The primary responsibility of any government is to provide affordable housing for her citizens. Where that is absent, the government is hereby called upon to think again on the way forward. Housing is one of the basic needs for every citizen, no matter how lowly placed in the society! Suffice to say that, this basic and essential need of life as also recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has become a pipe dream in our dear society. Citizens are now taking to providing shelters for themselves and their families where the government has failed to make housing not only available, but affordable. This accounts for why shanties and ghettos are springing up, even in our city centres. The erection of wooden and brick houses under the bridges and restricted areas, especially in Lagos, are visible in every nook and cranny of the state.
The threats by government and demolition of such places have not deterred the people one bit, and the problem of illegal squatters continues. At the beginning of the year, the bulldozers of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), moved into Abule Ado, a suburb, along Badagry Express Way and brought down several buildings. In fact, the entire area was flattened. Thousands of residents; tenants and landlords, and their families till date, are still in shock and counting their losses. It was a sight not to behold, we must say! The authority claimed those buildings destroyed were built without approval plans. Many residents claimed they had lived in the area for upward of 20 years. Again, we have also witnessed the latest demolitions at Mende area of Maryland, where the residents said they were given few hours to vacate before their buildings were pulled down, and properties worth several billions of naira destroyed by the state demolition squad.
The Lagos State Ministry of Environment maintained that the demolished buildings were built on water ways and without approval by government. The ministry went further to say that victims of future demolitions in the state would bear the cost of such exercise, given the high cost of diesel and the number of bulldozers and personnel that would be required to carry out such operations. There are clear indications that other areas in the state may be visited and may equally suffer same fate. The question now is; who is at fault, the government that allocates these lands or the people that purchased them from the government? Are those that give temporary approval not officials of the ministry? Why would the government allocate lands they know are on the water ways to the people only to turn around and deny such?
Where was the government when the people were building on the lands supposedly not approved? The issue of land racketeering and grabbing is not new in Lagos, and may continue to rear its ugly head, owing to the activities of the black sheep in our society. Government must tread with caution on this matter to avoid unnecessary waste and untold hardship visited on the people, following the destruction of their means of livelihood which appear to be the case of what happened in Mende area of Maryland and Abule Ado, recently. Much as we do not support the erection of buildings illegally on government lands, and more so, on water ways, government should also come clear to ensure that its personnel who also are accused of compromising, by aiding and abetting those who built on these lands are reprimanded, accordingly. Allowing those who purchased lands through the back door to finish constructions, only for such buildings to be demolished thereafter, and citizens thrown into the street, does not make any economic sense, but instead increases the pains of the ordinary people in the society.
We understand the danger of building on water ways, especially in this period of climatic change and the havoc it could cause to the environment. Government therefore, should not wait for people to waste their hard-earned monies on prohibited lands they should not develop in the first place. The authorities should carry out enlightenment campaigns to educate citizens to forestall a repeat of what happened in Abule Ado and Mende areas of Lagos. However, those whose buildings were duly approved, with evidence to show for such approvals, but were demolished in the recent exercise, must be compensated by government without delay.
With the ongoing demolition exercise in Lagos which may not stop anytime soon, citizens must be wary of buying any building indiscriminately where government did not allocate to them. Those that have already bought lands in approved areas should equally be issued with their Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), without further delay. The welfare of the people should be paramount, but whereby the people resort to self-help, government should check itself!
