Sunday Ehigiator examines the controversies surrounding the demolition of more than six hundred houses valued at billions of naira, in the FESTAC domain of Lagos State, as well as others in Ikota, Ajah and Epe through the Federal Housing Authority, FHA and the Lagos State Building Control. LSBCA Agency, Leaving Several Citizens Homeless and in Agony
On November 26, 2023, citizens living in the Festac domain in Lagos State were awakened from their deep, closed eyes by the sounds of caterpillars destroying homes worth millions of naira and the wails of their stranded and now homeless occupants.
The buildings, numbering more than 600, had in the past been flagged for demolition through the FHA due to various construction-related violations, such as false or incomplete documents, or the location of the building.
A week earlier, on Nov. 17 to be exact, the FHA issued a notice about its goal to demolish 677 homes, while another 744 were due to be partially demolished following a breach by a developer in Phase 2, in Festac Town, in Amuwo-Odofin. Lagos State Domain. Array
According to the FHA’s southwest zone director, Mr. Akintola Olagbemiro, during an assessment scale in the affected area, he said that despite letters and stakeholder assemblies, developers continued to build on swampy land without meeting the requirements.
He said: “After so many years of seeking access to FHA-owned property, which we have referred to as Festac Phase 2, there has been encroachment and illegal progression and this is turning the position into a slum.
“We are looking at how to solve this challenge and allow other people to live in a more serene environment. Unfortunately, there have been cases of illegal developers and land grabbing. “
Similarly, FHA Deputy Executive Director of Southwest Urban and Regional Planning Francisca Michael-James said, “We have given several notices to citizens to our surprise, the paintings are still ongoing, regardless of the law.
“We now have permission from our control and we will request a security backup and start the application. We will begin removing road structures and recessed pipes.
“We will also remove the buildings that were built after stakeholder meetings where we agreed that everyone would wait until we have finished our assessment, but some of them continued to build and came to the conclusion that we would regularize, but regularization is not automatic. From now on, those who have not received regularization will have to leave.
THISDAY Findings
Upon THISDAY’s visit to the area after the demolition, it was observed that the notices on many of the demolished buildings indicated that pro-notices were given long before the caterpillars were brought in to pull the structures down.
Some advisories date back to November 2022 (FHA/AR/34 23. 11. 2022), while some of the most recent advisories date back to August 25 and September 22, 2023, respectively.
Some were only asked to “remove the upper floor,” which corresponded to the FHA’s claim that it sought to recover safe housing and the order of repair of the estate.
Regardless, the demolition of houses in the domain begins precisely when the 7-day ultimatum issued to FHA-affected citizens expires. After the demolition exercise, a THISDAY stop at the demolition site regularly reflects the axiom “The rich cry too. “”.
It’s a sad day for homeowners to see their multi-billion dollar investments in naira stabilize. Sad day for the occupants, whose rent is not due, who have just entered the construction or even who are not in the city between the royal era and the days of the actual demolition.
The calculator probably got stuck while counting the losses as they were too enormous and depressing to count. High-rise buildings, duplexes, mansions, mini-estates, units of flats, etc. all levelled to the ground in one day.
All the pleas, tears, lamentations and attempted bribes worth millions, which were not easy for at least 24 more hours to get their houses and buildings back, fell on deaf ears.
The popular song “Fela Anikulapo,” titled “Zombie,” resonated more with the way the FHA wrecking crew carried out their duties that day, as they cared about the orders (orders) they were given through their boss and listened to. other voices of lament or any other reasoning on the part of the neighbors.
The pride, joy, and sense of security that comes with owning a home in Phase 2 of Festac quickly turned to despondency and depression, and surprisingly, for the first time in a long time, their money may not save them from the horror. . see his paintings crumble in a single day.
It has been found that many affected citizens have sought safe haven with loved ones and kept their belongings with trusted friends and neighbors, where they are safe from the elements and the wandering eyes of marauders.
The region now echoes the fear, apprehension, anguish and waste of billions of naira stored up over years of hard work.
Although several structures, usually duplexes, have already been demolished, some houses around them have remained intact.
In some of those homes, only the fences and security buildings have been demolished, leaving unsightly décor. In most of the demolished structures, manual workers can be seen running tirelessly as they smashed the remaining pillars and hard concrete to pieces.
Cart-pushers and wheelbarrows can also be seen converging on demolition sites, retrieving roofing sheets, bent iron, scrap steel, and other steel items that can be sold or recycled to unknown destinations.
THISDAY also observed that eviction and demolition notices by FHA were sprayed in red ink on many buildings in the area. Most of the houses, it was observed, still had people living in them. Many of the markings, dating back to August and September, indicated that these buildings had been marked for demolition and may soon be brought down.
However, not all of the buildings marked were residences, and some were pharmaceutical retail establishments and hotels. After the investigation, its owners were hesitant to speak to the press.
Testimonials
Speaking to THISDAY, one of the owners, Akinyemi Obafemi, said: “That day they came here by surprise, very early in the morning and started the demolitions. It was a terrible experience for me as I lost my wife during childbirth last month. Now I have nowhere to go.
“The initial purchasing of my house was from the Omo Onile (local land owners) but there was an order from the court that revoked the land from them and the FHA began to notify occupants that the agency was now in charge of the place and no longer ‘Omo Onile’.
“But we had our documents showing where we had bought the land, so they asked us to pay for the rectification. As long as their assets do not obstruct a waterway or extend onto the roadside, they will have to rectify their documents with the FHA.
“There are 3 reasons for demolitions. You didn’t rectify it, your speed is too close to the road, or you’re in a stream. When I rectified the problem, they came here to give me a new number. This mark you see on the wall is no longer valid.
Another resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said he bought the land from the Ado family for 8. 5 million naira. According to him, around 70 sandblasts were used to fill in the land, insinuating that all the buildings being demolished belonged to the Igbos.
According to him, many locals have invested in the asset due to its proximity to the fair market, which is a five-minute drive from the estate.
Another resident, while recounting his ordeal, claimed that his space valued at more than 400 million naira had been demolished; He had spent 18 months (a year and a half) on the property before the bulldozer knocked it down.
Controversies
Festac has a group of other people from ethnic groups in the country who live there. However, it has a giant population of Igbos, basically investors from the southeast of the country, due to the proximity to the bustling ‘Trade Fair’ market located in Satellite Town, very close to the affected area.
After the demolition of the area, some Nigerians, on social media, claimed that the government’s action was particularly aimed at the Igbos due to their political support to the opposition Labour Party (LP) and its candidate Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election held in March 2023, in which the LP not only won Lagos State but also won massively in Festac.
A Twitter user (now known as X), known as “Royal Spotlight,” posed the following questions. “There is something I need to know about the continued demolition of houses in Lagos, which many have perceived as attacks on the Igbo.
“Where was the government when all those structures were erected?Who approved the start of the project? Why this sudden demolition, now that we are just after the 2023 general election?Are citizens well compensated before the demolition work, as Alex Otti did in Abia?State?
Similarly, Nigerian Activist, Rinu Oduala also asked, “If you are destroying buildings because they were ‘unapproved’, who gave the first approvals? Why have they not been sacked?
“Why is there no explanation? Why aren’t damages paid for ruining the lives of citizens?Is a building built without the government’s knowledge? »
In this context, the senator representing the Central Senate District of Anambra, Senator Victor Umeh, and the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, immediately intervened.
Senator Umeh, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land, Housing, and Urban Development during a briefing, raised concern over the demolition of houses in the Abule-Ado Festac extension and called for a halt of the operation and proper investigation.
He frowned at the exercise, stressing that it is injustice for people to legitimately acquire lands, and after documentation with relevant government agencies and putting up structures, they would wake up someday seeing the lands revoked and their houses brought down.
Peter Obi condemns demolition
Reacting to the demolition plan, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate for the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, expressed deep fear about the demolition plan and reprimanded the federal government for demolishing Nigerian-owned homes amid the country’s hardships.
Obi on his X (formerly Twitter), said: “I have followed with utter discouragement and discontent the ongoing home demolitions across the country, especially knowing the additional hardships such acts have imposed on unfortunate citizens who are already suffering dimensional damage. poverty. “
“What a responsive government does in the difficult economic situations that exist in the country is to propose measures to alleviate the difficulties of other people and put in place measures that will lift more people out of poverty,” he said.
“Even if there are some violations as governments claim, this critical era is ripe for such an exercise, given the country’s difficulties and the consequences it will have on the deficient who are struggling to make ends meet with their scarce resources.
“The deficient among us who invest our scarce resources face very serious monetary difficulties that cannot be multiplied further. In some cases, the demolished homes are the life savings and retirement homes of the elderly and disabled.
He added: “I therefore appeal to the respective governments concerned in this event to take into account the difficulties of the country and control to give a human face to their movements. While we will have to enforce practical regulations, all government moves will have to be compassionate.
Commissioner: Demolition is aimed at any group
Meanwhile, following claims on social media that the demolition in Festac was targeted at people from the South-East, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluyinka Olumide, declared that the ongoing demolition in the state is not targeted at any group.
Olumide, who clarified in a TV interview, refuted claims that the ongoing demolition by the state government was targeted at the South-Easterners.
According to him, “anyone can own a building in Lagos, as long as they respect the rules. It is unfortunate that what has happened lately also affects some areas of the country. “
“These buildings that are causing this uproar are buildings that were rushed during the Covid-19 period, when the activities of law enforcement officials are at an all-time low due to movement restrictions and you may see that when those buildings were demolished, no one came forward to say that they had been torn down. In the approval process.
“We’re not going to tear down any approved buildings, that’s for sure. So, if they claim that their buildings have been approved and demolished, let them come forward.
“Buildings constructed within the limits of the law are subject to demolition. “
Tokunbo Wahab reacts
In his reaction, Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Commissioner Tokunbo Wahab wrote in his X ID, @Tokunbo_Wahab, on November 30, 2023: “We will bow to any propaganda, blackmail or threat. No one can break the law and still take advantage of it. The age of nonsense is completely over!
In a separate tweet where he also shared a photo of a powerful mansion built on a canal in Lagos State, he said: “Following the inspection excursion of Systems 156 and 157 yesterday, we have issued a seven-day Notice of Violation to construction homeowners. within the seven-meter drainage setback at Orchid Rd, Agungi, Ajiran, Conservation Road, Osapa, Oral Estate II, along the Ikota River.
“We cannot keep lampooning the government for flooding when developers, builders and residents are the main cause of flooding; we shall continue to enforce because that is why laws are made. Without law and order, there cannot be development. Enough of this bad behaviour!
“We also visited Chevron Drive, where a paint block order was issued against Gravitas Company, which owns Grace Ville Island and Pocket Island.
“We urge Lagosians to abide by the state’s drainage master plan to prevent property demolitions, as there is no going back on the state’s resolution to enforce the law and drainage delays after issued notices expire. “
Distortion of the Festac plan
According to Michael-James, deputy managing director of the FHA’s urban and regional planning area, the demolition was due to the activities of land grabbers altering the initial plan of the city of Festac.
“In the master plan we have the big guns, collector roads and secondary roads. For example, the right-of-way is about 50 feet, which has been observed among the occupants of Avenues 1 through 5, but in several other places. In the city we have a distortion of the master plan. Roads are no longer filled with sand or leveled.
In addition, a member of the FHA delegation, Lawal Umar-Salihu, explained that of the total land allocation of 2,000 x 24. 64 hectares earmarked for the development of the city of Festac, the government has not allocated even 30%, while about 70% has been encroached upon. al. illegally.
Four are said to have died of grief.
Speaking to THISDAY, a resident of Unity Close, Anthony Okoli, told us that at least 4 people on the domain reportedly died due to the pain suffered as a result of the demolition exercise.
According to him, “I know four homeowners who died because they couldn’t bear to see the evidence of their hard paints fall. Others have developed central disorders and high blood pressure as a result of this development.
Another man, named Obi, lamented that he and his brother had planned to move into their new home in December and were already furnishing it before the demolition. And her brother “lately is receiving treatment for the high blood pressure he suffered. “as a result of demolition. ” He said his brother’s life had been at stake lately.
He revealed that his brother’s two buildings are on the same street; A duplex for his family and a four-apartment space were demolished.
Court grants restraining order against FHA and LSBCA
On November 29, a Lagos State High Court, sitting in Ikeja, restrained the Federal Housing Authority, FHA, and Lagos State Building Control Agency, LSBCA, from further demolition of residential houses in 6th Avenue, Festac Town, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The trial judge, Omalade Awepe J. , granted the order, following a suit filed through Samuel Ahmed, Martinson Realtors Investment Limited, Taoheed Amusa and R. Balogun, a preventive injunction against the FHA and the LSBCA.
So far, FHA and LSBCA have demolished over 600 houses and partially demolished about 700 others on 6th Avenue in Festac Town.
In the pre-emptive order of injunction, the court restrained the first defendant/respondent whether acting by itself or through its agents, privies, assigns or any special task force, para-military officers or otherwise, howsoever, described from demolishing and/or removing any building or property erected in 6th Avenue Festac Town or any other part of Festac Town in alleged enforcement of ‘Town Planning Laws’ pending the applicant’s compliance with the Lagos State High Court Practice Directions No. 2 of 2019 on Pre-action Protocol.
The order came after the plaintiffs’ exparte appeal, which was based on ten grounds for the order.
FES Demands Compensation for Victims
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organization, an NGO, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, FES and other young people in Lagos have called on the Lagos state government to compensate victims whose homes have been demolished, stating that the government will have to provide housing to those in need.
According to FES project director Remi Ihejirika, “the state government compensates or relocates affected Nigerians. If you’re making plans to demolish, you’ll want to let others know. The Constitution is very transparent on these matters. It is the duty of the government to provide housing for the poor. »
Dating
Anyone can own a building in Lagos as long as they abide by the rules. It is unfortunate that what has happened recently is likely to affect some parts of the country.
The state government compensates or relocates affected Nigerians. If you’re making plans to demolish, you should let others know. The Constitution is very transparent on these matters. It is the government’s duty to provide housing for the poor
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