In recent days, amphibious excavators escorted by armed policemen have raked through Makoko, the largest and most famous floating slum in Africa, to severing hundreds of wooden shacks perched high above the lagoon in the center of Lagos.
The latest step in a campaign to remove what the Lagos State government calls illegal structures and reclaim waterfront land for real estate development is the operation.
Three people have died as a result of police’s use of teargas since the clearances began two days before Christmas, according to three rights groups.
Residents claim that the Lagos state government is disputing that the demolitions, which an NGO claims have caused more than 30 000 people to flee, were carried out without notice.
On board an old canoe sailing through Makoko’s waterways, teacher Alex Wusa said, “They treated us like we were less than animals.”
“My home has been destroyed,” I said. My store has been destroyed. Even the building where I teach has been destroyed.
Population estimates for Makoko’s area are difficult to come by because there are no official figures available, with figures ranged from 80 000 to over 300 000, according to local chiefs, according to NGO JEI.
Its homes, which are elevated above Lagos’ polluted lagoon, are a striking example of the country’s urban poverty and resilience, and they are a frequent topic in the megacity’s never-ending land disputes, which almost always result in those who have money moving those who don’t.
Instead of providing them with electricity, paved roads, or schools, authorities frequently try to hem in or knock down slums.
Suffering is too much, says the statement.
Makoko, which has existed for over 100 years, is a sprawling home for low-income people who rely heavily on fishing and informal trade but largely lack basic services like power, water, and schools.
Similar demolitions occurred in the community in 2005 and 2012, which has long drawn the attention of writers, travelers, and NGOs but is still perceived by the government as an eyesore. A government demolition team destroyed hundreds of homes, killing a community leader in the latter case.
Many families, including pets and children, had rough sleeping aboard canoes when AFP was recently there. Most of their makeshift shelters were soaked by heavy rain the night before.
Iyabo Olaleye, a fishmonger who lost two homes, said, “This suffering is too much.” My children were wet and I had nowhere to go because of the rain.
Government defends demolitions
According to officials in Lagos State, the demolition was required for safety and urban renewal reasons.
For the removal of all structures constructed within 100 meters of transmission lines that crossed the lagoon.
Gbolahan Oki, the head of Lagos’s urban renewal office, did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment, but in December he informed reporters that residents had been warned.
We gave them at least 14 days in March, according to Oki, with much pleas that they would undoubtedly leave the high tension. He merely stated, “They are increasing.”
However, a coalition of five NGOs claimed that the government had destroyed homes that were too close to the 100-meter target.
The NGOs criticized “continued collusion of the government with an oligarchy of powerful land-owning families and corrupt private developers” using dredging equipment, sand filling, and land reclamation nearby.
Given Lagos’ abundance of oil, high-end projects have frequently found room in the crowded city of over 20 million by reclaiming the shoreline.
Bulldozers dumped dozens of homes in the Oworonshoki neighborhood on the opposite side of the lagoon weeks before the Makoko demolition.
According to officials, many buildings lacked proper planning permissions and posed environmental risks.
Residents raised objections to the allegations and accused the authorities of stealing property for private developments.
Will they construct for the benefit of those who occupied those properties when they demolish them? asked fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Moses Ogunleye.
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Even For Shanties, High Rents
Lagos, the country’s largest city by population but smallest by landmass, is poised to become the largest metropolis in the world by 2100, with one of the most severe housing shortages in Africa.
According to experts, Lagos’ housing situation is paradoxical.
As informal settlements are cleared to construct new communities, thousands of homes in wealthy neighborhoods continue to be empty as a result of rising rents.
According to Professor Timothy Nubi, a professor at the University of Lagos, about half of the state’s population lives in slums.
Residents of shantties and makeshift homes are paid high rents.
You can tell if there is a problem when someone pays the equivalent of $126 annually for a space under the bridge, Nubi said.
When you still see tens of empty homes, it becomes more alarming.
Nubi suggests “gentrification” that improves slums like Makoko without causing displacement for residents.
Source: Channels TV
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