A fierce public row has erupted between Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, over the controversial demolition of structures in the Makoko waterfront community.
Ezekwesili has condemned both the Federal Government and the Lagos State administration, describing the exercise as unconstitutional, inhuman and a deliberate act of state-sponsored oppression against defenceless citizens.
The governor, however, has dismissed the allegations, claiming instead that certain local and international non-governmental organisations are cashing in on the crisis for financial benefit.
In a lengthy memorandum directed at President Bola Tinubu and Governor Sanwo-Olu, Ezekwesili accused the authorities of wielding state power to dispossess some of Nigeria’s most impoverished citizens under the guise of safety measures and urban development.
The former minister posed critical questions about governance and citizenship, querying whether Lagos functions as a community of equals or a territory where economic worth supersedes human dignity.
She also challenged whether Nigeria’s democratic structures truly protect all citizens or merely those with financial clout.
Ezekwesili argued that Makoko residents predominantly fishermen, informal traders and petty entrepreneurs are legitimate Nigerian citizens whose rights have been repeatedly violated on account of their poverty.
She maintained that decades of governmental neglect and serial demolitions have entrenched a pattern in which economic deprivation is used to justify the denial of citizenship rights.
The founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance claimed that the recent demolition betrayed earlier commitments made by state officials.
She explained that community leaders were initially told that only buildings within a 30 to 50-metre safety corridor around high-tension electricity cables would be demolished.
However, she alleged that the demolition scope was subsequently expanded far beyond the agreed perimeter, affecting residential buildings, schools, health facilities and livelihoods that posed no safety risk.
“When a government changes agreed terms midway and extends demolition zones without warning, it is not upholding the law but misusing power,” Ezekwesili declared.
She also alleged that the operation led to loss of lives and described the incident as a calculated land grab intended to benefit the elite.
According to her, the demolitions were not genuinely driven by safety or planning imperatives but represented what she termed “class cleansing” aimed at removing poor communities from prime waterfront locations.
Ezekwesili further warned that the exercise had precipitated a humanitarian crisis, rendering thousands of families homeless, interrupting children’s schooling and leaving vulnerable persons exposed to hunger, disease and danger.
She stressed that when government action creates homelessness, the state assumes an immediate constitutional and moral duty to provide relief and protection.
Reacting to the accusations, Governor Sanwo-Olu told newsmen that his administration was investigating the operations of some NGOs involved in the matter and would soon present proof of wrongdoing.
“We are aware that certain local and international NGOs are trying to make money from this situation. We are watching them closely and will provide evidence,” the governor declared.
He accused the organisations of obtaining huge grants from international donors ostensibly to assist displaced persons but failing to deliver meaningful support.
“They have collected enormous funds and resources, yet they have not honoured the pledges they made. What we are witnessing now is an effort to conceal those failures,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor suggested that the alleged profiteering partly accounts for the fierce backlash against his administration.
“That is why some people are shouting louder than those actually affected. We are ready to address these matters and justify why certain actions were unavoidable,” he added.
Sanwo-Olu insisted that the demolition was both necessary and lawful, stressing that it was undertaken primarily to protect lives endangered by illegal shanties constructed under high-voltage power cables.