Perhaps as a result of their structural decay and the apparent danger they pose to the society, no fewer than 30 houses have been marked for demolition in Lagos Island.
The decision to pull down the once-upon-a-time sprawling structures, it was learnt, was spurred largely by the general facelift being given to infrastructure in the state by Governor Akinwumi Ambode, especially as elaborate preparations for the 50th year anniversary of the creation of the state reach top gear.
Checks by The Point revealed that almost all the houses marked, most of which are scattered along the popular Broad Street, and elsewhere on Victoria Island, have suffered many years of neglect by their original owners. The resultant effect of the neglect of the buildings is their dilapidated state that has continued to generate interest.
On-the-spot investigations by our correspondent revealed that over 10 of the affected structures fall along the non-residential area of the everbusy Broad Street, which has repeatedly caused panic among top- government functionaries at Alausa, the seat of power in Lagos.
It was learnt that before the recent visit and marking of the affected structures by the authorities, officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Authority had repeatedly carried out assessment of the structures, recommending “possible renovation for some, while others were evaluated to either be dilapidated or simply decayed.“
Some of the affected houses have been caving in while their fixtures and fittings such as windows and doors, have since given way.
“Some of the buildings were hurriedly left behind in 1992, when the Federal Capital was moved away from Lagos to Abuja. That was shortly after the Gideon Orka-led abortive coup. We are saying that for almost 30 years, no real activity has taken place in them. The buildings are simply left for rodents, creepy animals and street urchins, who make use of them at night,” a resident of Okesuna, Mr. Oluyemisi Macaulay, said.
“The government of Lagos State under Ambode will be writing its name in gold if something permanent is done about those buildings now. In the first place, it will save lives besides changing the face of the state of excellence forever,” Macaulay added.
Asked if there would be no administrative bottlenecks between the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government over the intending demolition and eventual takeover of the properties, a resident of Bankole Street, off Broad Street, Mr. Bankole Lasisi, said, “The same political party controlling Lagos as a state is controlling the Federal Government. All that is needed to be done is for the two to synergise, come up with a popular scheme that will be beneficial to the masses on the said properties. just like what was done to the Federal Prisons on the same Broad Street, which is today known as ‘The Freedom Square.’
” Several calls made to the phone of the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, and a text message sent to him were not answered. An independent source close to the commissioner, however, revealed that all the necessary steps required by the law had been taken, adding that there was no cause for alarm.
