Around 5am on Sunday, 10th April , while you were chilling in the (dis)comfort of your home, the people of Otodo Gbame were getting evicted and shot at by policemen on orders from the Lagos State Government.
Why? These people who took the fishing communities as their home are said to have been illegally occupying the area which is ultimately a big part of Lagos state’s mega city.
However, reports have also shown that the government defied a high court ruling which ordered a negotiation and probably a relocation of the people of the community to a safer environment.
Unfortunately, these people were forcefully kicked out and many babies like this probably slept in the cold, without shelter. On top of that, 1 person was killed, while Otodo Gbame was burnt to the ground because of ‘development’.
This begs the questions, Is Lagos eradicating the poor as opposed to eradicating poverty?
When your government is building malls and ‘mega-cities” but refuses to provide good drainage and water.
When your government is building malls and ‘mega-cities” but refuses to provide good drainage and water.
When your government kicks out the rural communities after begging them for votes during the elections.
Although the government has accused the public of emotional blackmail, we hope the people in charge do the right thing to cater for its citizens who cannot obviously afford to live on the mega cities.
If you’d like to help, you can submit donations here:
If you can, pls support #OtodoGbame with food/medicine/clothes/mosquito nets. Drop these at 310 Herbert Macaulay Way, 3rd Floor, Sabo-Yaba pic.twitter.com/Kp3L06pUQc
