Many of the buildings in the Lagos State Low Cost Housing Scheme popularly known as Jakande Estate at Adeniji Adele on Lagos Island are weak. During a visit last week, Governor Babatunde Fashola said the estate would be rebuilt. Welcoming the idea, some of the residents canvassed for “proper relocation” by the government before the renovation, reports SEYI ODEWALE.
It was a surprise visit, but it was welcomed by residents of Lagos State Low Cost Housing Scheme popularly known as Jakande Estate at Adeniji Adele on Lagos Island. The buildings are threatened by flood and many are already showing signs of distress. So, when Governor Babatunde Fashola visited the estate last week, the residents were happy to receive him. The governor, they reasoned, had come to address their plight. Many of the houses are leaking, with sewage running through some of the compounds.
A shocked Fashola said he would not stand by and watch until the buildings collapsed before doing something. He said he would relocate the residents and even give them money to rent houses, pending the rehabilitation of the estate.
Ade Fakoya, who lives in the estate, agrees with the governor.“The way residents of this estate, especially Adeniji Adele, managed the place has left so much to be desired. The place, apart from being over-crowded, is not fit for humans. Is it the pile of dirt that usually blocks the canal beside the estate you want to talk about or the impunity with which the residents deface the place that you want to talk about? Everywhere in that estate, you will agree with me must be rebuilt,” he said
Built about 30 years ago, the estate, which has four phases, was among those built by the administration of the first civilian Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, to ease housing problems, especially of middle and low income earners. The idea paid off as many keyed into the project, which simultaneously took off in almost every part of the state. They included Lekki, Isolo, Amuwo-Odofin, Alapere, Iyana-Ipaja, Ikorodu and other areas.
Recalling with nostagia when the estate was newly built, Fakoya said: “You needed to see what it looked like when it was newly built. It was very decent, clean and habitable. How and when decay set it, to me, is a matter of conjecture, because it did not come suddenly. The decay grew over the years.”
But over the years, the estate, like its contemporaries in the state, has suffered a lot of abuse and neglect by its owners. Aside, there are other factors that, unfortunately, eroded the integrity of the buildings in the estate. These include the land on which they were built and the circumstances under which they were erected.
“Every time we look at those buildings that are distressed, we must also look at the background of how those buildings got there. There was no land in that place. The impression of land was created by the construction of the Third Mainland Bridge, which necessitated sand filling of the area. And the era when Alhaji Jakande constructed those buildings was when the Federal Government and the state government were struggling over landed property. Before it was being used for wasteful exercises the state government came in, and we needed those houses then,” said Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde.
The hurried manner with which the estate was built, Ayinde told The Nation, gave no room for soil test. This, however, undermined the government’s efforts as the building after some years began to sink until most of them showed some signs of distressed.
“So, those houses came within that circumstance and the necessary soil tests were not done then because they were in a hurry to put up those buildings for people to move into them. Obviously, over the years, structures like that would be distressed,” Ayinde said.
Fashola’s pronouncement has, however, sent jitters down the spine of many residents as they are not clear on how sincere the government will be and how it wants to go about it.
“The news about the government coming to demolish our estate is not in any way new to us. We heard it about two years ago. But what we are not clear with is how government wants to go about it. We have been told that we will be relocated pending the time the estate will be rebuilt, but where are we going to be moved to?” asked Hon Gbenga Akinnubi the estate’s Phase I residents’ chairman.
This fear, among others, he said, is causing a lot of discomfort among residents who would not want to be dislodged from the kind of life they are used to on Lagos Island. “Majority of our children were born in this estate, even some of the older generation cannot live their lives outside Lagos Island. So, if we are all relocated to another place, which we feel will definitely be outside Lagos Island, most of our people will find it difficult to adjust, knowing that the exercise will last until the buildings are reconstructed and completed. And this in the minds of our people will take months,” said Akinnubi.
He continued: “We appreciate the government’s concern about the state of the buildings and we are in support of the move to regenerate them. It is just that our people need to be assured that they will not suffer unnecessarily for their houses. You may wish to know that we have since paid for these houses. We own them.”
Akinnubi made a suggestion: “We would love it if the government could just develop a section of the Phase II of the estate, which has some space, to serve as a transit camp for us. What will just happen is that we will be moved in phases as soon as the buildings are completed. If they move residents of five buildings to the camp, their apartment would be phased and when completed, they would be settled in them and others would follow suit in that order.”
But the Physical Planning Commissioner assured residents, saying they have nothing to fear. “Government intends to rebuild those buildings and endeavour that those living there come back. To do a sustainable building in that environment for now would take one no less than 35 metres depth below the present ground level; meaning that you would have pile foundation. Now if the existing buildings were erected on piles it is not very likely that we will have the present situation now,” he said.
Akinnubi’s statement was corroborated by the chairman of the estate, comprising all the four Phases, Alhaji Wakili Anbali, who said the plan goes with their aspiration. “We have been crying for about nine years to the government to come to our aid in this estate. And when they eventually came, we had no choice than to welcome them. It is okay with us,” he said.
He said a portion of land between phases II and III could be used to settle residents in phases pending the time the project is completed. “If they take some people there now, their former apartments would be done and after that they take them back for others to take their turns,” he said, adding: “We would not want to be taken to far places outside Lagos Island, like Agege, Iyana-Ipaja or some place like that,” he added.
When the commissioner was asked if the scheme would take after that of Isale-Gangan, where the government rebuilt the place for its owners with a promise of giving them their buildings back when completed, Ayinde said: “Isale-Gangan is a different case, but a regeneration exercise. It is different in the sense that people, who have their different properties, then pulled their small land area together and were being supported by the government and each of them will get back their apartments,” he said.
The scheme, he said, is not denying the owners of their properties, but to assist them in making the place habitable. “I don’t know if you have been to that area lately, you will see why we are most concerned. We don’t want cases of building collapse again in Lagos and virtually all the buildings there are weak and distressed. Not only that, the area is prone to flooding because of the blocked canal by the estate. So, all these will be done to make the place fit for living again,” he assured.
But Adeniji-Adele, the commissioner was told, is not the only estate in that category that was distressed. “Of course, we know that there are others like that. It will be extended to them, but we must also not forget that every exercise like this requires funding. In matter of funding, we talk about prioritising. Don’t forget that housing is not the only need of Lagos. We also need to intervene in education, health, transportation, road infrastructure and expanding water provision.
“So, there are a lot of things competing for the limited resource and never ever forget that Lagos State has the largest population of all the states in Nigeria and all of these have to be balanced. That is part of the challenge we have. But let me also say that we have private sector participants who are showing interests in collaborating with the government to develop such estates. They want to come in, do the relocation for those who are there, build the structures for them to occupy and probably develop others for commercial purposes,” he said.
Asked if the exercise would require the owners to pay some additional cost to regain their apartments, the commissioner, who first said no, later added that by the time the project is completed value would have been added to the buildings at some costs.
“No, no, no, no. I will take Adeniji, for example; we have a proposal by private sector participant who plans to relocate them at no cost to them, of course, if they don’t yield their tenancy up and leave those buildings. Let us not forget that every one of the flats in that estate belongs to some people; they bought them. And if, perhaps, they have cooperated in maintaining them, it would not have got to that level. We must also recognise our bad maintenance culture, not just in Adeniji Adele, but for us generally as a people. As somebody said: “You don’t have a piece of engineering structure on ground and refuse to maintain it. Nowhere is it done in the world. So, it’s about the ability for them to yield. Once they yield, the plan is for them to come back there without any payment. Although we must note that it’s an added value, definitely they (the buildings) would not come back at their original value,” Ayinde said.
He, however, decried the misconception among some sections of the society that Governor Fashola’s administration was demolishing buildings arbitrarily in Lagos, noting that those who share the view are pessimists. “It is just like looking at a glass of water to say either it is half empty or half full. When you look at it and say half empty, you are seen as a pessimistic person, but when you say it is half full, it means that you are optimistic and hopeful that the glass will, eventually, get full. So, I think the message should change; it should be a message of hope. Have you been to the area lately? And what is your impression? If you have been there, you will know what we are talking about. We are bringing to them a message of hope and better living environment,” he said.
When The Nation visited the estate, it discoverd that it needs urgent attention. Entering through Phase I by the Taxi Park, it met with images that assaulted its sensibilities. The state of most buildings, the untidy state of its inner roads and attachments, such as shops and kiosks could also make the place a haven for criminals, especially when night falls.
Perennial flooding of the area can also make living there hellish. “Although we are not happy with the flooding, what can you do as an individual when people around you are defiant especially in dumping of refuse in the canal?”asked a resident who, wished for anonymity.
Most residents on the Island, especially Adeniji Adele, he said, do not have an acceptable way of disposing their wastes. “That was why the canal got blocked,” he said, adding: “With the channelisation efforts of the government, living around here would be cool as flooding would have been tackled,” he added.
