Palpable tension and confusion hit the Okun Ajah area of Lagos State today as officials of the Federal Ministry of Works began another round of house markings in the community.
The officials of the Federal Ministry of Works, who invaded the community with armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, had to call for reinforcements of heavily armed soldiers following a mild and peaceful protest from residents.
The arrival of the armed soldiers sent the residents scattering in different directions as the soldiers quickly took strategic positions, reports Nigerian Tribune.
The newly marked houses are expected to be demolished to pave the way for the Lagos-Calabar coastal road.
According to residents, this is the fourth marking since the federal government announced the commencement of the road construction.
The residents also denied that there are any marine cables in the community, stating that telecommunications companies had visited the area and confirmed the absence of network cables.
Many residents, including 80-year-old Pa Ashimi Noibi, expressed their disbelief and confusion with the markings, adding that the road construction is causing serious stagnation in the community.
They urged the federal government to save their community from ocean surges by constructing the road at the waterfront, as most of the houses there had already collapsed.
Pa Noibi, while speaking with the ministry officials, urged them to return to the 2006-gazetted coastal road alignment.
One of the residents, Timothy Ige, accused the Federal Ministry of Works of deliberately favouring certain individuals with different markings.
He said, “What I want all of us to know is that there is God. You are telling us to go and meet the minister. Not all of us have access to the minister.”
He stated, “I have been living here since 2006. I created the road here with my hands. It took me many days. I asked the necessary questions before I started building, and I was told where the coastal road would pass through.”
“The normal route for this road is the ocean side. Even in the Republic of Benin, their expressway is by the seaside. Why is it different in Nigeria?” he queried.
He also stated, “There was already a place designated for this road. If they know that they want to favour some people who are above the law, they should go to the seaside.”
“There were just four of us here as of 2006. We asked the necessary questions before we built our houses. All the houses and hotels that they are avoiding now were not there then.”
Another resident, John Thomas, said, “I have been here since 2006. There was never a time they marked my building for coastal road alignment, but now, because they want to favour some rich people, they are marking our houses for demolition.”
“The government should consider us. We complied with all the necessary laws and should not be sacrificed for those who broke the law.”
