THE Amnesty International has stated that despite the Lagos State government’s lofty dreams of making the state a mega city, about 75 per cent of Lagosians live in slums.
Speaking at a press conference,
on Monday, on the heels of the demolition of Ijora Badia East, Mr Oluwatosin
Popoola, Amnesty International’s Nigeria researcher, stated that the state
government’s failure to respect the rights of the residents of Badia had
resulted in hardship for the people who still remained largely homeless and
jobless despite pleas from them for compensation from the state government.
He stated that forced evictions
of Nigerians in Lagos had cost around 9,000 people their homes or
livelihoods. He added that tens of thousands more could be at risk if the
government proceeded with plans to redevelop the slum area of Badia East.
According to a report jointly
issued with the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and the
Amnesty International, the Lagos State government must act consistently with
Nigeria’s obligations under the international law.
“The effects of February’s
forced eviction have been devastating for the Badia East community, where
dozens are still sleeping out in the open or under a nearby bridge exposed to
rain, mosquitos and at risk of physical attack,” the report stated.
The report called on Lagos
authorities to halt the forced evictions aimed at bringing order to the chaotic
and crowded metropolis which is home to about 15 million people.
“The Lagos State government has
violated the right to adequate housing of the residents of Badia East by
failing to put in place any of the legal safeguards required under the
international law, prior to evicting thousands of the residents.
“The demolition has devastating
consequences on the lives of the evictees. This is one eviction too many, all
in the name of development. The Nigerian government has failed the people of
Badia by resettling them in the area from Oluwole, where they were in 1973.
Oluwole area is now home to the National Theatre and the Federal Government
resettled them in Badia without proper documentation,” the report said.
SERAC’s Coordinator, Mr Felix
Morka, pointed out that the residents of Badia must be provided with effective
remedies and reparation for the violations suffered.
“In the case of Badia, we have
seen old women, pregnant women and litle children forcefully left to the mercy
of the elements all in the name of development. Most of the human rights
standards were ignored,” he added.
He called on the National
Assembly to adopt a resolution concerning all forced evictions in Nigeria and
also pass into law, without delay, a bill explicitly prohibiting forced
evictions.
The Lagos state governor,
Babatunde Fasola, in a counter response to allegations made by Amnesty
International has refuted claims that his administration is displacing some
residents by pulling down their buildings.
A report by the Amnesty
International stated that an estimated 9,000 residents of Badia East lost their
homes or livelihoods. However senior officials in the Lagos state government
had claimed that the area was a rubbish dump.
According to Oluwatosin Popoola
who is Amnesty International’s Nigeria researcher, “The effects of February’s
forced eviction have been devastating for the Badia East community where dozens
are still sleeping out in the open or under a nearby bridge exposed to rain,
mosquitoes and at risk of physical attack.”
However, Governor Fashola
countered Amnesty’s allegation that the government’s plan is to solve problems
and ensure better living for residents. “That is why I have committed to
build 1,008 flats in Badia, to take people out of living on the refuse heap.”
He added that his government
has decided to pay attention to the community which had hitherto been ignored.
“That place has been there since I was a child and we have carried on as if
nothing happened.”
“The easiest thing to do is to
take a bull-dozer and bulldoze a slum because governments don’t create slums,
it is people who do.”
He added that his
administration’s plan is to “bulldoze away your difficult conditions” by
providing roads, drainages and primary health care centres.
Speaking with the Nigerian
Tribune, one of the evicted, Mrs Bimbo Osobe, described the situation as very
harrowing and demoralising.
“I am 55 years old and I am
homeless. What happened that day was shocking because there was no notice. They
came with sledge hammers and all the law enforcement agents were armed. We
stayed by the rail lines. They did not give us a chance to take any of our
belongings.
“We had a house with tenants
and their children living in there. I had shops, but they were all rendered
useless. We are calling on the Lagos State government to come to our aid,” she
said.
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