Residents of Ibadan whose homes have been demolished or marked for demolition have begun to protest Governor Seyi Makinde’s bulldozing spree in the Oyo state government’s bid to acquire more land within 500 metres of the Ibadan Circular Road.
Some of them, helpless, are crying out for aid.
Reports show that the demolition had affected residents in 12 villages and communities in the Ona Ara, Lagelu, Ido, Oluyole and Egbeda local government areas of Ibadan, the Oyo capital.
‘WE HAVE NOWHERE TO GO‘
A video emerged on X on Wednesday where some of the affected houseowners were seen wailing and pleading to Makinde for mercy, bewailing that they had nowhere to go.
“Come to my aid, Nigerians. My body is no longer calm. There is nowhere for me to sleep. I have not collected my gratuity since 2016,” one woman cried out in the video.
“Seyi Makinde, come to my aid. Don’t demolish my house on my head,” another woman, on her knees, cried profusely.
Another affected woman who disclosed in the video that she was 76 years old was seen pleading for mercy from Makinde.
“It has affected businesses. The house I am managing in too has also been marked to fall in the marked areas for demolition,” another woman holding a placard said as she also appealed to Makinde.
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The family of the poor widows you are seeing… pic.twitter.com/mFkv0nXWFI— ADESINA KUNLE (@kunle_adesina) September 12, 2024
Credits: Solutions FM 93.9
Another report says that scores of people have been killed with over 300,000 people rendered homeless.
EX-GOVERNOR LADOJA’S PLAN WOULD HAVE AFFECTED LESS
In a protest by the affected people on Thursday, Azeez Abbas, the secretary of the corridor of residents, told reporters that Makinde should revert to the plans of his predecessor, Adewolu Ladoja.
According to Abbas, Ladoja had planned to only take just 75 metres to the right and 75 metres to the left side of the area in focus.
“It is a shocking move by the governor to take 500 metres to the right and 500 metres to the left for a road setback and displaced people living at the circular road corridor wherein the initial plan was 75 metres by left and 75 metres by right by the past administration of Governor Rashidi Ladoja,” Abbas said.
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MAKINDE HAS TAKEN MORE ANTI-MASSES DECISIONS
In 2023, Makinde decide to convert the Agodi Forest into a residential estate.
In January, FIJ reported how a group advocating for a greener environment known as Save Our Green Spaces decided to embark on a protest which was later met with physical assaults by ‘thugs’.
Makinde decided to convert Trans-Amusement Park, another state-owned asset, to a housing estate. The move was met with a lot of criticisms.
“Since 2019, we put up the Trans-Amusement Park, for private sector investment in keeping with our mantra to ensure that the government gets value from every structure developed before now,” Makinde explained his decision.
“The few people who showed interest backed out after they had an opportunity to visit the facility and do proper due diligence.
“The reason we have received a lack of interest is that the equipment is obsolete and cannot be repaired. It is also more expensive to scrap the equipment and construct a modern amusement park in the same location.”
Makinde’s government shared the ambitious Ìlú Tuntun business district dream that would sacrifice valuable 3,149 hectares along the Moniya-Ijaiye Road in the Akinyele LGA.
Tade Ipadeola, a Nigerian poet and culture advocate, criticised Makinde’s decision in September.
Ipadeola stated that Makinde was going to “uproot over 200,000 people from their ancestral homesteads which also happens to be the physical location of some of the most storied events in Yoruba history …the Ibadan-Ijaye war which ended in 1867”.
“Oyo State cannot pay a fair price for 3,149 hectares of land displacing over 200,000 persons at this time,” Ipadeola added.
The post ‘Nowhere for Me to Sleep’ — Oyo Residents Protest Makinde’s Plan to Render Thousands Homeless appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.