Rubble, uncertainty take over Otumara community as Lagos govt demolishes 48-year-old church, properties, shops

 

Hopes were dampened and tears rolled down the cheeks of occupants of the ancient community of Otumara as officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) rolled demolition machines over their buildings, including a 48-year-old church building, shops and businesses levelling them to the ground.

The atmosphere was dusty and filled with uncertainty as residents gathered in groups deliberating their next line of action. Mothers were seen cooking in open places and some bathing their infants while lamenting their loss of valued possessions.

With sacks strapped to their shoulders, scavengers moved from one heap of debris to another unearthing iron rods, solar electricity poles and other valuables in exchange for a token.   

During an early hour demolition exercise last Friday, over thousands of residents were sacked from the community rendering both elderly and children homeless. The night after the demolition saw countless victims passing the night under Costain Bridge, a motor park, mosques and churches neighbouring the community. 

Also, places of worship that once harbored worshippers in the community were not spared. Worshippers helplessly watched as officials from the LASBCA dug an excavator into the building that once served as the ‘sanctuary of the Lord’.

A member of the Celestial Church of Christ, Ile-Anu Oluwa Parish, simply identified as Mama Matthew, wept uncontrollably as the excavator tore apart the roof of her church. “Oh! Lord, why have you forsaken us?” she quizzed. 

Secretary of the Church, who simply identified himself as Mayowa, described the decision of the Lagos State Government to demolish homes and shops as insensitive to the plight of ordinary people in the state.

He lamented the demolition of the 48-year-old house of worship with only a one-week evacuation notice considering the high cost of rent and the housing deficit in the state.

He stated that the sacking of residents of the community and the demolition of the church were sudden and insensitive.

He said, “We worshipped here on Wednesday. We had no inkling about what has happened here today. In fact, the Baale of the community visited us on Thursday demanding our rent to be paid. “He told us to pay all our arrears, and on Friday, around 3am, officials of LASBCA came into the community and started demolishing our property. Who could have thought that this would happen when they are demanding for our rent to be paid? This church was built 48 years ago and here we are witnessing its demolition, isn’t that cruel? Our shepherd is out of the country for evangelism. He left the church intact in the care of elders of the church only to return to meet its debris.”

For many residents in Lagos State, securing a befitting accommodation comes with a huge financial burden. This is because the population of the state is fast outpacing infrastructure and other social amenities, a state of affairs that puts housing deficit in Lagos State at over 3.3 million units. 

However, with an annual population annual average of 3.2 per cent, Lagos, according to a World Bank record of 2023, is projected to become the world’s most populous city by the year 2100. To bridge this gap, however, the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recently directed the state’s Ministry of Housing to deliver at least 20, 000 affordable homes to residents in the state.

 

Otumara community is hideout for criminals – LASBCA

Advancing reasons for the decision of the State Government to demolish Otumara community, the Lagos State Government, through LASBCA, said the community has become a hideout for miscreants.

The general manager of the agency, Gbolan Oke, in a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs, Adu Ademuyiwa, said all the necessary and statutory notices were served to all the affected occupants. 

He added that the agency followed due process in the demolition of marked make-shift structures, shanties and illegally developed buildings in Otumara in the Lagos Mainland Local Government Area (LGA).

He stated further that the removal of those illegal structures became necessary as they have consistently become hideout for miscreants, who used them for illicit activities that endanger lives and security of the entire area and the surrounding communities, warning that such would not be condoned by the state government. 

Oki stressed that most of those illegal structures were in a distressed state, a situation that could lead to loss of lives, if prompt action was not taken by the state government. 

Reaffirming the government’s dedication to public safety, he added, “The present administration will leave no stone unturned in safeguarding the lives and properties of Lagosians and LASBCA remains committed to rigorous monitoring and enforcement activities to ensure strict compliance with the state’s building codes and regulations by property owners and developers. 

The LABSCA boss urged all the affected occupants to comply with the order to remove them within the stipulated time given by the state government through LASBCA as non-compliance will lead to the enforcement of the laws on building regulations.”

Oki further warned building owners and developers in the state to shun illegality during construction as the state government is all out to bring sanity back to the built environment by enforcing compliance. “The state government’s objective is to restore sanity to the built environment through enforcement of compliance, which in turn promotes safety, legality, and sustainable urban development,” he stated. 

 

LABSCA didn’t follow due process – Community stakeholder

Debunking the allegation that Otumara community was a hideout for criminals, a stakeholder in the community, Jeffery Anyansi, alleged that the state government was trying to tag the community a haven for crime to justify its action.

He further criticised the Lagos State Government for not following due process in the execution of the demolition.

According to him, occupants in the community were given just seven days to move and not several notices as claimed by the LABSCA GM.

He said, “If you want to carry out a demolition order, due process must be followed. How can they serve us a one-week notice and returned the following week to demolish our property? If you come to a community like Otumara and you serve residents a notice of seven days, I don’t think that is appropriate. In Otumara, we have a whole lot of people who have invested in property and businesses; they just came and told them to move out within seven days. 

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“Whatever LABSCA and the State Physical and Urban Planning have to say, they know they didn’t follow the due process. More so, do you demolish before going for negotiation? Are they not supposed to negotiate before they demolish our homes?  We have not heard anything about compensation. It’s really a sad one. The lives of the children and the elderly were not considered. The businesses and livelihood of residents were not even considered.”

He added, “We are going to employ all legal means to address this injustice. It is not enough for LABSCA to tag our community.

as haven for criminal to demolish it. It’s just to give a dog a bad name to hang it. The law is clear about who a criminal is. There is no law that says that a community should be demolished on mere speculation that it’s a criminal hideout. How many criminals have they arrested so far in our community? They need to justify their allegations.” 

Lagos govt has rendered us homeless, penniless – Landlord

A landlord in the community, Hafeez Olonisakin, alleged complicity between the Lagos State Government and some land-grabbers in the district.

According to him, several attempts have been made to displace residents and hijack the community’s market but for the intervention of Iyaloja-General, Folashade Ojo, who saved the situation.

He alleged that the state government was teaming up with landgrabbers against the interest of the public turning them into squatters overnight.

He said, “They wanted to trap us into writing our names and they would claim we have agreed to the demolition. There was no agreement between Otumara landlords and the Lagos State Government. But the truth of the matter is, we are not united in pushing for our demands. There are moles among us that relate whatever decision we agreed upon to government officials. This was confirmed by the General Manager of LABSCA, Gbolahan Oki, who told us at one of our meetings that our enemies are within us.

“We are fighting for our property. We are fighting for our survival. We have 10 polling units here in Otumara. In fact, all adults in the community voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC). So I don’t know why they decided to render us homeless and penniless with this demolition. Why would the government connive with landgrabbers to ruin our community?

“In 2022, LASURA visited our community for profiling for the development of the community. They visited us on Thursday and held a meeting with us at the community field where they announced that they would tender the profile to the governor on Monday for his signature. We were happy that at last development has finally come to our community, but this was not to be as they had other plans up their sleeves.”

Recounting his experience, he said, “On Friday, around 3am, officials of the LABSCA came into the community with two excavators and as soon as dawn broke, they started demolishing our property. You can see where I hid my homes appliances. My wife and children were scattered to different places, while I went to Ijora to spend the night with a friend. Imagine a landlord turning into a squatter overnight. What more can we hope for if not to appeal to the government to compensate us for the demolition not to be a complete ruin for us.”  

For a grocer, Mrs Ayoola Adedeji, it was a double jeopardy as she said she lost her capital and groceries in the demolition exercise.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, she said, “The whole episode seems to me like a dream. I have lost everything to the demolition including my capital. I have also incurred debt because many of the shop owners I supplied sachet pure water to have all gone. I cannot locate their whereabouts. My money out there is over N500,000.

This is one aspect of my indebtedness. Another is the groceries that got lost while we were packing out of the shops. Many of them were stolen while other damaged. I don’t know where to start from.”