‘My wife denied me food for one week because I demolished her shop’

In all of these, one man has been consistently involved in the exercise which has brought so much pain  to the people. But,  ironically, for Gabriel Aigbologa, a  bulldozer operator  with the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the task of demolishing people’s houses in Abuja over the years has not only put  food on his […]

In all of these, one man has been consistently involved in the exercise which has brought so much pain  to the people. But,  ironically, for Gabriel Aigbologa, a  bulldozer operator  with the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the task of demolishing people’s houses in Abuja over the years has not only put  food on his table, but it has equally enabled him to pay his bills and settle his children’s school fees.

According to Aigbologa, who said he has demolished not less than 8,000 houses and shops during the combined administration of Malam Nasiru el-Rufai, Aliyu Modibbo and Adamu Aliero, it is not his desire to cause hardship for the people. “Although in the beginning, the job was not as difficult as this. Yes, I was trained to operate heavy duty machines, such as pay loaders and bulldozers, but I never imagined that I would make several people homeless in the course of doing my job,” he said.

Popularly known among his colleagues as ‘Angulu’, his work schedule changed in 2005 when the then minister of the FCT, decided to sanitise the city of illegal shanties and slums which gave rise to the infamous demolition saga.

He told Sunday Trust in an interview that he lost sympathy for other residents during the exercise when he mounted the bulldozer to demolish his own house and his wife’s shop, both in Nyanya area of the FCT.

“I demolished my own house on July 25, 2005, under the administration of Malam Nasir el-Rufai, the former FCT Minister. It was located in Nyanya. It was an illegal structure. I have demolished my own house and demolishing other peoples’ houses does not mean anything to me again”.

But there was a price he paid for bringing down his wife’s shop. He was denied food at home for one week by his wife despite explanations that he was only obeying government’s order. “In the same year, I demolished my wife’s shop in the same area in Karu. For one week, she refused to give me food, but I told her that it was an order that I had to carry out”.

Although Angulu said he also feels for owners of houses that crumble under his roaring bulldozer, he argued that most affected residents should know they are or were occupying illegal settlements.

Before his present employment with the FCT administration he had worked with three construction outfits, such as STRABAG, Julius Berger and Nikoho, as a caterpillar operator.

Speaking further to Sunday Trust, the ‘demolition man’ said  that he was actually employed to work on road construction, but noted that the system that operates in the FCT Administration has converted him to a demolition agent.

Claiming to be a born again christian, the man denied speculations that he normally takes ‘hot drink’ each time he had to mount the bulldozer for a demolition exercise.

His words: ‘na lie, I no dey shark’, I’m a born again Christian, I worship with Church of God Mission at Area 11, Abuja.”

Asked if he would demolish his church if it has to be demolished, the Niger Delta born operator responded that he has demolished a lot of churches in the past as well as mosques because they had no papers.

On whether he collects kick back from residents to spare their houses from the blade of  the bulldozer, he retorted, “I no dey take bribe o”, adding that he believes in the efficacy of prayers and that is what he uses to ward off attacks anytime a demolition wants to go awry for him from an angry mob.

To him, he is always ready to carry out a demolition order anywhere in the city even as he stresses his profound belief in God as his strength.

“When you have the fear of God and sympathy for people, whatever people do against you will never work”, but when reminded that demolishing people’s houses is without sympathy, he was quick to say that the affected owners built their houses in illegal areas.