What should govt do with ‘illegal’ structures?

There have been some demolitions in several states such as Kano, Anambra, FCT, Rivers, Abia and Lagos, which have cost the country billions of naira. In this vox pop, citizens expressed their views on the rampant demolitions and what the government should do to ameliorate issues of illegal structures in the country. Excerpts: Itoro Umoren, […]

There have been some demolitions in several states such as Kano, Anambra, FCT, Rivers, Abia and Lagos, which have cost the country billions of naira. In this vox pop, citizens expressed their views on the rampant demolitions and what the government should do to ameliorate issues of illegal structures in the country. Excerpts:

Itoro Umoren, 50s, Architect

I think the biggest problem we have in the building environment (I am speaking from a professional standpoint), is that there have been too many loopholes; in the sense that there are many ‘developers’ in urban areas who are not sufficiently informed. The information would come in several ways. You want to take Abuja as a case in point. The building laws in Abuja are very clear and they have not changed much in the last 20 years.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have come from other towns and cities and have attempted to apply the laws outside of the Abuja Building Code. And you know there is a problem with the black man that anything you put in black and white means you don’t want him to see it. So, they don’t take the pains to find out what the building code is. It is not just for professionals. As an investor, it is your money that is being spent. If you walk into the FCDA office and demand for a copy of the building code of the FCT, you will be given a copy; that’s almost free. That way, even if you engage the services of a professional, and he by any way misguides you, you are already informed. The law says ignorance is not an excuse. The building code is the law that is obtained from building development in Abuja.

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The second problem has to do with professionals. For example, as a professional, if you ask me to do something for you outside of the building code, I will tell you that it is not allowed. Who is the law enforcing this in Abuja? It is the FCT Development Control. It may take them two years to come to effect the correction on your building but they will do it, even if you have raised the house. Some developers would tell the investor, don’t worry I will do it the Nigerian way, and at the end of the day, they will leave you to the vagaries of the law. There are things the Development Control will tell your professionals that they will not tell you. 

Itoro Umoren, 50s, Architect

I think the biggest problem we have in the building environment (I am speaking from a professional standpoint), is that there have been too many loopholes; in the sense that there are many ‘developers’ in urban areas who are not sufficiently informed. The information would come in several ways. You want to take Abuja as a case in point. The building laws in Abuja are very clear and they have not changed much in the last 20 years.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have come from other towns and cities and have attempted to apply the laws outside of the Abuja Building Code. And you know there is a problem with the black man that anything you put in black and white means you don’t want him to see it. So, they don’t take the pains to find out what the building code is. It is not just for professionals. As an investor, it is your money that is being spent. If you walk into the FCDA office and demand for a copy of the building code of the FCT, you will be given a copy; that’s almost free. That way, even if you engage the services of a professional, and he by any way misguides you, you are already informed. The law says ignorance is not an excuse. The building code is the law that is obtained from building development in Abuja.

The second problem has to do with professionals. For example, as a professional, if you ask me to do something for you outside of the building code, I will tell you that it is not allowed. Who is the law enforcing this in Abuja? It is the FCT Development Control. It may take them two years to come to effect the correction on your building but they will do it, even if you have raised the house. Some developers would tell the investor, don’t worry I will do it the Nigerian way, and at the end of the day, they will leave you to the vagaries of the law. There are things the Development Control will tell your professionals that they will not tell you. 

Joy Amile, 40s, Estate development agent

Some houses are built in very bad locations that when you see it you know that the building ought not to be there. But what the government should do is to pay compensation to the victims as some of them have no houses to go to. For those who obtained proper permits and approvals, demolishing them, for me, is a crime against humanity.
As an estate developer, we get our lands from genuine sources. Any sensible developer would examine the layout of a settlement before putting their money as they wouldn’t like to lose their money. Estate owners tend to obtain lands that are well-regulated, although they encounter some challenges sometimes.
As for the FCT, I want to plead with the minister not to put demolition first or increase revenues because there are too many poor masses and the economy is difficult. He should focus more on using available resources to improve infrastructure in the territory.

David Adewusi, 50s, cab driver

I would like the government to handle the houses belonging to indigenes in the outskirts with care because those ‘shanties’ are their ancestral lands. The government should give them sufficient notice rather than just a few weeks or months. It is not good enough that people who have been living in a place for over 20 or 30 years are just asked to leave. If they had the money, the place would not remain a shanty. You can relocate them to other places rather than just sacking them and their tenants.

Kelechi Nnabuike, 40s, Auditor

Demolitions could impact on the health and mental state of those affected. Many could be traumatized over the action of the government if some of them have genuine documents from the government. The economic wastages in demolitions are another negative part of the demolitions. The government should ensure that relevant agencies should carry their functions professionals.

Tiungu Herman Daniel, 35, PhD student

I think the government ought to inform the people and consider their plight before embarking on demolitions because this is a democracy, which is a government of the people by the people and for the people. You can’t just wake up and start demolishing people’s houses without warning or compensation. They ought to let the people know that their houses are on water channels or illegal before carrying out the demolition. It is not a decision that you wake up one day and start doing. To that, because you are in power is wrong the way I see it. If the government claims they had warned them before the demolition, then there should be proper compensation.

Promise Ifeaghandu, 28, student

To be honest with ourselves, we are supposed to be asking who are the people who sold the land to the occupants because I know they didn’t just wake up and start building on illegal lands. The agency that sold the land, or maybe the Lagos State Government should do well to compensate the land owners. It is very painful as those houses are not cheap, those are houses worth millions of naira. That single action of the government could trigger cardiac arrest and death. So, the best thing for the government to do is to compensate.

N. Danmagani, 29, student

Demolition is a good thing if the government wants to provide development because any good achievement requires some cost. So, if the government has to demolish houses in some places, I think there is also a need for the government to compensate those who have lost something.

Khadija Musa, 24, student

Government should not continue because they are destroying lots of livelihoods with more hardships. For the government to be demolishing, they should compensate the people or relocate them to other places.

Blessing Ohana, 23, Student

The government should have informed them ahead of the demolition, but if it is not so, then that’s very bad on the part of the government. If the government informed them ahead that they were not supposed to build, it is not the government’s fault but theirs. Maybe the government should have moved them to somewhere better.

Adam Abdallah Umar, 31, teacher

I can speak about what happened in Kano State because it is my state. I am against it because it is a waste of money. Instead of the government taking back the structure for revenue generation they just wasted everything. I am also against what the governor did by allegedly selling government buildings like recreation centres, prayer grounds and schools. I am against all that and demolition. My view is that when people erect illegal structures, government should buy them or take them from the people and use them to generate revenue, instead of outright demolition.