arrested. Some people were arrested and later released. If they want to relocate us, they should do so. If they don’t want, they should let us know instead of this constant embarrassment. Look at how they have left the people in the open, exposed to all kinds of things.
“They say the occupants of the land illegally took possession of it. Do they know the history of this place? The people that occupied this land originally were fisher men. So most of those laying claim to the land now are children of the fishermen. The first occupants were relocated to this parcel of land by the Federal Government during the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo between 1974 and 1975 when the National Theatre, Iganmu was to be built.”
On her part, the septuagenarian landlady, Madam Esther Emmanuel, said “I have been living here before Shagari came into power. That was in the good old days. Life was sweet at that time. Who could ever imagine that life would become very bad and sad as it is now? Things have generally become worse and it seems to be getting worse by the day. Who would ever have imagined that government would treat the people it is supposed to care for this way? Life in those days was very sweet. It is not as bitter as it is now. That I am sitting in the sun, is it not bad? It is bad ooo!
That I have not eaten since morning, is life not bad? It is bad ooo! Ahhh!” the septuagenarian wailed. “But I believe that things will be better in the future. Things must change. Things will not remain this way for ever. The good old days must come again for our children’s children. Things cannot continue this way. God forbid.”
Another victim, Esther Daniels, who spoke with Saturday Mirror said, “My children cannot go to school because of this demolition. It has finished my family. Look at my boys there sleeping on the ground when they are supposed to be in school.
Is this a good life? Is this the kind of life we should give these children? I cannot just cry for these children. I have four children and they are all stranded here. Fashola should please help us out of this mess. The bulldozer came with heavily armed police men and we did not have the courage to evacuate our properties from the house as we were ordered out. If they cannot even help us, let them ensure that our children have a good life. Let our children go back to school.
We are begging. No where to stay. No money. Just look at us. I could not rescue anything from the house and we are just stranded. We are pleading with the government, they should help us. My husband’s father founded this area.
They were fishermen and stocked their fish around this area in those days. The government should please help us as we are all stranded. We voted for Fashola and this is not the way to pay us back. We at Oke Luori voted en-masse for this governor.
This area has been an ACN area and I don’t think this is how to pay faithful and loyal servants. We deserve better things. That is what we are begging the government for.” Meanwhile, Saturday Mirror investigations reveal that the occupants of the land were given notice to quit by the then Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Lands Division, Mr. O.A Dosunmu, as far back as 1973.
The notice states in part: “Further to notice No. E43/35/T/19 of March 13, 1973 wherein you were requested to vacate this parcel of land on or before the 27th day of March 1973, you are hereby warned that unless you remove your fixtures from this land on or before the 23rd day of June 1973, the Federal Military Government shall effect their removal without any further notice to you and shall not be held responsible for any breakage, loss etc.”
Curiously, the Baale of Iganmu Alawo, Chief Lucas Owoseni, who confirmed that there was indeed a quit notice before the demolition, said that the notice was too short for the occupants to relocate The Ojora of Ijora land, Oba Fatai Oyeyinka Ojora has declared the support of the Ojora Chieftaincy family for the plans of the state government to develop a Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme on the wide expanse of land in Iganmu Alawo in Ijora.
Addressing a press conference at his palace on the issue, the monarch said the present state of facilities in the area is not conducive for human existence, explaining that the area has become a nuisance. The Ojora said that some eight to ten years ago, the former administration in the state demolished the shanties that were in the area but that the structures returned after some time.
The Oba appealed to the residents of Iganmu Alawo to cooperate with the State Government on the proposed housing project, adding that it would be of immense benefit to the whole community and the state. He also said that the fate of those displaced by the demolition would be determined by the State Government after it must have held consultative meetings with stakeholders including the land owners and the tenants.
According to the spokesperson of the Ojora Chieftaincy Family, Prince Obafemi Bashua, the present occupants of Iganmu Alawo are the tenants of the Ojora Chieftaincy Family who are the original owners of the land. Prince Bashua stated that the land was never sold to them but that they are occupying it on leasehold which is the tradition with all land owned by the Ojora Chieftaincy Family.
And anytime the government requests to make use of the land in the overriding public interest, the government’s request would be considered on its merit. The decision of the Ojora family to support the government in its quest to make use of the land is therefore borne out of the belief that it is going to benefit the entire citizenry.
Shedding more light on the proposed development in the Iganmu Alawo community, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Mr. Olusoga Odunlami said the land belonged originally to the Ojora Family and was released to the Federal Government to construct the Railways.
The Permanent Secretary added that the remainder of the land that was not used by the Railways was what was latched on to by the people who chose to settle on the land, which has reverted to the family after it was not utilised by the Federal Government.
According to the Permanent Secretary, after the demolition exercise, the land would be used to construct a Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme that would be available to low income earners and also provide opportunity of mortgage to the allottees.
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