For about 12 years, contenders in the land dispute involving a school, owner-mission and old students have refused to back down. Recently, the conflict came to the fore again. TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE writes on the furore.
On Friday, 1 March, 2024, former students of Methodist Boys High School (MBHS), Victoria Island, Lagos, renewed their vow. They declared that they would never allow the Methodist Church Mission to take any part of the school’s land for non-education purposes.
The ex-students, under the aegis of Methodist Boys High School Old Students Association (MBHSOSA), made this vow following the church’s alleged move to use part of the school’s land measuring about 2.4 acres to build high-rise private luxury flats for commercial purpose.
Articulating the position of the association at a recent press briefing in Lagos were the secretary general, Agboola Odunfa; vice president, Mr Dele Martins; former president, Toyin Amusan; current president, Bolaji Akinsanya-Browne; immediate president, Kolapo Sogbetun and chairman of 1981 set, Ranti Carew.
They pointed out that though they were contesting neither the ownership of the school nor the land with the church, their stance was that the church could not convert any part of the school’s land for purposes not in the original plans.
They argued that apart from the church and the school being separate entities, allowing the church to tamper with the school’s land and use it for commercial purpose would spell doom for the school now and in the future.
Akinsanya-Browne and Sogbetun also went the memory lane, to background the controversy which they said had dragged on for 12 years.
According to the duo, trouble started about 12 years ago when the church allegedly went to secure another Certificate of Occupancy on the same land, with the old boys kicking against the action, after sensing a hidden agenda on the part of the church.
The matter cooled off following the objection and it would appear the church had backed down on its plans for the land.
However, the church reportedly staged a comeback in 2021 when it reportedly moved to take physical possession of the carved-out portion.
This time, according to the old boys, the church carved out two acres out of the 5.77 acres allocated to the school to build luxury flats to sell to interested members of the public.
“We again raised objection to the proposed private homes on the same premise; that the project totally contradicts the original and subsisting purpose for the land as stated in the school’s C of O with reference number 25/25/1983N,” the president stated.
Explaining further, Akinsanya-Browne said the association appealed again to the church to jettison the idea and instead partner with them to put up education-related projects that would benefit the students and boost the glory of the school.
He said before they could decipher what was playing out, the church leadership had allegedly affixed a signpost on the external fence of the school, advertising the stretch of the land and calling on estate developers for a joint venture to construct luxury flats under a project called ‘The Wesley’, for sale to interested buyers/subscribers for commercial purpose.
He noted that based on their objection again, the church stopped the project and demanded from the alumni, a sum of N30 million as a refund to take care of the expenses already incurred on the project.
“Even though we knew the money wouldn’t have been up to that amount, we paid the N30 million to the church, thinking that that would put an end to the matter,” the leader disclosed.
Viral face-off
However, another crisis blew into the open on January 29, 2024, leading to viral public display from both sides.
It was reported that on the fateful day, the church allegedly stormed the site with some thugs to chase away the alumni who visited the school premises to map out plans for their next developmental project for the school.
A video of the incident went viral on social media.
In the video watched by Saturday Tribune, some young men were seen on the land, demarcated by the football net, with one of the old boys calling on one of them named ‘Okanlomo’ to come closer.
‘Okanlomo’ is a Yoruba name but more common as a nickname. However, the person being referenced in the video turned out to be a non-Yoruba person.
The suspected thugs were also alleged to have thrown stones earlier at the alumni on the site.
One of the alumni, who introduced himself in the video as Chief Tunde Fanimokun, a former Permanent Secretary in Lagos State, expressed displeasure at the turn of event on the matter.
He said the alumni’s stance on the contentious parcel of land remained unchanged.
Chief Fanimokun, an octogenarian, was said to be in charge of land matters in Lagos State 40 years ago when the land in question was legitimately allocated to the school on 18 October, 1983 by the Lagos State government.
Both the current president and his predecessor confirmed this scenario to the newsmen during the media conference.
The duo gave a brief history of the 146-year-old school which was originally situated on Broad Street/Marina axis on Lagos Island before it was moved to Ojo, where Lagos State University (LASU) is today, from where it was relocated to its current location behind Eko Hotels and Zenith Bank headquarters in Victoria Island.
No backing down
The old boys explained that they had wanted to drag the church to court when it mobilised workers to the site in 2021 but that the church pleaded for amicable settlement as one family.
They pointed out that the matter had been on since the administration of the last two prelates of the church, Dr Sunday Ola Makinde and Dr Samuel Kalu Uche and now Prelate Oliver Ali Aba.
“We have even held series of meetings with the church leadership. At one of such meetings, the former prelate, who presided over the meeting, said the church should leave the land for the school.
“And now the new prelate mobilised behind our back to restart the project.
“But we will not allow the dream to come true. We will ensure no structure for non-educational purposes sees the light of the day on the land.
“We will fight this cause with all the legal instruments in the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Akinsanya-Browne vowed.
One land, two certificates
The old students wondered how the Lagos State government ended up issuing two different C of Os and survey plans on the same parcel of land.
They said the church obtained a fresh C of O aside from that of 1983 in 2012 during the administration of Babatunde Fashola and a change of use on the same parcel of land in 2015 during the Akinwunmi Ambode administration.
The association further claimed that the church allegedly applied for the fresh C of O and change of use on the landed property without mentioning the school’s name but only that of the church trustees in their application. They claimed that the state government had contradicted its own law in this regard.
The representatives of the alumni jointly articulated in a position presented by their leader: “This development, that the state government could issue two C of Os on the same parcel of land, is a mystery to us.
“Even at that, if the church leadership is sincere, they should have approached government in the school’s name and not church’s, since it is the school that owns the land and not the church. So, there is a hidden agenda on the part of the church on the matter.
“But as far as we, the old boys, are concerned, we are not fighting for ourselves. We are not fighting for pecuniary motives or recognition.
“We don’t even have direct children who are attending the school. We are only being passionate about our alma mater, the school that contributed so much to who we are today, by the grace of God. The school motto says ‘Not for us but for others’.
“So, our struggle is purely in the interest of the school as regards the students now and in the future and the education development as a whole.
“So, the church’s action is an attack on our alma mater and education generally. We think what the church should do is to develop the school and enhance learning through it and not converting part of the school’s land for non-education matters.
“It is even interesting to know that apart from the structures built by the Lagos State government when it took over the school during Chief Lateef Jakande’s administration before handing it over back to the church, Methodist Church cannot claim it has built any tangible infrastructure in the school over the years.
“Most of the structures that the school can boast of today were built by the old boys and we are still building new ones.
“We can’t hands off the school because if we do, the school will suffer.
“Even despite our efforts, student enrolment has reduced substantially. During our days in the 80s, for example, the student population was up to 750 but now, the population is less than 300.
“We can’t just allow the school to go further down, and that is to show how passionate we are about the school.
“So, while we implore the church again to leave the school’s land alone for its future expansion, we equally urge Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to wade into the matter and revoke the second C of O obtained by the church so as to give permanent peace a chance over the land.
“We are law abiding people and we were told by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development that only the governor of the state has the constitutional power to revoke C of O on any land in the state.
“And we have confidence that Governor Sanwo-Olu will look into the matter and correct the abnormality.”
Why we can’t talk —School, church
When Saturday Tribune contacted the Methodist Church in Lagos for its side of the story, the spokesperson, Reverend Jonathan Oshin, was unwilling to speak on the matter.
He said to Saturday Tribune by phone: “I have nothing to say as regards the issue you raised or any other that concerns Methodist Boys High School, Lagos. It is either you meet the prelate of the church or the school principal. I can’t say more than that.”
Based on his advice, Saturday Tribune visited the school on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 to meet with the principal, Very Reverend Paul Olayiwola Olukunga.
The school, situated at 11, Sanari Daranijo Street, Victoria Island, near Eko Hotel and Suites and headquarters of the Zenith Bank Plc, among other big corporate organisations, is equally big.
But just like Reverend Oshin, the principal was unwilling to speak with the media over the matter.
He directed the vice principal (administration) to convey this unwillingness to our correspondent after about 30 minutes of waiting.
The vice principal told Saturday Tribune, “We are workers and not the owners of the school. It is the church that owns the school and the issue you mentioned doesn’t concern us directly. It is between the church and the old boys of the school, and we can’t be talking for any of them. Even we have been told not to speak to the media about the matter. That is all I can say.”
Home of heavyweights
Interestingly, Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, is a prominent school in the country. It is indeed the second oldest secondary school in Nigeria.
It was founded in 1878 after CMS Grammar School, Bariga, which is the oldest secondary school in Nigeria. Then colonial governor, John D’Arcy Dumaresq, inaugurated the school with 12 students.
The school has produced so many high-profile individuals in the society, living and dead, and it celebrates some of them on its website as testimonials.
The impressive list, as of the time of filing this report, includes Nigeria’s first president, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe; former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; first military governor of Lagos State, Brigadier General Mobolaji Johnson; General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, Pastor Daniel Olukoya; former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Atanda Fatai Williams; and renowned playwright and author, Ola Rotimi.
Others are co-founder and first Chief Executive Officer, Guaranty Trust Bank, Fola Adeola; former Nigerian international footballer and former national coach of the Super Eagles, Sunday Oliseh; the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Michael Sonariwo; Reverend Canon Abayomi Fafowora; first vice chancellor of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, Professor Oladele Ajose; former Chief Justice of Lagos State and Justice of the Supreme Court, Idowu Taylor; former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Nureni Yusuf; the Alaye of Ode-Remo, Oba Funso Adeolu; the Elegushi of Ikate-Egushi Kingdom, Oba Saheed Elegushi, among others.
Saturday Tribune, however, gathered that the impact of the alumni association in the school is huge. The group is said to have carried out many developmental projects for the school.
The current leadership of the association confirmed the efforts to Saturday Tribune. They said the gestures are to appreciate and give back to their alma mater for producing them.
Some of the projects, according to them, include the Centenary Hall to mark the 100th anniversary of the school, the school chapel and the staff quarters.
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