We Need To Talk About The Demolition That Just Happened In Lagos

On September 1, the Lagos State government demolished a few structures housing some small and medium sized businesses on Rumens street in Ikoyi.

Social media was in an uproar, especially because one of the demolished businesses was the much loved casual healthy food chain, Nuli juice.

Some pondered on the fairness of the actions taken by the state.

Others highlighted the fact that this issue is not new or a one-off.

An internship programme had this to say.

And someone had this to say about investing in Nigerian property.

While we are not clear on all the details, some reports on social media stated that the Landlord owed the government permit payments for the structural extensions on his property which housed the businesses that were demolished.

However, speaking to TVC on the show ‘Your View’ yesterday, Steve Ayorinde, the Lagos Commissioner of Information and Strategy stated that the occupants and landlords had been served notifications of illegal structure, a demolition notice as well as a pasted notice on the building in March 2016. He further stressed that the demolitions had nothing to do with permit payments owed to the state.

Regardless of the circumstances, we really hope the business owners are able to come out of this stronger and better.

What do you think about the demolition?