By Bose Adelaja

A HUNGRY man, they say, is an angry man. But Vanguard Metro, VM, is in a position to declare that a homeless man could be a venomously angry man as a recent visit to the shanty, Iganmu Alawo Community in Apapa Iganmu Local Council Development Area, otherwise known as Badia East, which was recently demolished by the Lagos State government, has revealed. And this is aptly captured in this scenario:

Rage of distressed residents
“Madam, who you be and wetin you dey find here? Abi you be government person? Even though una wan kill us, God no forget us,” a stern-looking young man quipped as he accosted this reporter, even threatening to deal with her for taking pictures of the demolished community.

The reporter came under the guise of a representative of a non-governmental organisation working to bring succour to the distressed residents who are still smarting from the demolition of their shanty residences. While the reporter tried to explain her mission, three other young men also emerged from a corner and aggressively confronted her with these words: “We dey sure say she be government person; make you no try us here O, our eye dey chuk.

Badia…After the demolition

“As una pursue us from here, una no go pursue us from the world O. Wetin we go miss pass na enjoyment with our paros as we no go fit do as we like again. Anyway, we no know wetin you dey find O but if you pass your boundary, we go deal with you and Fashola no go fit save you…”

Our reporter was only rescued by the timely intervention of a passer-by who stopped and pleaded on her behalf. The young men soon disappeared from the scene, except one who demanded thus: “You go drop something O as hunger dey waya person. You no say Fashola don spoil business for us. Na daily money I dey chop…”

Before it went down under the destructive fury of bulldozers, Badia, in spite of its shanty or ghetto outlook, was always a beehive of all types of business activities, presumably because it was bordered by a railway line.

Order of the day
But lawlessness was also known to be the order of the day, for which it was said that it consisted of the good, the bad and the very ugly before it was sacked.

During VM’s visit, one of the notable figures there, who was simply identified as Mama “Mopo”, caught our reporter’s attention with her melodramatic posturing and striking, if not funny, fashion sense. Apart from the fact that both ears were festooned with multiple ear rings, her dental make-up consisted of her natural teeth and some silver artificials.

On noticing this reporter, she lit a stick of cigarette and opened a sachet of local gin which she gladly offered. “Alaye mi, se you sabi? How you dey, I dey happy to see you O; by the way, our pikin never chop today. We parents fit hold belle with paraga but the children go peme if dem no chop…,’’ she submitted.

One of the victims and her child

Before she finished speaking, another displaced resident, an expectant mother, Madam Ngozi Omoabor, joined in the discussion. “Ha, life in this camp is expensive o. Madam, what do you have for us, we are hungry…’’ she pleaded.

Soon, some other victims also joined in the discussion, recounting their experiences. Although some of them have been able to put up makeshift structures beside the canal, they also have a lot to worry about. “I pray it does not rain because the aftermath will be disastrous for us,” said Mrs Modinat Oriyomi. “Is it rain you are talking about? The breeze in this place does not allow us to cook; our children are starving,” complained another victim who simply gave her name as Adimeru.

Some of the women are petty traders who have started displaying their personal effects for sale. One of them who easily caught most visitors’ attention was a young woman, Mama Chinonso, who was cuddling a three weeks old baby. Following accommodation challenges, her family relocated to Badia a year ago and occupied one of the shanties there.

They are presently homeless following the demolition. According to Mama Chinonso, necessity brought her family to Badia because her husband’s partner in menial job business was based there. The couple paid the sum of N4,500 as rent for a shanty without water, electricity and toilet facilities.

Indeed, at Badia, life was lived at  great denial and privation as the community lacked basic infrastructural facilities like pipe borne water, health facilities, electricity, good road, toilet facilities and schools, to mention but a few. What unites the residents is the fact that the rents for accommodation there are relatively cheap and affordable, ranging between N3,500 and N6,000 for a room unlike what obtains in other parts of Lagos.

History of the dispute
THE dispute over ownership of Badia has a long history. It is said that the land actually belonged to the Ojora family who leased same at affordable prices to those interested in acquiring portions of it. That was before the demolition exercise. The obvious lack of infrastructural facilities there created room for the emergence of business operators willing to provide relevant services at profitable prices.

…Another displaced person

At Badia East, for instance, residents paid at least N30 to make use of a private bathroom or toilet, while potable water and health facilities were hard to come by.  Badia is a suburb of Lagos which has been adjudged as the number one slum in the state. It covers a total area of 158 hectares out of which 25 hectares was in 1988 earmarked for urban renewal demonstration project. The project known as Badia Olojowo was financed by the World bank, while a consultant was nominated to carry out a feasibility study of the area.

Community development associations
The community is under the control of three community development associations, namely: Badia East, Badia West and Apapa-Oro under the traditional rulership of the Ojora of Lagos, a descendant of the Aworis who exercise traditional authority over the area.

Talking about the structures, about 53.1 per cent were made of blocks and cement, while 46.81 per cent were made of wood, and only five per cent of the buildings were certified okay by experts. Also Badia-East is an area covered by 1929 Federal Government acquisition for the Nigeria Railway Corporation; it is bounded by the railway to Apapa on the East and extended by 200 metres to the western boundary. The western boundary is at the intersect of Badagry road with Western Avenue and the southern boundary as well as Gaskiya College road, all covering a total of 36.78 hectares of land.

The feasibility report on this community which was submitted to the Federal Government in November 2007 by a consultant revealed the study area has been neglected for long and the only attention it got was demolition of parts at various occasions, the last of which took place in 2002. The northern portion, often referred to as Oke-Eri, was demolished.

Out of the 36.78 hectares of land, a little over 24 hectares is just about one metre above sea level and, therefore, considered low lying.

The entire environmental condition is poor and needed to be developed. The case is, however, different in an area of 12.45 hectares with its reasonably decent fair buildings and accessibility for which it was recommended as “preservable and left on its own.”

Although the recent demolition exercise has generated mixed reactions of condemnation and commendation from Nigerians, including human right activists and non-governmental agencies, many of the residents claimed the place was not allocated to them by the government.

“Truth is bitter, many of us knew we shall quit this place whenever government is ready,” chorused Mr. Adams Enire and Jerry Olumide. At Badia, 90 per cent of the occupants are non-indigenes who hail from Ondo and Kwara states and whose major occupation was fishing. They were later joined by people of other tribes.

Who owns the land?: Royal fathers speak
MIGRATION from Oluwole: During VM’s visit, this reporter met the community leader of Iganmu-Alawo Community, a native doctor, Chief Lukas Medunoye Owoseni, who said the residents migrated from Ijora-Ilaje-Oluwole in 1973 after a quit notice from the Federal Government prior to the building of the National Theatre. “That was after the civil war. Many of us were non-indigenes and the government did not provide an alternative.

Baale of Iganmu-Alawo, Chief Lukas Owoseni and Ojora of Ijora, Oba Fatai Oyeyinka speak

So, we had no choice but to look for vast hectares of land for ourselves and we settled down in this place which we acquired on our own without paying a dime. As we later found out, the place is an acquisition land meant for the Railway Corporation,” he said.

The community head who traced the residents sojourn to the community, said: “Our forefathers settled at Ijora-Ilaje (Oluwole) on government order following the decision to build the cultural centre. But we got a quit notice in 1973 and we relocated to this place after the civil war. In 1977/78 during the Shagari-Awolowo era, Oke-Eri was demolished for political reasons; also, another demolition took place in 1986 which affected Oke-Eri; it was meant for expansion.

“In 2003, Oke-Eri also suffered another demolition due to insubordination; the government did not give us this place but we chose it by ourselves. But following the constant demolition of Oke-Eri, we cried to former Minister for Housing, Mrs. Mobolaji Osomo, who promised to intervene in the matter and she started the process for settlement.

“Her effort paved way for a feasibility report which was handled by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development through Molaj Consultants. The report was submitted in November 2007 which proposed that government should site a low cost housing estate at Oke-Eri. As soon as the report was submitted, the government sent some representatives to inform us about this and we all consented to it. From then, we knew that the government could come at any time to take possession of this place.

February 20 visit: “On Wednesday February 20, 2013, I was taking my lunch when some people told me that some government representatives were around who needed my attention and I rushed there. To my surprise, they gave me a copy of the feasibility report which they asked me to sign for and hand over to Ojora. Ojora immediately slated a meeting for Tuesday February 26.

Unfortunately, the demolition exercise took place on Saturday February 23 and the residents pointed accusing fingers at me, saying I was instrumental to it. We knew that the plan for the demolition exercise has been on ground but we appealed to government for succour,” he said.

Ojora speaks: The traditional ruler of Ijora, Oba Fatai Oyeyinka, who spoke exclusively to VM, lamented the rot in the community before the demolition exercise. “The community used to be a place where lawlessness was the rule rather than the exception. Many of the residents are foreigners who usually take the law into their hands. They claimed the government has allocated the place to them and they erected all manners of structures which were taken over by hoodlums. Some of them paid their rents daily, weekly or monthly. The state government demolished some structures here during the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s regime but the people still remained defiant.

“The community is an eyesore which is not in line with the mega-city plan of the government. When I was informed of the recent demolition exercise, I asked them to discuss with the residents which was done on February 20, 2013. I also told them to provide a shelter for the victims. A meeting was held recently and government set up a committee to wade into the matter.

“Before the demolition exercise, the community was characterised by high crime rate; sex hawkers and hoodlums usually had a field day and residents lived in fear on daily basis. In fact, the place was a haven for hoodlums. For security, I engaged the services of Mobile Police and OPC because many of us cannot sleep with our eyes closed.”