The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has suggested that illegal builders whose houses are demolished might soon be required to cover the costs of the demolition.
Wahab made this statement on Tuesday in response to a comment by Ola Kasali, who tweeted under the handle @Olakaslas on X (formerly Twitter), suggesting that a user who criticized the Lagos State Government for demolishing their buildings in Mende estate, Kosofe Local Government Area of the state, should be held accountable for the demolition and cleaning expenses. A user named Ilemona, using the handle @I_am_Ilemona, shared a picture of a building development permit issued by the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority with ref: KS07/DO/375/45/109 signed by the then District Officer, Kosofe District, Mrs. PO Emuze, to the Managing Director, Legrande Engineering Services Limited, on July 29, 2008.
The letter stated, "I am directed to inform you that your application for development permit has been approved under the provisions of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2005. Physical Development Provisions. You are, however, advised to maintain the conditions given in the Development Permit and comply with the conditions stated by the Ministry of Environment."
Ilemona questioned why the building permit issued 16 years ago did not prevent the demolition of the properties in the estate. Responding, Wahab, in a detailed tweet, wrote, "Dear @I_Am_Ilemona, I have been ignoring many individuals making ignorant statements about the Mende issue, but let me take a moment to educate you again." "First, the tweet you mischievously attached this document to was my response to your attention-seeking tweet, just like this one about Ikota, where some other people also encroached on the canal’s right-of-way.
This has since been removed, and construction of the drainage channel is currently ongoing." "In your very shallow opinion on Mende, take your time to read item 3.0 of the document that you posted, stating, and I quote, ‘You are, however, advised to maintain the conditions given in the Development Permit and comply with the conditions stated by the Ministry of Environment.’ The question now is, were the conditions met? No! The condition was simple: to leave a certain meter away from the beacon." The commissioner asserted that the developer sponsoring those protesting knew what he was doing. "The Developer who is sponsoring many of you knew what he was doing.
He went ahead, encroaching on the part for which he was not approved. If you build beyond the approved plan, you have violated the conditions of approval, and your approval becomes entirely invalid. As they say, ‘The wheel of justice may be slow, but one day, it will grind to a halt.’ " However, he acknowledged that the era of what he described as 'anyhowness' in the state is now over, adding, "We cannot be complaining about a problem and still complain about the solution."
Pleased with his response, a user named Ola Kasali, tweeting under the handle @Olakaslas, commented, "The commissioner only gave him just one of his crimes, the second one is what I am giving you, and there is a 3rd and a 4th. In fact, this person owes the government demolition and cleaning fees." Wahab replied, "At some point, we’ll get to that!" Recently, the Lagos State Government began demolishing some buildings at Arowojogbe in Mende estate, sparking outrage from residents as video clips of the exercise circulated on social media.
Explaining the reason for the demolition, Wahab said the buildings were demolished to prevent flooding of the entire mainland. He added that the demolished structures were built on System 1 drainage right-of-way to the Odo Iya Alaro River.
