No fewer than 100 buildings were
demolished on Monday and countless persons displaced when the Ogun State
Government embarked on its road expansion project.
The demolition, which began
around 9am, affected structures on both sides of the Ojodu/Alagbole road at
Yakoyo and the Sango/Ijoko road all the way down to Ogba-Ayo.
Shops, residential buildings and
shanties were lost to the demolition which was carried out to clear structures
within 22.7 metres from the road. It was said to have lasted well over six
hours.
At Ogba-Ayo along Ijoko road, a
shopping complex housing over 70 shops, two petrol stations and scores of
residential buildings were destroyed. As of 4pm, Sango residents, whose
buildings had also been marked for demolition, were seen hurriedly moving their
valuables in preparation for the demolition that would continue on Tuesday
(today).
Some landlords and few of the
residents at Yakoyo, who spoke with PUNCH Metro, lamented the demolition
of their buildings without adequate notice to prepare them for the exercise.
They alleged that the Governor
Ibikunle Amosun administration did not compensate them or map out a
resettlement plan for the people affected by the demolition.
The owner of a two-storey building
at Yakoyo, Mr. Nuhu Aruwa, said he built his house with the money he had saved
from 35 years service as an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service.
He said, “I have been living
here for the past 26 years. I am a retiree and I manage a paint manufacturing
company here. Early last year, the Bureau of Land and Survey came and marked
our houses, saying it wanted to expand the road and that people should file
their claims for compensation.
“We told them to let us know how
they intend to compensate us. At least, my present house is worth N50m.
“Later in September this year,
the ministry officials said we should await letters of acquisition and after we
agreed on the value of our houses, we could move out.
“They said they would pay us
first before we would move out.”
Aruwa, who hails from Kogi
State, said he was awaiting the letter when he was told that his house would be
demolished on Monday morning.
He said, “No kobo has been paid,
no alternative has been provided and they now say I should move out. Move to
where? Are we goats? We have children schooling here. Do we terminate their
academic programmes? I have served this nation for more than 35 years. I am now
retired, and they want to take all I have built in my whole life away from me.”
Another landlord, Mr. Moshood
Yusuf, said he built his house in 1986 and caters for his15 member family
with the money he makes from rents.
He said the state governor
disappointed residents when he visited the area a day to the demolition,
without interacting with the landlords to know how they felt.
He said, “The permanent
secretary and governor came here yesterday (Sunday). Amosun merely walked with
his entourage from Alagbole to Yakoyo Bus-stop without talking to anybody. And
all he said was that work would start today and left.”
It was learnt that many of the
landlords were confused because their buildings had been marked three different
times.
A source said the state
government had said initially, that it would only clear structures within 5.2
metres distance from the road. This was later increased to 13 metres and then
22.7 metres.
Many residents were caught
unawares by the demolition and appealed for time to evacuate their property.
Others protested the demolition and were seen making frantic calls to officials
of the state government.
PUNCH Metro observed that
some residents were not at home when the caterpillar began pulling down some
structures.
Around 9.30am, an officer from
the Bureau of Lands addressed a group of landlords.
The unidentified officer said,
“All I will advise you is that you should take the pictures of your property
and take to the Bureau of Lands for documentation. The issue of forms and
letters do not concern the governor. Once he comes and gives orders that work
should begin, we must begin to work. If there is any report that nothing has
been done, they could send in policemen and I don’t want that here. Just get
evidence that you are the owner of the house.”
As the demolition continued,
some of the residents wept.
A resident, Rukayat Moshood,
said, “We didn’t know it would happen like this. It was too sudden. At first,
we were told it would only affect the shops and a little part of the building.
Then the governor came yesterday and said work would begin. We don’t know where
we are packing to now; we have no idea.”
The Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Kayode Ademolake, told our correspondent
on the telephone that the residents were opposed to change in the state.
He said, “They were served two
years ago and even in the last three months, we still reminded them. But you
know that even if you give some people 1,000 years, they will still continue to
be there. When development is about to take place, there will be resistance, so
we are not surprised.
“No responsible government will
however continue to watch a road that has been degraded for over 30 years
without doing something about it.
“Some of these people don’t even
have proper documentation for their houses, and yet the government is ready to
compensate them for their losses.”
Source: PUNCH
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