Lagos community protests planned coastal road diversion

Hundreds of residents, on Thursday, protested at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Works in Lagos State to express their grievances against the proposed diversion of the coastal road alignment in the Okun Ajah community area of the state.

The residents, while lamenting the proposed diversion, described the move as an attempt by the Minister of Work, David Umahi, to favour an ethnic group at the expense of other residents, whose property were located outside the coastal road alignment.

The protesters called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to institute a probe into the planned diversion of the road in Okun Ajah, where a portion had since 2006 been earmarked for the project.

Armed with placards with various inscriptions including, “Illegal construction on the Right of Way should not be encouraged,” “Lagos State has a master plan,” “Honourable minister, no ethnic sentiment,” “Keep to your words, you promised us renewed hope, don’t punish us,” “Keep to your words, you promised Okun Ajah on national television that you are going back to the old gazette of alignment of 2006,” the residents condemned the planned diversion.

A landlady in the town, Maimuna Usman-Ologunro, who was among the protesters, said, “We all heard him at the stakeholders meeting where he said that the road would pass through the gazette alignment. Why did his men return to our community to mark our buildings, which are not built on the coastal road alignment?”

The Akogun of Okun Ajah, Saeed Olukosi, who was among the protesters, described the planned diversion as a miscarriage of justice after the minister decided to pamper those who flagrantly built their houses on the coastal road alignment.

Olukosi said, “Already, the houses built on the coastal road alignment had been identified and marked for demolition but surprisingly, some days ago, the construction workers diverted to an entirely new area and started marking houses.

“We are shocked that the moneybags who violated the law by building illegally had gone to bribe some workers and they left illegal buildings and diverted to our buildings which we constructed legally.

“We understand that the Presidency may not be aware of the illegality. That’s why we have come to notify him through this peaceful protest at the Federal Ministry of Work office in Lagos State.”

Olukosi said the minister promised to do the needful and administer justice and urged him to investigate the claims made during the protest for justice to prevail.

“This administration promised us renewed hope, so he should give us hope and not punish us,” he added.

Counsel for the residents, Bolanle Olugbani, said the Federal Government assured members of the community of adhering to the old gazetted alignment, adding that for over 30 years, everyone buying land at the Okun Ajah community knew that a coastal road would pass through the community at a time in future.

Olugbani said, “They also conformed to the law, but some money bags bought property from designated coastal road alignment. Lagos State had a gazette not to build on a coastal road, the minister is not above the law.

“The law today says the old alignment is where the coastal road should pass. The minister also said it at the stakeholders meeting. No amount of money and tribal sentiment should sway in. The minister knows what to do. The minister must not change from the old alignment.”

The Federal Comptroller of Works, Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, who received the protesters, assured them that the minister was ready to look into their complaints.

She said, “The minister has demonstrated several times that he is a listening person and the government is also a listening one. The minister is not afraid to come to Lagos to see you again.

“I have told him about you. He was in Lagos last Saturday and he wanted me to call you on Sunday, but because of the Sallah festival, I told him you people would not come out and that we have to respect that day and he said OK.

“I told him you are complaining and he promised to come back in a week. I will invite you to bear your mind to him. He doesn’t look down on people, it’s impossible to please everyone. Nobody is saying justice must not be done.”