Last Monday, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Oluyinka Olumide, stated that 80 per cent of the buildings in Ibeju Lekki did not have government approval. Claiming that the area was set aside for agricultural activities, many of the buildings found to be in breach will be demolished in the coming weeks. Like a bull in a China shop, the commissioner of environment, with the support of the Governor, has taken on the heartless demolition of lifelong investments, as a new hobby. It is a sad and devastating chain of events that has left many citizens discouraged and hopeless.
The government’s defense of their actions is a feeble attempt to shift blame onto the citizens. They claim that the buildings being demolished have either encroached on a right of way or lack the necessary approvals and permits. However, this argument crumbles under scrutiny, as it conveniently overlooks the negligence and incompetence of successive government institutions. Despite the existence of numerous building and construction regulation agencies, it is baffling how these massive illegal constructions were allowed to take place without effective monitoring from the state.
Primarily, and this is assuming without conceding that these buildings marked for demolition are illegal, it is the deeply rooted corruption, the lack of state capacity, poor city planning, and the connivance of public officials over the last two decades that have created such dysfunctionality where demolitions appear to be the only final resort. Mr. Wahab, in a recent interview on Arise Television, stated that “we are correcting the years of recklessness where people did whatever they liked, and we must avoid a state without rules where life will be nasty, brutish and short.”
What Mr Wahab failed to admit in his dubious quoting of Thomas Hobbes was that the APC sowed the seeds of recklessness, corruption and impunity in the last 24 years, and what he claims to want to correct ostensibly are direct consequences of the party’s incompetence and ineptitude.
Imagine a state that boldly acknowledges its complicity by stating that “the fact that we collect ground rents on a property does not make the property legal.” What kind of a state encourages such criminality and lawlessness? Why is the government receiving rent and issuing receipts on illegal properties?
The sheer incompetence and hypocrisy of successive administrations is beyond belief. The so-called Progressive Party has been in power for 24 years and has made no visible investment in social housing. Yet, they dare to become an enabler for the demolition of middle-income homes across the state. Former Governor Lateef Jakande, in contrast, invested more in social housing in his four-year term than the APC has in 24 years. This unfortunate reality paints a clear picture that ‘the taskmasters’ in Lagos are nothing more than a bunch of clientelists and kleptocrats masquerading as progressives.
Often understated is the impact of the recklessness of these building demolitions on the economy of Lagos. Real estate is a major contributor to the state’s GDP and creates millions of employment opportunities directly and indirectly. When people lose faith in the ability of the state to protect their property or believe that they are at risk of losing their property to an overbearing or corrupt state, real estate investments will go elsewhere. Already, there is a lot of apprehension about investing in properties in Lagos. People are increasingly getting worried, and rightfully so. Hence, if this madness is not curtailed, we could find ourselves in a situation where real estate investment relocates to cities or countries where property rights are much more respected.
To avoid damaging our economy, the state must commit to purging our corrupt officials and strengthening the capacity of the agencies to monitor building activities effectively. These agencies should be decentralized and localized to increase their productivity and effectiveness.
The government must commit to a more transparent and accessible means of securing titles, getting permits and clarifications on sites or locations considered illegal. Furthermore, it should introduce a robust transition process that does not criminalize building owners who have relevant papers and have demonstrated good faith by engaging the government for resolutions. If people must be relocated, the process should preserve the dignity of the property owners and compensation or a path to homeownership should be immediately extended to the victims.
Finally, the government must deliberately invest in mass housing and create a path to homeownership for millions of hardworking Lagosians. Saving Lagos from flooding is important and must be undertaken, as is investing in a resilient environment. However, what is more important is a companionate state that is committed to property rights and the dignity of every citizen.
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour is a Nigerian architect, activist, and politician. He was the governorship candidate of the Labour Party for Lagos State in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
