Jungle Destruction of Properties in Nigeria Should STOP

We are lacking empathy in Nigeria and this is very unfortunate. We’re finding it easier to tear down buildings in Kano, Alaba Market and other areas when we have no plans on how new ones could be built. No matter how you see politics, Nigerians must condemn these acts.

If  residents of Salanta Quarters in Kano followed due process for these lands, as stated by a previous government, it is just bluntly unfair to punish them this way. Why not go to the Court and give them the space to defend their rights? It is either Nigeria wants to advance or move backwards. But one thing is clear: jungle destruction will bring more hatred and animosity.

Many years ago in Ovim (Abia State), my village wanted a math teacher to teach the JS3 class as the government option was not “well qualified”. They hired a young teacher named Bukar. Bukar taught me Math in JS3. We became all members of “Bukar for Math”.  In Oriendu Market, he never paid for anything because people paid for whatever he needed for his family. Today, can Bukar live in Abia State?

People, the animosity across Nigeria makes me unhappy. And if you check, most are coming from politicians who are causing troubles because of power.  I used to visit Usman Danfodio University Sokoto which remains the most hospitable university to me in Nigeria. Yes, they treat you really fine when you visit to spend time teaching electronics (I setup their embedded systems lab with Dr Ibrahim). Today, I cannot travel there anymore. Yes, it is impossible.

Nigeria needs help and these leaders should work to bring ALL together. Why destroy these properties even if we assume the last government made a mistake which ordinary families who bought the lands were not parties to?

Residents of Salanta Quarters in the Kano metropolis have accused the state government of demolishing their buildings without prior notice and compensation.

The residents, who described the demolition of their houses as illegal, said they followed due process in acquiring the land on which their houses were built from the immediate past government of the state.

There was tension in the area on Saturday as the residents tried to physically prevent officials, who arrived their community, from demolishing the buildings.

A viral video of the altercation scene showed an injured victim making a phone call, pleading for help from loved ones, whilst alleging that one of his phones was damaged by an official.

“You cannot demolish our properties overnight without prior notification after we have all our documents intact. We all have our families here, and this is injustice. They have voted calamity for us.

Comment on Feed

Comment: You are very correct sir, the demolitions carried out in Kano is not justified. But before demolitions were carried out in alaba a letter have been issued to them you need to see the infrastructures sir it has really decayed. At first I also condemned the demolition at alaba but after watching the clips it is better those buildings are brought down to avert future disaster.

My Response: The Nigerian law does not say a LETTER has to be issued to destroy a building. It says a COURT Order. There is a reason for that and that happened in Owerri a couple of years ago. A governor went after an opponent and destroyed a building citing that the structure was not approved and the height was above limit. 

Later, it was realized that the same building was bought by the man from the same government a decade ago. In other words, if it was not just a LETTER but a court order, that would have become evident. 

Alaba was built by the government from grounds-up. If the government built poor structures which citizens bought, it can compensate property owners instead of destroying properties it has already sold and collected money. The same thing is about to happen in an estate in Abuja; the government put nonsense structures; people bought. Then later, you say they’re not habitable anymore and should be taken down without returning the money with interest!

Comment 2: When you hear rascality and illegality, you will over time appreciate how encompassing those two words are in Nigeria.

When we are done tearing down everything that binds people together, in the name of supporting your own and hating on others, our eyes will finally open, of course it’s late by then.

Building materials are very costly now, so anytime a politician is tearing down structures, any other reason outside not meeting integrity test, that politician should tell us where he expects the owners to get money for another one.

One day this sky will drop here and cover everyone, and no single person will escape.

Comment 3: What I see everyday and everywhere is hate. There is no attempt whatsoever to create love and unite the country. When you wantonly destroy peoples source of living or their hard earned assets, they simply never forget.

Comment 4: And you know what’s worse? The social and intellectual framework that serve to legitimize these devious political actors are well entrenched in our ranks: the so-called working class.

It may not take more than a handful of comments to this post before you find one of these scoundrels trying to either justify or euphemize these horrible anti-people actions.

And no, the word ‘scoundrel’ isn’t an insult; it’s a perfectly valid description for dishonesty, especially the dangerous kind we see displayed here every other day. I assure you, these evil politicians would be mostly ineffectual without these lot.

There is nothing as dangerous to a society as intentionally creating moral ambiguity and muddying the waters in terms of what constitutes ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, or more simply ‘just’ and ‘unjust’.

Comment 5: Stop concluding every action taken is politically motivated, have you been to Alaba market.. go and see how people have encroached into areas that are not supposed… right of way, alternative routes and makeshift that has been used by criminals for gun running, drugs and other crimes.. and besides the majority of people affected are the hausa in the Alaba Ravi area… empathy can not fix a country, rule of law and adherence with respect for constituted authority and laws … for the Alaba case, it has nothing to do with politics, it is pure sanity… have you seen trade fair too and encroachment on the Festac area too… we want government to be decisive and also be empathetic… we can have both…

My Response: I have not been to those areas including Kano, Alaba, Festac, Owerri, etc for years. Tell me what you have seen in Kano and these areas and explain if previous governments were not leading them. My position is that some of these citizens are also victims as some of these properties/lands were genuinely sold by the government which wants to destroy them now. 

Take people to a fast-track court system so that the bad government actors will be brought into the midst. In Kano, people have documents duly signed by the government; another comes to destroy their properties. In Alaba, the government built some of those properties and sold them to citizens. In Festac, the government approved some of these illegal structures. A court process will make sure everyone’s voice is heard instead of the jungle you think is “firm” without addressing the root cause.

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