New Telegraph

Paralysed by fear: Community panics over 800 buildings marked for demolition

In Ogun Ori, a community said to be in existence since 1837, residents are in panic mode over the planned construction of the Lotto Interchange Bridge along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

They fear the entire community could be wiped off after over 800 buildings were marked for demolition. In this piece, LADESOPE LADELOKUN captures the mood of the community Ideally, knowing an interchange bridge is in the works at the Lotto axis of the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway to ease traffic is expected to elicit positive vibes, especially among commuters and transporters that daily ply that portion the road.

But not for residents of Ogun Ori- a community in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State- who now have lamentation as their song. For a great number of the residents, what is a blessing to thousands of road users is now a curse to them.

Since 2019, when over 800 houses were said to be marked for demolition to pave the way for the planned Lotto Interchange Bridge, deaths and illnesses ranging from stroke to hypertension have hit residents. That is even before the first building is reduced to rubble, residents told Sunday Telegraph

 

Down with stroke, Aminat Sogbola was seen limping, carefully assisted to sit by her neighbours. She cut the picture of a frustrated woman as her voice exuded anger. Narrating her experience, Sogbola said her mother died three days after officials of the Federal Ministry of Works marked her house for demolition as a result of shock. Sogbola disclosed that, on sighting the mark that indicated that her house would be demolished, she got unsettled and fell.

 

“It affected mama. When she heard that her house would be demolished, she was shocked. She kept on asking:”where will I sleep now?” If she hadn’t heard that houses would be demolished, she would probably still be alive. It was the shock that killed her. We have never heard that an entire town would be demolished by the government.

 

Where do they want us to start? Where will we keep the corpses of our ancestors? “What work can I do at my age? Every test I do tells me my Blood Pressure is high. I have been thinking about what the future holds after we got to know that houses would be demolished. l currently suffer a partial stroke as a result of this as you can see.

 

Do you know how much a bag of cement is sold now? Do we even have a three course meal, let alone building a house? The rod that was sold for N600 became N1,200; we complained. Now, it is N4,000. We need the government to show us pity.

There is no amount of money given to us that will be enough for us. We do not even want their money. Let them leave our community alone. They should not destroy our heritage. Beg Dapo Abiodun. Beg Fashola, Agbelekale, to leave our community alone.”

 

Like Aminat Sogbola, Chief Kashi, the Aare of Ogunrun Ori land, told Sunday Telegraph that what was initially thought to be a joke claimed the life of his uncle, Mr Kehinde Toriola.

 

According to him, worrying about the pain homelessness would cause him since he never lived anywhere else all his life killed him days after officials of the Federal Ministry of Works’ visit: “It has destroyed many things, killed many. We thought it was a joke initially.

 

My uncle, Mr Kehinde Toriola, used to live around here. He was completely destabilised and worried on seeing that houses were being marked. He stood up lamenting that his house would be levelled. He was not the same person again afterwards. We took him everywhere for treatment but he died days later.”

 

Stating his position on development and compensation, the Ogunrun Ori chief said: “We are not saying we don’t want development but it should come with a human face. We have several deities here that make life meaningful for us. We have Yemoja, Igunnuko, Esu, Obatala and so on. If they destroy our shrines and houses, that will amount to untold hardship for us here. If we are sent away from here, where do we go?”

 

Another Chief, Apesin of Ogurun Ori land, Olarenwaju Gbolahan, told Sunday Telegraph how his father met his untimely death, owing to shock and fear of being a displaced person in the night of his life. “My  progenitors lived, died and were buried here. Three years ago, we heard that they were planning to do an interchange bridge.

 

They brought a map that showed we would all be affected. We protested. They brought another map for us to consider. We said there was nothing to consider. The shock was too much for my father to bear. He had stroke after that and died as a result of that. Some weeks ago, they came again. I have my house here. My parents have theirs here.

 

All our investments are here. We can’t imagine all we have being reduced to rubble before our eyes,” he added. For Nojeemdeen Olonode, a resident who said he had lived in the community all his life since 1959 when he was born, nothing better describes the action of the government than wickedness, wondering where residents of the community he said had been in existence since 1837 would live.

 

“To our surprise, we just saw that buildings were marked. We wanted to beat them but we were told to be calm. And, at that time, we were not united. So, there was little we could do because we had two individuals claiming to be traditional rulers. They marked the entire town. People had settled here since 1837.

 

I was born in 1959.I grew up here. I’ve never heard from anyone that we are on a land already acquired by the state government. Where will they take us to if they destroy our properties? You can see these people are wicked. Initially, the Federal Government said it would pay.

 

Now, they are telling the state to give them land. Where is the land? Is there a virgin land here? These people have likened us to animals. They just want to get us out of our ancestral homes and dump us somewhere.”

 

How it all began    Speaking with Sunday Telegraph on the efforts made by the federal and state governments to mark buildings for demolition in 2019 and 2022 and how they were resisted, an Ogunrun Ori chief(Asiwaju of Ogunrun Ori),Abdul Razak Baruwa, said: “In 2019,officials of the Federal Ministry of Works came here. They said they wanted to mark buildings for demolition.

 

What were they up to? They said they wanted to build an interchange bridge. We told them to do a fly over, adding that they would destroy the entire town should they go ahead. They marked the buildings. We were advised against fighting the Federal Government. “We went to the Commissioner of Police and the then Governor Ibikunle Amosun to narrate our plight.

 

From there ,we were invited to Eleweiran, the Commissioner of Police was there. He advised that it would be unfair to destroy the entire town, telling them to reduce the buildings marked for demolition. A town that had been in existence since 1837? They agreed to reduce it.”

 

On how the latest protest was triggered, Baruwa said: “Just three days ago, officials of the Ogun State Government came. They told us the project was no longer under the Federal Ministry of Works. They asked us to produce the necessary titles for compensation when our buildings are demolished. But, what document does a village have for compensation?

 

The Anglican Church there has been there since 1902, which is 120 years. We had not got independence then. And, when the Federal Government came, they said they didn’t need any document to compensate us.

We even told them that we would not allow them to destroy our village and all our ancestors bequeathed to us, so that we can also pass them over to our children. “But, when the officials of the Ogun State Government came, they said they gave us a 7-day notice for demolition.

 

After the seven days, they told us we would be given another 14 days, after which our property would be destroyed. We were told that beyond the interchange bridge, estates would be built here and companies. When we met with top officials of the state at Abeokuta, the state capital, they said the notice was just to scare us, so as to make us prepare our papers for compensation quickly.

But they insisted on going ahead with marking our buildings here for demolition, telling us to get our titles ready. “The last one the Federal Ministry of Works did, we counted over 800 houses that were marked for demolition. We plead with Babatunde Fashola, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other influential Nigerians to save us from the impending doom.”

 

Inside the 120-year-old Anglican church that may be reduced to rubble Being a testament, according to residents, chiefs and the community head, to how long the community has been in existence, Sunday Telegraph asked to be taken to the Anglican Church said to be the third to berth in Ogun State and built in 1902 in Ogunrun Ori community.

 

Sunday Telegraph gathered that apart from being a place of worship, it served as the first primary school in community before the state government built primary schools and beneficiaries came from far and near. “According to history told by our fathers, this town has been in existence since 1837. We have the third Anglican church in Ogun State.

 

That’s where our fathers had their primary school before the government built primary schools. We are not saying we hate development. But there are creative ways of going about these things without causing us pains. Politicians get huge votes from us.

 

But they turn around to say this is a cassava plantation or government acquisition after getting our votes,” Chief Adewale Adeboye, Secretary of Ogunrun Ori Community told Sunday Telegraph. In a chat with Sunday Telegraph, the head of the church, who simply wanted to be identified as Pastor Akinsiku, said though he was newly posted to the church, he could give a document containing the history of the church since he had little information about the church and the land tussle between the community and the federal and state governments.

 

The document, as seen by Sunday Telegraph, read in part: “The church was founded on a vast land jointly donated by prominent families of the town Ogunrun-Ori, which among others, include the families of Ojoye, Ogunloye, Obadeyi, Olojede, Osolewa, Ogundoro and Ogunrinde. However, today what used to be a vast land have been encroached upon, leaving the church with no room for development and expansion.

 

At inception, the church, which was at the spot where current vicarage stands served congregants from adjoining villages of Pakuro, Wasimi, Imedu, Akinregun, Mowe, Olowotedo, Ogurun-Eletu and Oke-Ipa. Initially, members used to go to the neighbouring town of Aseese to worship. The church was built through collective efforts of members numbering over 100.”

 

Trusting deities for justice, protection After ordering his aide to lead a tour of the shrines in the community with Sunday Telegraph, the Baale(traditional head)of the community, Chief Babatunde Olojede Sanyaolu, said there would be consequences if the shrines where deities are worshipped by his subjects were destroyed.

 

According to him, the deities- Esu, Obatala, Yemoja, Ogun, Ogirinyan, Alale, etc- would definitely fight back should anyone destroy their shrines, stating that apart from those who destroy them, the deities would also not spare their families and their generations. “If people come to our village to carry our deities or destroy them, they will not only be destroyed, their entire generations would be destroyed.

 

The deities know we cannot destroy them. They will fight and destroy those who destroy them. They will keep dying. You see, the deities are a source of blessing to us. For instance, if we are facing difficulties and we consult the Alale deity, when we are in trouble, it will tell us what to do to get out of the woods. “When it is angry, we know. Developments in the community will tell us Alale is angry. And we give it what it needs to appease it.

 

Also, it is the same story for other deities like Yemoja, Obatala, Esu, Ogirinyan and Ogun. All these deities protect us. And they want to destroy their shrines? There was a time accident was a regular occurrence on the expressway near us. No week passed without at least, a case of accident recorded. We consulted Ifa for solution. Ifa said Esu was responsible. We appeased all the gods here and the weekly accidents stopped. No accident has been recorded after the sacrifice. These are things we do here to live peacefully.”

 

On why it was easy for officials of the Federal Ministry of Works to mark buildings for demolition and how the action has affected his health, the traditional ruler said: “In 2019, there was no unity because we had two people fighting for the Baale stool.

 

So, it was easy for them to mark buildings. If the leadership tussle had not been resolved, the officials from Ogun State government would have been successful in marking buildings and go away.

 

Now that we have just one Baale, it is easy to cry to our deities that they are about to be destroyed and they will come to our rescue. Let me confess, I developed high blood pressure after I learnt that this palace would be levelled. I still take my drugs. It was after I became Baale that this palace was erected. Even if the governor gives me money, will it be enough to cover the cost of putting up this structure? Some people say they want compensation. We do not want it.

 

Let them leave our village alone. “There are ways they can do this thing without destroying our villages and shrines. Former Governor Amosun has his town; Vice President Osinbajo, Governor Dapo Abiodun also do. Will they be happy if their towns are demolished? We beg these people to save our town from destruction. The marked buildings are more than 800. We counted all the buildings marked.

 

My chiefs and I counted them. Apart from the interchange bridge, they said they would construct, they said they would need more land to build estates.” Ogun refused to give us C of O in 2015 — now they ask for it in 2022

 

Until February 2022, residents whose houses were marked for demolition had hoped to be compensated following assurances by the officials of the Federal Ministry of Works.

 

But, with the said take over of the project by the state government, the hope of getting compensated, residents argue, has dimmed. Comrade Oluwabunmi Majekodunmi, the Financial Secretary, Ogunrun Ori Community Association said: “In 2019, before the project even started, we were told we would be duly compensated. Buildings were marked for demolition. We were assured that the Federal Government would compensate owners of affected buildings. Suddenly, three weeks ago, officials of the state government came to mark buildings for demolition.

 

“They were challenged by the community and they explained that the project had been handed over to the state government. They were not allowed by the community. The Baale went to Abeokuta to know the real state of things. He was told that the project had indeed been handed over to the state government. He was told houses would be demolished but people should get their Certificate of Occupancy ready to get compensation.

 

But in 20I5 when we sought to get our C of O from the state government, we were told we would not be given because we were on a land already acquired by the government(government acquisition).

 

“Contrary to the claim of the Ogun State officials that demolition would begin in seven days, Baale was told that the claim was not correct .But the state government insisted that buildings would be demolished to give way for the project.

 

People say they don’t want the project but what I see is that the project would be used for campaigns. But I understand their fears. Apart from Lagos, I do not know state governments that pay compensation when they demolish buildings. Why we no longer pay compensation On why the Federal Government will no longer pay compensation to owners of affected buildings, Director of Federal Highways in South West, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Adedamola Kuti, explained that the Federal Government used to pay compensations in the past but the government’s decision now is that the land belongs to the state and any state government that wants the Federal Government to construct road in their domain must give her the Right of Way(RoW).

 

According to Kuti, allowing the state governments to handle the payment of compensation is consistent with the provisions of the Land Use Act, which gives all powers on land to the state governors. He affirmed that, “it is the responsibility of the state and we have submitted all the relevant things we have promised. We are waiting for the state government.”

 

Kuti said it was a regular practice to ask state governments to provide RoW where the Ministry of Works and Housing executes projects, stating that it is not asking for land but a RoW to work.

 

The project, he said, is not restricted to Lotto alone, as other state governments are already cooperating with the ministry, stressing that work will continue on the main carriage way, pending the time the dispute is resolved.

 

He further explained that all information resides in the state and the state government will deal with the owners directly. “Our own is just to give us the right of way. We are not going to deal with anybody’s land. That is our stance,” he added.

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