Knocks, commendations as Ogun demolishes illegal strcutures

The bulldozers roared and surged forward. And before them crumbled numerous structures the state considered inappropriately built on the roads’ right of way. The pains of the owners of the structures could only be imagined; they had hitherto earned their living from these ‘offending’ structures. But the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, says the demolition is part of the pains the people have to endure to enjoy the measure of development they expect from his administration.
He had before now made clear his determination to give the state a face-lift, and this week, government’s bulldozers commenced the demolition of structures on major roads in the city of Abeokuta, the state capital, to pave way for road expansion.
Infrastructure development being a part of his administration’s cardinal programmes, the governor had earlier embarked on sensitisation of residents of the state, especially those whose properties had been marked for demolition, on why they needed to embrace and support government in transforming the state.
He had visited towns like Sango-Ota in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government; Sagamu in Sagamu Local Government; Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta, the state capital.
During the sentisation tour, Governor Amosun appealed to the people to give his administraton the maximum co-operation, saying that many things had to be sacrificed for developement to take place.
He maintained that his administration was on a great journey to rebuild the state, adding that steps so far taken on road construction, rehabilitation and expansion were informed by his administration’s determination to achieve urban renewal, as well as rural and infastructural development. An example of such roads is the six-lane Ibara-Sokori-Totoro road, which was inaugurated last year.
But the commencement of the demolition exercise last week Sunday in Panseke, Quarry Road, Omida Market, Isale Igbein and other areas in the town generated both commendation and condemnation.
Worship centres (churches and mosques) as well as public and church cemeteries were not spared in the exercise.
Saturday Tribune observed many families at the African Church Cemetery, located at Iyana Mortuary-Idi-Aba Road and also at the Abeokuta South Public Cemetery on Abiola Way, excavating the remains of their beloved ones.
While some describe the idea of road expansion by the government as a noble idea, some consider some roads billed for expansion as sheer waste of public money.
For traders in the popular Itoku market (the home of Adire fabrics) and Sapon, the notice given to them by government was the issue.
The Itoku market traders staged a peaceful protest hours after the governor told them about the exercise. Though they agreed with the governor that development is one of the essential ingredients of any society, they expressed their displeasure about the timing.
Many of the traders argued that the governor should have deferred the demolition till after the Christmas and New Year celebrations, to allow them sell their goods. They insisted that the demolition of the over 100 years market would ruin their businesses and means of livelihood. They also urged him to provide them alternative space.
The Chairman, Clothes Section in the market, Alhaji Sulaimon Fadipe, said that majority of the traders had expended several millions of naira in buying new stock ahead of the yultide.
He said: “The governor came here three days ago to inform us that we should get ready to vacate the market to pave way for its demolition for the proposed reconstruction of the road. We are happy about the development; we approve of it because he wants to develop our town, but our appeal to the governor is that he should, for God’s sake, give us till January next year to enable us sell our wares for the forthcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“We did not expect this kind of ultimatum from the governor at this time, although he has promised to pay us compensation and they have already commenced work on that. The enumeration has begun. They have inspected our shops and they have written down our names and the names of the owners of the buildings. We have more than 5000 traders here in this market.
We prefer to remain here in Itoku because this market has been in existence for the past 100 years.”
Corroborating Fadipe, the Iyaloja of Itoku Market, Chief Funmilola Ayorinde, said they were not against the planned demolition, which according to her would bring about development, but that he should give them more time.
The market leader said: “We thank our governor for wanting to develop the state, but our appeal to him is that he should please give us more time. We have just got new stock for the Christmas and New Year celebrations. He should please allow us to sell our new stock during this period so that we will be left with few wares to pack when vacating the market for the demolition exercise.
“In fact, since Monday when the governor visited this market, many of our members have developed all sorts of ailments, including hypertension. Some of us even developed runny stomach and defecated publicly the day the governor came here. And that’s why we are pleading with him to extend the deadline for us to vacate the market. We are not quarrelling with the governor over this. We are, in fact, happy that he is taking steps to bring development to Abeokuta, the state capital.”
However, the state’s chapter of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) considers the current road expansion efforts and demolition of structures across the state as unnecessary.
The areas to be affected by the road expansion in the state capital include Onikolobo, Panseke, Ibara, Omida, Sapon, Ake, Ijemo, Itoku, Enu-Gada, Ago-Ika, Adedotun, Mokola Ita-Elega and Ijeja.
Mr. Olabode Akintunde, whose studio was affected by the demolition in Omida area, said that the state did not give them enough time to look for another place.
“The governor should have extended the demolition time. We are not saying that what he is doing is not good, because all of us will benefit at the end of the day. We all know that before we benefit, we must have suffered a bit. I know that after the completion of the road, what we have lost, by the special grace of God, we are going to recover it,” he said.
Mrs Bisi Badmus, a pensioner and trader at Omida Market, commended the governor for turning around the face of the state.
“I want to thank the governor of Ogun State for making the state very good; but what I need to say here is that they (government) should adequately compensate everybody. We need money to carry all our loads from the main road and we won’t want government to suffer (sic!) anybody before they give them their due.
“I haven’t got any place to move to. I am taking my property to my house. That is why I am begging the state government to give us money on time and not to delay anybody or to suffer (sic!) anybody before getting their money,” she pleaded.
Another respondent, Mr John Adefolu, lauded the project embarked on by government, saying the face-lifting of the state would boost both economic and social activities.
Adefolu said, “What the government is doing is good. This will make us have industries, factories and companies. So, all the things they are doing now are good. The benefit is that it will make Abeokuta to develop.
“You know that in Abeokuta, we don’t have many companies and industries, but you will see many of them in Lagos. In Abeokuta here, there is nothing like that. You will see that our roads in Ogun State here are narrow, but when they expand the roads now, everything will be okay. So, we like it.
A resident who does not want her name in print said that the road expansion project was long overdue.
“This thing is long overdue in this state. It is something the government ought to have done in a state capital like this before now, to attract investors into the state. It will surely bring development. No matter the pains, people are going to enjoy the
benefit in the near future,” she said.
Another male trader said, “Government should complete it in record time. They should not demolish our shops and leave them like that. We want to see what they want to do and it must not be too long.”
Meanwhile, the state government said it will expend nothing less than N10 billion as compensation for all properties earmarked for demolition to pave way for the construction of the 13 roads across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Lands in the state, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, explained that Amosun had personally gone on house-to-house sensitisation visits to owners of such properties on the need for them to cooperate with his administration.
She said the initiative would in the long run be of immense socio-economic benefits to this and future generations.
Sokefun noted that about N300 million had already been paid as compensations to various claimants along Ita-Eko, Oke-Sokori- Totoro six-lane road, just as another N88.07 million had been paid to those to be affected by the road expansion at the Akin Olugbade axis of the state capital.