The much awaited liberation of the people of Maroko, a suburb of Lagos State, who were forcefully evicted by the then Lagos State Government at about 20 years ago, seems to be under way. This follows the recent visit by a team of the foundation’s officials to the sprawling Ilasan Housing Estate to have first hand assessment of the inhuman treatment the people were made to endure.
Over the years, it has been argued that one of the largest forced evictions in Nigeria’s history occurred in July 1990 in Maroko, upon the orders of the then military administration in the state headed by Col. Raji Rasaki.
Reason advanced for the forced evictions and mass demolition was that the sprawling community was below sea level, and thus in dire need of sand filling and infrastructural transformation. The exercise which continued until July 25, was carried out by an array of bulldozers ably supported by fierce-looking security personnel. Accordingly, excessive violence was said to have characterised the evictions. A significant number of the evictees suffered various degrees of injuries including temporary and permanent disabilities. There were also reports of people who were crushed to death by falling walls. The security operatives were said to have exhibited element of bestiality, capitalising on the haplessness of the people to harass, maim, beat, rape and loot in the process. Victims helplessly watched properties they acquired with the totality of their savings and earnings perish in one swoop. At the end of the exercise, the entire community was in a complete ruins with over 10, 000 houses demolished and about 300, 000 people rendered homeless. Only a police station in the neighborhood was said to have survived the demolition.
The people had since July 11, 1990 challenged in the Lagos High Court, the forced evictions and demolition of their homes, schools, businesses, and other properties, the loss of lives and disruption of families and communities, the failure to follow due process or pay compensation and the failure to provide alternative housing in violation of their rights to housing, property, health, family, education, dignity as human beings, privacy, freedom of movement and residence anywhere in Nigeria, and peaceful enjoyment of their property as guaranteed by several provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Notably, development of this nature has become part of the attributes of the Lagos State government as it has repeatedly succeeded in taken over housing units inhabited by the poor, and handed them over to private developers who build housing units that were beyond the reach of the urban poor. Quite too often, international development efforts rolled out as urban renewal initiatives are exploited and hijacked by state mafias to exacerbate the already substandard living conditions of the poor majority.
Specifically, after the demolition, the Maroko people left with no other option, had to move into the uncompleted Ilasan Housing Estate. The structures at the estate was initially designed for two-storey buildings with six blocks of flats each. Due to change in government, 99 per cent of the structures were not completed. Few weeks after the demolition, the people cleared the estate with their cutlasses and eventually moved in. There were no drainages, no road, no light, nothing. It was in a complete emptiness. The government have on several occasions, with their security apparatus, attempted to flush them out but due to court injunctions, they were restrained and surprisingly, all the uncompleted apartments were allegedly allocated by the state government to the people. What an irony! On this singular conduct, the Maroko Evictees’ leader, Prince S.A Aiyeyemi , said some of them were expected by the state government to live in those buildings without roof and windows.
The Ford Foundation had earlier visited the area in 2002. Similarly, the President of the foundation, Luis Ubinas had during his visit to Makoko in March last year, extended solidarity to the community’s struggles in defense of their right to live in the city. He also assured community members of the foundation’s resolve to take their cause to the next level, by providing greater support for SERAC’s campaign to develop and promote an effective pro-poor urban policy that promotes wider access to land and housing. The visit which was facilitated by the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC), could not have come at a better time than now when the people of Maroko have concluded arrangement to give the Ilasan Estate a face lift with a community budget of N100 million. On the team were the Program Officer, Mr. Joseph Gitari, Human Rights, Dr Margie Reese, Program Officer for Arts and Culture, Adhiambo Odaga, West Africa representative on Development, Finance and Economic Security, Jacob Gayle among others.
Aiyeyemi stated that despite all odds, the people with a very strong determination have continued in the last 20 years to attend the Lagos High Court in search of an elusive justice. “It is very wonderful how our people have continued to be law abiding under a lawless government, with the effect that the Lagos State government can have no excuse for their continued inhuman treatment of Maroko evictees. We are happy that both the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Oputa Commission of Enquiry set up by the Federal Government have found Maroko people innocent, and so have both recommended full resettlement for the evictees. But the Lagos State government has not done this, as there seems to be no due process of the law in both Lagos and the Nigerian nation,” he sounded.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of SERAC, Dr Felix Morka, noted that since the government have reluctantly allowed the people to stay, though some state forces still come to harass and intimidate them, they have not come back to provide any type service to the people or see how they are coping with life here. He said, “even though they have lived here, the state would not let them be. Over the years, there have been much pressure from the government to further move them from here. The excuse they gave in 1990 that the place is prone to flooding is what they are also giving now. The place is prone to flooding, is not good for human habitation and all that.” The people among other thing, is asking for the uplifment of the estate, construction of the half a kilometer central road, upgrading of the only primary and secondary schools in the area and the water works. They are hopeful to smile at this second coming of the foundation.
