The Lagos State Government on Wednesday, declared its intention to demolish buildings without proper approval after a 90-day amnesty period. The announcement comes in the wake of the identification of 359 distressed buildings marked for demolition.
According to the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the state government, has notified owners about the demolition and has published the notices in three national dailies. The move they say is to address safety concerns and uphold building regulations.
The decision has sparked a debate among residents, with some questioning the fairness of the demolitions and others applauding the government’s efforts to ensure safety. Following the demolition of structures in Mende, the 2023 Labour Party governorship candidate, in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes Vivor, has taken to social media, to condemn the lagos state government, alleging, that after his assessment of the site, the buildings demolished, were not on the right of way, or in contravention as reported by the ministry of environment and water resources.
Rhodes Vivor, who is a master’s degree holder in Architecture, from the Massachusetts institute of technology, in the United States , went on to post drainage plans which he says revealed several other buildings, including government offices, and agencies directly blocking the Bishop Abo-yade Cole Canal. He also claimed that residents of Mende were not given notices before their buildings were demolished.
The commissioner of environment and water resources, Tokunbo Wahab, in a 16 point response to the allegations, said that the Lagos State Government held a series of meetings and engagements with developers and landlords in the Mende area, detailing the encroachment with admission of contravention by the stakeholders. He further stated, that the engagements ran into months and years, with owners of contravening structures, pleading with the Government to reduce the width of the right-of-way, adding that In 2021, the Lagos State Government served property owners the first notice of removal, and a subsequent notice was served in November 2023. In 2022, the Lagos State Government had threatened to demolish some marked structures on drainage alignments in the Mende, area of the state where floods had wreaked havoc.
At the time, the State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello has said it was regrettable, that after several warnings, the residents of the areas had refused to move but would rather resort to blackmail of having nowhere to relocate to. On tuesday, a mother took to social media, to seek justice, after her daughter’s school sent her child home, alone for arriving late.
The incident has sparked a debate online, with many users expressing concern over the safety and well-being of the child. Some argue, that the school’s decision to send the child home was an inappropriate form of discipline, while others believe that there may be more to the story. Civil society groups, including BudgIT, have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to release journalist Daniel Ojukwu, who has been held in police custody since May 1st. Ojukwu, who is a reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism was arrested in Lagos and has reportedly been held without access to his family or legal representation for over 48 hours.
He was detained over an alleged violation of the Cybercrime Prohibition Act 2015, for a report he authored on contract procurement by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals headed, by Adejoke -Adefulire, a former Lagos State deputy governor. Ojukwu’s continued detention has been condemned as a violation of his fundamental human rights, with rights groups calling for his immediate release.
In the United States Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi made history as the First Nigerian and the first Woman of African descent to bag a PhD in Robotics at the University of Michigan. Speaking during her convocation ceremony, Oluwami said that she got into the college of engineering, because she was inspired by the Funny Hats PHD holders wear and wants to be remembered as the University of Michigan’s first black woman, to get a PhD in Robotics.
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