From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: NIGERIA: EVACUATED RESIDENTS FIGHT
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 20:33:59 GMT

Area: Opecna Morning Transmission
Reference: Third World Dvpmnt
Title: NIGERIA: EVACUATED RESIDENTS FIGHT FOR THEIR LAND RIGHTS


an inter press service feature

by toye olori

lagos, aug 27 (ips) -- ilasan, a swampy seaside housing estate
about 50 km south-east of here, is one of two such estates that
serve as temporary shelter for former inhabitants of maroko.

maroko, a shanty town sandwiched between the luxury
residential area of victoria island and the atlantic ocean was
made up of 21 closely-knitted villages on the swampy edge of the
lagoon.

residents had been moved to the area by the nigerian
government in 1958 to make way for the development of the beach
side where many government lodges and embassies are situated.

but the shanty settlement soon became an eyesore in the
beautiful neighbourhood of victoria island. after a 17-year
battle to eject residents, the lagos state administration of
col raji rasaki finally demolished the buzzing shanty town in
july 1990.

following the demolition, the state government allocated
flats at the abandoned ilasan and ijeh housing estates to
persons who had owned-houses in maroko and could produce
relevant building plans while persons without valid papers were
left to fend for themselves.

''we have lived like this since our building at maroko was
pulled down by the lagos state government two years ago'',
christiana ani told ips at her sparsely-furnished and
unplastered flat at ilasan.

''business was booming in maroko before the government gave
us seven days to move out. we thought it was their usual threat.
but before we knew it, armed policemen and bulldozers moved in
and nobody was allowed to salvage anything. i lost everything'',
says ani who was a trader before the demolition.

''since we were resettled in ilasan, many people who have no
money had lived in these uncompleted flats with no windows and
doors, at the mercy of the harsh weather and thieves'', says
59-year-old ebenezer anthony, chair of the ilasan estate
community development association (cda).

anthony, a retired officer from the national oil company and
presently a finance consultant, says he had to spend several
thousand naira (nigeria's currency) to put doors, windows and
electricity in his flat before he moved in. (more/ips)


nigeria: evacuated (2)

''i have always lived in decent houses. even in maroko i
lived in my house, so i had to make this place decent, but those
who cannot afford it have no alternative but to live in the
flats, unplastered and uncompleted'', says anthony.

abandoned by the civilian government in 1983, the estate has
no hospitals, electricity, good roads, pipe-borne water,
schools, drainage and very few private buses ply the route.

children of residents who can afford the high cost of
transport go to schools in lagos and spend at least six naira
(about 30 cents) on transport each day instead of one naira when
they were at maroko.

''our children are suffering. the government demolished our
schools in maroko. those who can afford it send their children
to school in lagos. some families alternate the days their
children go to school because of high cost of transport'',
anthony says.

''we expected the government to have provided all these
things (social amenities) before bringing us here like goats.
nobody cares about our welfare'', says ani.

following several letters from ilasan residents, the lagos
state government recently announced it had revoked the occupancy
rights on the more than 296,000 ha of maroko land. all land
ownership rights are vested in the state, according to nigerian
law.

in their letters, the residents said the demolition was aimed
to make room for some top government officials to acquire land
in the choice area because of its location along the seaside.

although the lagos state government has since set up a
committee to negotiate with the original owners of the land and
ensure the former occupants of the land regain it, the fear
that the land will be partitioned among state officials still
persists.

''the land is still ours as the lease is still on. let them
hand the land over to those people whose lease is still valid
and we can develop maroko by ourselves'', anthony says.
(end/ips/to/tvh/92)




-- 
Mr. Aaron Barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us -- posting from Evanston, Illinois