Category: Property

The United Nations has predicted that Lagos will likely be the third most-populated city by the Year 2030, with a projected population of about 30 million. It is also Nigeria’s most-populous city at a growth rate of about 11 per cent per annum, three times that of the entire country.

Consequently, the Lagos urban space is suffering the challenges of use, disuse, abuse and misuse, in addition to deterioration of quality of life, inadequate basic facilities and prevalence of urban poverty.

Others are proliferation of slums, unemployment, seasonal flooding, and increased crime, among others.

It is equally noteworthy that sustainable development cannot be achieved without a pragmatic, conscious and significant transformation of the way cities are built, used and managed; and the benefits derivable from investment in comprehensive integrated transport systems, creation of green public spaces, improved urban spaces and affordable housing cannot be over-emphasized. Hence, the need for Lagos State to have a viable and robust urban development policy to effectively tackle the observed and future urban challenges.

According to the Commissioner of Physical Planning & Urban Development, Mr. Omotayo Bamgbose Martins, the main objectives of the proposed Lagos State Urban Development Policy is to prepare and reposition the state for a transformative, productive, inclusive, resilient and sustainable urban development. For long term, our effort is to mobilise actions, strategies and resources to address the urban challenges of each settlement, territory and in the fulfillment of development goals and THEMES Agenda of Mr. Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu-led administration.

In July, 2021, he said Sanwo-Olu approved the preparation of  State Urban Development Policy and, since then, the Technical Committee has swung into action to justify the confidence and directive of the governor.

Martins stated that the Technical Committee had achieved various milestones, which include: “the review of the Lagos State Urban Development Policy Concept Note prepared by U.N Habitat, preparation of Committee’s Terms of Reference, identification of major stakeholders for the sub-committee, engagement and collaboration with renowned Uuban practitioners.

Others are the proposed road map for the Lagos State Urban Development Planning (LSUDP) with achievable timelines, engagement and collaboration with NISER, familiarisation tour of border communities (Lagos East, West and Central) for real-time experience.

 It also achieved the publication of public notices on request for memorandum in newspapers, including features and side attractions at last year’s World Habitat Day for public sensitisation and compilation, review and evaluation of memoranda submitted by over 30 stakeholders and MDAs.

South African rating agency GCR has assigned a positive outlook on the pan-African housing financier Shelter Afrique on expectations of a return to profitability within the next two years and ongoing governance reforms at the organisation.

GCR gave the financier’s long and short-term issuer ratings of B- and B , with a positive outlook that signals a future upgrade should its books continue improving.

Shelter Afrique has recently installed a new executive team and cut its non-performing loans ratio from 67 per cent in 2021 to 51 percent at the end of last year.

“The outlook is positive based on our expectations of stability in governance structures and operational frameworks. We also factor improvements in risk management processes resulting in sustained improvements in asset quality, and capitalisation to remain strong with the company returning to profitability within the next 18 months,” said GCR.

“The ratings may be improved if there is a defined and material improvement in asset quality without a deterioration in leverage or reserve coverage ratios. The ratings may also be improved if there is a turnaround in earnings with sustained profitability.”

Last August, Shelter Afrique picked former International Finance Corporation (IFC) Asia-Pacific Lead for housing finance Thierno-Habib Hann as its new chief executive to succeed Zimbabwean Andrew Chimphondah who left in February, last year.

Shelter Afrique, owned by 44 African countries and three development institutions — African Development Bank, African Reinsurance Corporation and the African Solidarity Fund .

Nigerian engineers have joined 21 others in a global engineering alliance under the Washington Accord (WA), which will promote local expertise in the international stage.

Nigeria is the second in the continent after South Africa to join the accord. The WA, signed in 1989, is an international multilateral agreement between bodies responsible for accreditation or recognition of tertiary level engineering qualifications within their jurisdictions, to assist the mobility of professional engineers.

There are 21 countries in the WA, including United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Canada, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Hongkong, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Switzerland and South Africa.

As practised by the other accords that cater for engineering technologists and engineering technicians-Sydney and Dublin, respectively, the signatories of the WA are committed to the development and recognition of good practice in engineering education.

The activities of the accord’s signatories are intended to assist the growth of globalisation of mutual recognition of engineering qualifications. They are focused on academic programmes, which deal with the practice of engineering at the professional level.

The accord acknowledges that accreditation of engineering academic programmes is a key foundation for the practice of engineering at the professional level in each of the countries or territories covered by the alliance.

The attainment of the feat was made possible through the Council of Regulations of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). COREN had expressed interest in becoming a member of the WA in 2018 and submitted its application in 2019, which could not receive the minimum required number of votes from other signatories.

The requirements to be met before admission are confirmation of engineering education curriculum to Outcome-Based Education (OBE), sufficient evidence of the independence of the accreditation body from government or external influence and others.

COREN President Prof. Sadiq Abubakar Zubair, who made this known in Lagos, said some of the benefits include, “the quality, productivity and mobility of Nigerian engineers would be improved upon and the engineering qualification offered in Nigeria is internationalised. Engineers plying their trade in other economies of the world, will enhance the transfer of knowledge, which will in turn, improve Nigeria’s technological capacity.”

He said Nigerian engineers were opportuned to practise in other countries, the exchange of currencies between the two economies is promoted.

He said similar arrangements were being pursued by COREN under the Sydney and Dublin Accords for Nigerian technologists and technicians. Entry into these accords would create opportunities for engineering professionals.

Nigerian engineers have joined 21 others in a global engineering alliance under the Washington Accord (WA), which will promote local expertise in the international stage.

Nigeria is the second in the continent after South Africa to join the accord. The WA, signed in 1989, is an international multilateral agreement between bodies responsible for accreditation or recognition of tertiary level engineering qualifications within their jurisdictions, to assist the mobility of professional engineers.

There are 21 countries in the WA, including United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Canada, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Hongkong, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Switzerland and South Africa.

As practised by the other accords that cater for engineering technologists and engineering technicians-Sydney and Dublin, respectively, the signatories of the WA are committed to the development and recognition of good practice in engineering education.

The activities of the accord’s signatories are intended to assist the growth of globalisation of mutual recognition of engineering qualifications. They are focused on academic programmes, which deal with the practice of engineering at the professional level.

The accord acknowledges that accreditation of engineering academic programmes is a key foundation for the practice of engineering at the professional level in each of the countries or territories covered by the alliance.

The attainment of the feat was made possible through the Council of Regulations of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). COREN had expressed interest in becoming a member of the WA in 2018 and submitted its application in 2019, which could not receive the minimum required number of votes from other signatories.

The requirements to be met before admission are confirmation of engineering education curriculum to Outcome-Based Education (OBE), sufficient evidence of the independence of the accreditation body from government or external influence and others.

COREN President Prof. Sadiq Abubakar Zubair, who made this known in Lagos, said some of the benefits include, “the quality, productivity and mobility of Nigerian engineers would be improved upon and the engineering qualification offered in Nigeria is internationalised. Engineers plying their trade in other economies of the world, will enhance the transfer of knowledge, which will in turn, improve Nigeria’s technological capacity.”

He said Nigerian engineers were opportuned to practise in other countries, the exchange of currencies between the two economies is promoted.

He said similar arrangements were being pursued by COREN under the Sydney and Dublin Accords for Nigerian technologists and technicians. Entry into these accords would create opportunities for engineering professionals.

The Federal Government has said it will re-open the Eko Bridge ahead of schedule  after midnight on July 9,

According to it, this is to alleviate the suffering of road users.

The Director, Highways, Bridges and Designs in the Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. Omotayo Awosanya, gave the assurance  while leading top engineers from the federal team and Lagos State on inspection tour of the bridge.

The team earlier had a closed door meeting with Buildwell Plants and Equipment Industries Ltd, contractors on the project at their construction yard at Costain.

The Federal Government earlier set July 15 as the completion deadline for the bridge.

The joint team further inspected Apongbon end of the bridge – both up and beneath – and the Ijora-Olopa section.

Awosanya said the date review was borne out of the need to relieve the stress commuters have been undergoing for almost a year since fire gutted the Apongbon section and later Ijora Olopa portion.

“A minute after midnight on Sunday, July 9, the bridges will be re-opened so that commuters will have smooth passage on Monday morning of July 10.”

He said when the bridge is re-opened, there would be intermittent short closures to continue repairs, noting that an existing contract for the rehabilitation of the Eko Bridge had reached 50 per cent completion.

Awosanya added that about 150 bearings had been replaced while additional 150 would be installed in subsequent rehabilitation works.

He said full-scale rehabilitation would continue on other sections of the Eko Bridge, as the contract would last three years.

“We have come here to urge the contractor to reduce five days out of the 15th of July; we are now going to open the bridge on the 10th.

“And a minute after 12.00 a.m on the 9th, the bridge will be opened for traffic on the 10th.

“This is as a result of close collaboration between Federal Government and Lagos State Government because we are mindful of the stress the closure of the bridge has caused to Lagosians and we have put pressure on the contractor to open the bridge on Monday for traffic.

“This will reduce the stress presently on other bridges connecting the Island and Victoria Island,” he said.

Awosanya warned that the Federal Government would evacuate all illegal squatters under all Lagos bridges causing damage to the infrastructure.

He noted that the collaboration of the federal and state governments would help to achieve the eviction of the squatters under Apongbon and Ijora sections, as well as other bridges.

The Permanent Secretary, Office of Infrastructure in Lagos State, Mr. Olufemi Daramola, expressed satisfaction with the lwork, assuring residents of better motoring experience on the axis after the re-opening.

He said with what was on ground, “9th of July is very realistic”, assuring that, arrangements were at high level towards protection of bridges.

On her part, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mrs. Olukorede Kesha, appreciated the Lagos public for their patience while the repairs lasted.

Mrs. Kesha appealed to residents to be vigilant and report illegalities and vandalism, adding that they should take ownership of infrastructure to prevent wastage of scarce resources that go into repairs.

During the inspection, Mrs. Kesha assured that demolition had been completed on all the five panels destroyed by vandals, adding that, casting of concrete was set to begin.

The bridge was razed by fire caused by human activities in 2022.

Apongbon section was affected by fire in March, 2022 and efforts for its December completion were stalled by a fire that affected the Ijora Olopa section of the bridge on Nov. 4.

The delivery date for Apongbon section was extended to May 2023 because some materials for its repairs were used to start emergency repair of Ijora Olopa section.

The Federal Government later set another deadline for July 15, which was reviewed downward to July 10.

The 4.1km bridge links the Lagos Island with the Mainland. It directly links to Apongbon on the Island side.

Eko Bridge has been undergoing phased rehabilitation but contract for its comprehensive maintenance was awarded in February 2022 and was expected to extend to 2026.

On the other hand, the Ijora Olopa section of bridge damaged by vandals was shut  on May 17, 2023 for safety of the public.

The deck on pile bridge caved in on May 16, leading to immediate assessment and closure.

A deck on pile is a bridge that does not have piers.

• We followed due process, says govt

Last week, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) demolished 17 distressed buildings at the popular Alaba International Market, Ojo. It was not the first time the agency would bring down derelict houses. But the recent demolition has generated a controversy. The market’s leadership said the exercise was politically motivated, but the state government said the owners of the buildings were duly informed since 2016 before the bulldozers were brought in. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

The Alaba International Market,Lagos hosts an estimated two million people daily, who transact business in the congested market. The market, excluding attachments and sub-shops, consists of over 20,000 shops.

In 1978, when the market started at its current site at Ojo Alaba, the place was not fit for human habitation, let alone doing business.  

Its story has been growing from a few naira sales to transactions worth billions of naira  across the West African sub-region. The market is managed by dedicated men of integrity who ensure that no customer is short-changed by any seller in the market.

Also, security is assured and customers who are dissatisfied can contact the Market Taskforce personnel who will assist such customer.  

“When we started, nobody believed we would develop anything out of that wilderness. We started from Alaba-Suru, near Mile 2. The then government said we were operating close to an expressway and would hinder vehicular movement, so we had to move. But much later, the same state government, although of another administration, approved a market in the same area. We are not bothered though because we have made a huge success of our movement to this place,” the market Chairman, Canillus Amajuoyi, said.

Describing the state of physical development in Ojo then, one of the 13 persons who started the market, Chief Christopher Chika Ajokorom said: “Ojo was and is still a sleeping hamlet,” adding that it was only heavy trucks conveying sharp sand to building sites that could go close to the area. He lamented that the government didn’t see reason to put infrastructure in place up until now.

He said: “Starting a market with no infrastructure or any form of support from the government was clearly an extraordinary task, but that did not deter the 13 young men.”

Successive leaderships of the market had tried to expand and develop it and the surrounding environment, as well as contributing their quota to the development of the state and the Ojo Local Government Area.

Discussing the challenges facing the market, he said the main factor militating against their business was lack of road network.

He lamented: “The road is so bad that customers find it extremely difficult to access the market. Most times, customers leave their houses at 10.am, but before they get here, the market has closed because they were caught in a gridlock for six hours.

 “We have lost many containers of goods to the road. They fall off the truck every now and then and our goods are damaged. That has negatively impacted our growth. This is after we have paid all taxes and levies on the goods as demanded by various authorities.”

Ajokorom continued: “The condition of the road is horrible. The only time we see government officials is during election, but we are hoping that there will be a difference for a change.”

However, trouble started when the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) recently demolished 17 buildings considered to be distressed across the market.

Armed officials of the Task Force, who stormed the market around 11 am with bulldozers, cordoned off the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

While there were attempts by some angry traders to stop the TaskForce officials from carrying out the demolition, the officials prevented passers-by from capturing a footage of the exercise.

Angry with the demolition, which sparked outrage among traders, Ajokorom said the exercise was politically-motivated and an attempt to force them out.

One of the traders whose building was demolished, Mr. lkechi Ibano, insisted that his property was not among those initially marked for demolition by the taskforce.

The trader said they have been managing their affairs, including the provision of infrastructure, as it seemed the state government from one administration to another left them to their fate.

It came as a bad dream when they woke on that fateful day to the sound of earthmowers and security men armed to the teeth demolishing the buildings allegedly on the verge of collapse. 

A trader and importer of high-end electronics, Ikonne Chukwudi, wondered why the government would come under the guise of derelict buildings and preserving the lives of traders to demolish 17 buildings housing hundreds of shops.

Ikonne said they destroyed livelihoods as the demolition affected thousands that depend on hustling daily to make ends meet. He accused the government of being vindictive because of political differences between most of them and the government.

Others accused the government of planning to allocate the land to some Chinese businessmen to take it over against as most of them are from other regions of the country.

He further disputed the fact that the buildings were close to a canal and wondered what the duty of the government was if it could not build embankments to protect the buildings even at this time where people build on water and sleep with two eyes closed.

According to him, a few minutes’ observation of commercial activities at the market speak volumes and illustrates why traders there are hanging on despite the anguish that infrastructure breakdown presents. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic in and out of the market is massive, with everybody holding one electronic/electrical item or another.

Another trader, Uche Ogala, who deals in lighting systems, said his people have heard the state government loud and clear, and would respond accordingly. He said many of the affected traders and owners of the structures had no place to go.

 He said: “You can’t say you want to save lives, meanwhile, you’re indirectly destroying lives at the same time.

“My building was not marked for demolition, I just saw the taskforce officials who asked me to remove my belongings from the building because they were about to commence the demolition.

“Initially, the demolition should have started from the Okokomaiko area. I was surprised the demolition started from my building even when it was not marked.”

Another trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ultimatum was too short, adding that they were only informed of the demolition three days’ ahead.

The trader said: “This act is politically orchestrated to chase us away from our source of livelihood.”

However, the Lagos State Government disputed the allegations by the traders, saying several warnings were issued before the demolition.

LASBCA General Manager Gbolahan Oki, who spoke during an assessment of the buildings earmarked for demolition, also issued final warnings and notices to occupants of the affected structures.

“Oki, who decried the harassment meted out to officials of the agency at different times in the past, said seven years’ notification was enough for the occupants of the buildings marked for demolition to have vacated the structures and complied with the notices issued by LASBCA and other government agencies.”

“These buildings marked within this Alaba International Market would have been included in the list of 349 distressed buildings earlier published in different national newspapers this year, but because the occupants were always harassing our officers, it was impossible to capture the details of the structures and include them in the publication.

“What we have done is a joint exercise carried out by the Lagos Task Force officers and the demolition gang of Lagos State Building Control Agency.

“We know that this area is a commercial centre and one of the busiest markets in Lagos State, but, despite this, we cannot fold our arms and allow irregularities to continue to thrive in the market where the lives of innocent persons would be put at risk because of the failure of a few set of individuals who refused to do the needful,” Oki added.

Oki said the government valued the lives of  residents in the state, regardless of their their tribe or political affiliation.

He stressed that a Lagosian’s life was of utmost importance and cannot be compromised for financial gain or profit.

According to him, considering the potential danger the distressed buildings posed to adjacent structures and the lives of the market’s business community, the demolition was imperative and timely. Also, the Lagos State chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo called for compensation of owners of the 17 demolished structures.

The group punctured claims by some traders  that the buildings were demolished because the Igbo did not vote for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in the last governorship election.

According to Ohanaeze, the demolition of the buildings had no political undertone; it added that vacation notices were given beforehand to the occupants.

However, the  Chairman, Ohanaeze in the state, Chief Ogbonna Aguene, argued that there had not been any incident of building collapse in the market, stressing that for that reason, the owners should be compensated.

“Those are very common people. Some of them did it ignorantly, but ignorance is not an excuse to the law. Even at that, certain things can still be considered when carrying out a demolition of this magnitude.’

 “My appeal is that Lagos State should consider those affected,  especially those who have the necessary documents from the government,  including  the C of O,  should be paid full compensation. Alaba International Market has added a lot to the development of Lagos State.”

He further said the state government was receptive to Ndigbo as against rumours that the demolition was aimed at punishing the traders for working against the government in the election