The bulldozers of the Lagos State Government are extra busy these days. First in Ijora-Badia, a sprawling shanty town, which is adjacent to Orile and Costain train stations, and later in the more upscale Itun-Omo Estate, in Odoragushin area of Epe, rumbling and rampaging bulldozers moved in, reducing hopes, dreams and futures to rubbles. In both cases, the government of Lagos State states unequivocally that, “Our intervention is a strategic one, to upgrade the quality of life.” But the affected communities are as bemused as they are traumatised. The refrain on every lip is “We voted for this government. Is this what we will get in return?” There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the landlords and residents who are saying with one bitter voice, “Fashola has finished us.”

The saying: “It is easier to destroy than to build” cannot bemore apt. What took over a decade to build in Itun Omo Estate in Odoragushin Community of Eredo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, was reduced to rubbles in less than eight hours.

The once lively community was reduced to ground zero. No fewer than 100 buildings were felled by rumbling and rampaging bulldozers of the Lagos State Government. Expectedly, the landlords and residents did not find the fate that befell their community funny.

The landlords claimed to have lawfully acquired the parcels of the land on which their buildings were erected. Government, on the other hand, has a different story. The land on which the community sprang up was marked as an industrial area in the master plan of Lagos State. Until now, the landlords and residents of Itun Omo Estate had lived happily.
Some of the mansions that dotted the estate could be compared to what is found in the highbrow areas like Banana Island, Victoria Garden City and other choice areas anywhere in Lagos and Abuja.

But their happiness vanished within a twinkle of an eye. Before their very eyes, their sources of joy faded away as they helplessly watched bulldozers pulling down their palatial homes one after the other. Many could not hold back tears.
Others who could not control their emotion fainted, seeing their once magnificence abodes crumbling. Those who could summon up courage managed to evacuate few of their properties from the buildings before they were completely brought down. They never had any premonition of being in the unenviable position of worrying about where to sleep, being proud owners of befitting homes.
But today, they are confronted with the reality seeking shelter anywhere.

Many of the bulldozed buildings,some completed and others in progress, boldly bore their approved plan numbers, conspicuously written on them. But government insists these approvals were fraudulently acquired from town planning officials.

As early 8 am, a combined team of officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offence Unit had stormed the community to enforce the demolition order.
Some of the residents who had left home before the arrival of government’s agents had to rush back home from their work places. Others said they travelled from as far as Ajah andOgun State and other neighbouring towns to evacuatetheir properties. On sighting the bulldozers, some of them jumped on the roofs and hurriedly removed them, either to use them to roof new buildings or to sell them off to recoup some of their losses.

Some were too confused to takeany purposeful decisions. They just sat there totally confused on the next line of action. One of the evicted landlords told our correspondent that properties worth hundreds of millions of Naira were destroyed by government. Mr Omosheni Tajudeen Debowale, one of the affected landlords told Saturday Mirror that he purchased the land on which he erected his dream home from one Alhaji Ashafa, who is popularly known as Oloye, in 2004 but built his five-bedroom bungalow in 2007.

With tears streaming down his face, he said, “I obtained all my papers validly from the government. When they began threatening us, we went to Alausa to have a meeting with them but we were told the Permanent Secretary of the Land Bureau was not around. They reschedule the meeting for March 13. But today, March 5, they are demolishing our houses.

“They brought a white man to measure my land before this latest action. It is sad that with my children and aged parents, I have been chased out of the building I laboured to build so asto have a decent life. It is painfully regrettable”

(Follow Link To Read More)
http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/tears-of-demolition-fashola-has-fi-nished-us/

Oh! Thank God. . . Gej is working.

Sibrah: Oh! Thank God. . . Gej is working.

I'm sorry I had to change the topic because the thread for the previous topic already exist.

So what do want him to do, fold his hands and watch peaple bastardise master plan abi, i don't know what is wrong with u peaple u can't criticise sensibly and constructively, u just sit somewhere and criticise good decision because it does not favour public temporarily and u want to bring down that gov but u celebrate medoecrity when u have intrest in it.
I am behind Fashola on this just like i am behind jonathan on mpape issue in Abuja.
If u criticise Fashola on this i wonder how u will defend jonathan on mpape issue in Abuja which was dulay because they are in court.

Where was that master plan when the government officials were giving out approval to those landlords? I think they should all go to court on this one, a government approval is a valid approval, whether fraudulently obtained or not. Sick and tired of destruction. I want to hear what they have built not what they have destroyed.

Every state/city must have masterplan for its development. Lagos state has masterplan that had been known for years before Tinubu became Governor, but due to inefficiency of the past leaders of Lagos which made it for some officials of the ministry of planning to approve these lands to them, made it look sympathetic. Fashola is an action man! He does care who owns them as long as it falls within the reserved/planned area, he brings it down. A leader must be efficient.