Mixed reactions as Fayose’s bulldozers pull down houses

In Ekiti State, Governor Ayodele Fayose is no longer in the good books of many residents as he doggedly forges ahead with his determination on what he called the modernisation of the state.   The governor is not without his admirers on his resolve, though. With Fayose’s modernisation commitment has come the demolition of many houses, […]

In Ekiti State, Governor Ayodele Fayose is no longer in the good books of many residents as he doggedly forges ahead with his determination on what he called the modernisation of the state. 

 The governor is not without his admirers on his resolve, though. With Fayose’s modernisation commitment has come the demolition of many houses, with its attendant agonies to many landlords and families. By Wednesday April 4, 2018, no fewer than 300 houses, by the account of the state government itself, had been demolished across the state to pave way for the government’s beautification and expansion projects.

Some beneficiaries, the government disclosed, received between  100,000 and N2 million as compensation, depending on the nature and size of their affected structures.

Since the governor assumed his second term in October 2014, he has been reiterating his determination to execute projects he believes will leave a lasting impression on the consciousness of indigenes of the state. Many still remember the dualised roads, markets and other people-oriented projects Fayose executed in his first tenure as governor between 2006 and 2009.

The governor explained that his administration conceived the current exercise as part of its urban renewal programme aimed at giving Ado Ekiti, the state capital, and other major towns in the state a facelift to position it well in the comity of beautifully developed states in Nigeria.

Areas that the government’s bulldozers had pulled down structures included Ado Ekiti, Ikere Ekiti, Efon Alaaye, Omuo Ekiti, Ise Ekiti, Emure Ekiti and Ijero Ekiti.

The government said it had paid a total of N400m as compensation to people whose houses were demolished, and would be paying more as demolitions continue.

The exercise, which affected no fewer than 80 houses in Ado Ekiti, sparked, at a point, a row between the state governor and the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, over the alleged refusal of the governor to give prior demolition notices to owners of the demolished structures and non-payment of compensation to the victims.

Last month, the monarch invited Gov Fayose to his palace for discussion on a litany of protests his subjects had been trooping to his palace to register over the manner their properties were demolished, allegedly without any prior notice.

While the first-class monarch was telling the governor his opinion that the demolition must have “a human face”, Fayose sprang up, declaring,“Kabiyesi, do not even mention that we should not demolish! Do not raise it at all! We should tell ourselves the truth. I will demolish. The houses you are talking about are ancient and dilapidated shacks.

“Excuse sir, let me tell you, awon ti mo wo yen, comma ni o! (Those I have demolished, you’ve not see anything yet!) The dual carriageway will pass through Oke Ila. Tell the people in those areas, this is the Panadol they have to swallow. There is no way we will not fight. What needs to be done must be done. I should not be threatened with votes.

It is God who makes things possible. I should not be threatened at all. And those that have not been compensated, owo die die wa fun won (we have small money for them).”

One of the victims of the demolition exercise, Mr Kayode  Aloba, who claimed his house was pulled down at the Okeyimi area of Ado Ekiti, said, “In a smuch  as we all want development, the government should have given us enough notice to look for an alternative. Yes, he paid us compensation, but it was a far cry from the present economic realities.”

 Aloba lamented that occupants of demolished houses in the area had been occupying their properties for years only for the government to suddenly render them homeless. He pleaded with the government to construct houses and sub-let them to those affected as a palliative measure.

But for two residents in Ado Ekiti, Mrs Abeke Olaiya and Madam Gbeminiyi Aluko, Fayose deserved a high mark for having the courage to demolish old and dilapidated buildings in the city. The two women, however, advised the governor to give those affected by the demolition enough compensation to enable them build modern, befitting houses.

Aluko said, “We are not against the demolition of these old buildings. In fact, it is true that many of them are not only outdated, they are poorly built and decaying. But we frown at a situation whereby the governor wants us to rebuild our old buildings.

He is not giving us enough money that can build modern buildings in this age.”

 Pa Amodu Aliu, who resides in Okeyinmi, said, “A question is: As cosmopolitan as Lagos or Ibadan are, don’t they also have old buildings like we have here in Ado Ekiti?,”  while quickly adding, “but we can’t condemn Fayose because he is our leader and knows what is best for Ekiti.”

Another resident, Mr Pelumi Ojo, added his voice, “Gov Fayose’s demolition exercise and rebuilding of the city is a welcome idea. This is because the city is wearing a new exciting look. Whoever thought Ado Ekiti could be this beautiful? Look at the new Fajuyi Park, it’s more elaborate, bold and beautiful. See the flyover. In fact, by the time they complete the King’s market, you will be mistaking this city for one of those fine places in Abuja or Lagos. That, to me, is a welcome development, as an indigene of Ado.”

Defending his action, Fayose said part of the reasons for demolition was to save lives as the condition of most of the buildings was life-threatening.

He said, “We are not sparing anyone, no matter how highly placed or close to us. Recently, I had to demolish an old building which belonged to a relative of my Chief of Staff, Chief Dipo Anisulowo. 

Even if it was my mother’s building that was found to be intruding into our road network or debasing the city, we would pull it down. 

“There are buildings we pull down so that their owners can rebuild them to the taste of the emerging new city. There are buildings that had been poorly built. They have neither bathroom nor toilet, and it is depressing that the human waste from the poorly-built bathrooms and toilets of others have been rubbishing and debasing our environment, causing communicable diseases and others. We can’t continue to tolerate all these.

“It would interest you to also know that many of our people who have been complaining that we are pulling down buildings of their forefathers and erasing their ancestral homes have abandoned such buildings to waste away. They neither live there nor rebuild them well for others to live in. Many of these buildings have become dilapidated and wear ugly looks. We don’t want this in our new Ekiti.”

The situation assumed a more confrontational dimension last Friday when adherents and custodians of shrines engaged operators of bulldozers in a hot argument.

The bulldozers had returned to continue the demolition of structures located close to two shrines of “Ogun” and “Ejeye Oka Ere”, and two sacred trees and other structures located within the premises of the Arowa of Ado Ekiti’s court directly adjacent the palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti.

No fewer than 10 houses had been demolished the previous day and a total of four corpses exhumed, with seven tombs marked for exhumation. 

Witnesses told Eko Trust that when adherents of the deities mounted resistance to ensure the shrines were not pulled down, a deployment of armed security men was drafted to the area, including to the entrance of the palace of the monarch, to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

The protest eventually led to temporary suspension of demolition work on the shrines. A family member of one of the corpses, who pleaded not to be named, said the compensation paid by the government did not touch on displacement of corpses or dismantling of shrines.

The state’s Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr Tayelolu Otitoju, justified government’s action, echoing Fayose’s assertion that the aim of the exercise was not to deliberately render residents homeless and make life difficult for them, but was as a result of the rapid development going on in the state.