In March 2024, the Lagos State government ordered the demolition of illegal structures in Jakande Estate, leaving its residents displaced and helpless.
Families and businesses in the area were severely affected.
A month later, many of the victims remain without homes, facing significant challenges in rebuilding their lives.
On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, News Central TV hosted a town hall meeting with victims of the demolition and relevant stakeholders.
Some of the victims spoke with News Central TV about the history of these demolitions and the resulting impact on residents.
Andrew Orioye, a Jakande resident, told News Central that a whole town in Maroko was demolished on July 1, 1990, and people were scattered across other towns in Lagos State. Most of the people living at the Jakande Estate, according to him, resettled there after the demolition at Maroko.
Orioye disclosed that when Maroko was demolished, those affected were given allocation papers to move into structures at the Jakande Estate. Upon arriving there, they found a site without structures.
“We discovered that the government gave us allocation papers without structures. This was the remote cause of the emergency structures we had in those various estates, which the government – out of their hypocritical nature – claimed we were residing on the estate illegally.
“About 95 per cent of our businesses have been destroyed. We have lost our homes and shops, and our families are left shattered,” he said.
CDA Chairman of Jakande Estate, Sabitu Akeem, said it was saddening that the government keeps demolishing homes without making provisions for residents to recover their losses.
“I am a family man, and I have children. My children know this place as their home, and now they want to chase us out. What then happens to my children when I die, and they have no place to go?
“This is not government. This is not democracy or how democracy is practiced. We are the ones voting for them, and this is how they pay us back?
“Look at my people. They are suffering. No food to eat, and everybody knows what is going on in Nigeria now,” he lamented.
President of the Landlords Association, Prince Seyi Orioye, said the association has a four-point agenda to present to the government, which focuses on the welfare of affected residents.
“It is a pity that we were not given notice prior to the demolition. However, the damage has been done, and people’s homes have been put down. Most of the people are sleeping outside.
“First, we want the Governor to rebuild this place for us. Second, people with allocation papers whose homes have been put down should be compensated,” Orioye said.
Another resident, Alhaja Basirat Owolabi, who is the vice chairman of CDA, said she was called while the demolition was ongoing at the estate, and she wondered how demolition could be going on without anyone’s knowledge.
“We were not informed that our estate was going to be demolished,” she maintained. “We were told that only the shanties would be demolished, but they encroached into our homes and began bringing down allocated structures.”
“How can you come to a community, and without notifying the stakeholders, begin to take down people’s homes? We have been facing evictions, and our fathers have been facing evictions. We cannot face eviction three times within 35 years!” she said.
Many of the victims said they lost everything they had worked for when the demolition happened, since there was no warning notice issued so people could salvage their items.
The residents have called on the Lagos State Government to address the depressing situation, in order to save lives as people are already going through all forms of hardships occasioned by the sudden demolitions.
