An unending gale of demolitions!

If there is one thing which vividly illustrates the lack of compassion and inability to think outside the box of our current crop of governors, it’s their penchant for disgracefully demolishing structures on a whim, rather than putting them to better use. It’s as if before their appointment they never gave deep thought about how […]

If there is one thing which vividly illustrates the lack of compassion and inability to think outside the box of our current crop of governors, it’s their penchant for disgracefully demolishing structures on a whim, rather than putting them to better use. It’s as if before their appointment they never gave deep thought about how to develop society, so they first busy themselves with the relatively simple task of bringing down so-called “illegal” structures which cost hundreds of millions and took years to build.  

Governors demolish structures because they claim they were allegedly built on drainage channels, or distort a “master plan”. The fact that plans are meant to be adaptable seems of no consequence to them!  

There is no disputing that flooding has ravaged many parts of the nation and those in charge have responded by announcing plans to demolish, without compensation, properties allegedly built on drainage channels irrespective of whether or not they have planning permission and all necessary approvals.  

Lamentably governors find it much easier to demolish properties than to address the issue of proper waste management which will reduce urban flooding by clearing blocked drainages. 

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These uncompassionate and socio-economically naïve state governors including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, who according to the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) is now an unelected state governor, fail to understand the reality that forced evictions and demolitions without commensurate construction of befitting houses are counter-productive as they further entrench poverty and can never create cities devoid of informal settlements.  

In the face of the avoidable pain and anguish caused by the manner in which slums are destroyed overnight, those affected simply relocate to other “illegal shanties”!  

According to the law governors should obtain court orders before demolishing structures, but it’s no news that they have little respect for any court order restraining them from doing as they please! Numerous examples exist of governors not hesitating to demolish structures despite existing court orders restraining forced evictions and demolition of property.

Even worse government officials who either fail to enforce building regulations, or conspire to commit illegalities by fraudulently issuing permits and approvals are never held responsible. It’s simply disgraceful that despite the nation’s financial mess, so much money is being wasted in routinely demolishing newly built structures.  

The problem did not start today. As long ago as 2006 the then FCT minister gleefully demolished properties of political opponents. In 2013 the Plateau State government demolished over 100 structures in Jos. In 2016 thousands of structures were demolished in Lagos rendering an estimated 30,000 citizens homeless! Indeed since the forced eviction of people from Maroko in 1990 demolitions in Lagos have routinely displaced entire communities overnight.

Most states fare no better. In 2021 the Edo State government embarked upon demolition of structures at the Iyekogba Estate for unspecified “security reasons”. In Kano State the current governor approved and commenced the demolition of buildings on government land.  In Anambra State the Joint Enforcement Taskforce embarked upon demolition of structures allegedly violating State building codes. Ironically their Chairman said the demolitions were “part of the routine operations of the board”, but could not explain why it wasn’t part of their “routine operations” to prevent illegal structures from being fully erected in the first place!  

Quite callously all demolitions are carried without giving those affected the opportunity to remove their personal property. Power drunk governors seem impervious to the civil, social, economic and cultural rights which they trample upon when imperiously authorising demolitions and forced evictions. They appear not to see the correlation between the proliferation of unapproved structures and the lax enforcement of building regulations under their watch.  

The current FCT Minister is acting like a bull in china shop announcing plans to demolish about 500 houses and remove all shanties. There is deep suspicion that his unspoken policy is to “solve the problem” of poor people in the nation’s capital by simply removing them from sight! He seems not to appreciate that nobody enjoys living in shanties. Their proliferation is a symptom of a much greater problem of poor governance and a nationwide housing deficit.

Nigerians are forced to live in sub-human conditions because governors are far more concerned with embezzling unconstitutional security votes, granting themselves life pensions, and enjoying self-granted perks of office, than in solving the problems of the underprivileged. With the construction of low-cost housing no longer a priority, the nation has truthfully failed woefully to meet its housing needs.

The courts which are supposed to be the “last hope of the common man” cannot be relied upon to protect citizens from evictions upon the whim of governors.  

 Quite outrageously a judge decided that human rights were not violated in the 1990 forced eviction of 300,000 people from Maroko in 1990! However, there is hope because in one exceptional case in 2017, a more considerate and compassionate judge declared that the threat of forced eviction and demolition of property facing 40 Lagos waterfronts amounted to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of the right to dignity”.

The inherent dignity of the human person is a foundation of human rights law from which all other rights emanate. This includes the right to adequate shelter, a right which is not enforced in Nigeria because governors are too busy treasury looting and squandering money on white elephant projects and failed projects, rather than preventing the disgraceful gale of unending demolitions.