Protests, Looting As Lagos Demolishes Another Community

Living in a modern city is not a walk in the park. It is expensive and overcrowded, yet many people have found ways to live in them comfortably. Despite all the uncertainties that abound, especially when one is a low-income earner, the one that is most difficult to bear is the uncertainty of shelter.

There may not be food now, but there is always an assurance that a person will eventually eat. One can also survive with minimal clothing. But when it comes to shelter, everyone wants to have a place to rest his or her head after all the hustle and bustle of city life.

Some residents of Iwaya in Lagos could not believe their eyes yesterday when caterpillars rolled into the shanty part of the area and slowly demolished many of the buildings. Though the official number of houses demolished are not known, our reporter at the scene counted over 50 houses, which housed hundreds of people.

Many of those who had their houses destroyed were seen in tears as they managed to hurriedly try to pack as much property as they could still find, while some had no opportunity to take anything before the demolition started.

Our correspondent at the scene said commercial vehicles that plied the area also took advantage of the helplessness of those who lost their homes. Many abandoned their regular routes and helped people transport their moveable properties at exorbitant rates. These buses were seen moving in and out of the area.

A resident, John Nkwocha said that they were not issued any notice before the demolition commenced.

“We were not given any notice, we just woke up to see their caterpillars pulling down our houses. As you can see, we are just struggling to pack few things we can lay our hands on.” He said.

Another resident, Taiwo Ajagbe, however, said that they had been notified of the demolition but they were not just sure of when it would be carried out. “We were already notified that this land belongs to the University of Lagos and that houses on the land would be demolished, but we didn’t know it will be today,” he said.

The demolitions were also not unconnected to the gruesome murder of a 4-year-old child in the community, which had led to numerous arrests by the police.

More than five Toyota Hilux vehicles of the Lagos State Taskforce officials were at the scene. The policemen, when questioned, told our reporter that they had come to provide security and that the demolition is carried out by the Ministry of Physical Planning.

An official of the State Ministry of Planning who pleaded anonymity said that demolition is being carried out following several notices issued to the community that the land belongs to the University of Lagos.

But many did not take the demolitions lying down, they went to the streets demonstrating and chanting. Though they did not do this in front of the police, some of the ‘area boys’ around were daring the ministry to come to their own area to demolish. They threatened to give the ministry men a beating.

True enough, their area was not touched, but one of the demolitionists claimed they were leaving only because it was late and they would be coming back another day to finish the job.

Also, some hoodlums equally saw the heaped rubbles of demolished homes as an opportunity to loot. They just moved around the demolished area, picking whatever they could find. One of the ‘area boys’ was seen carting away a generator, while some of his peers were praising him.

The policemen at the place were not bothered about the looting, as they were more concerned with protecting the demolition crew.

This seems to be the first phase in clearing up the area. A resident says, “Makoko is their target. They have been trying to demolish the place for years but civil societies have not allowed them. Now that they have demolished this place, I bet you, they will now move to Makoko.”

We reached the State Government, including the Commissioner of Information and Strategy for responses, but got no reply.

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