Landlords and tenants of the Alagbole-Akute road axis have bemoaned the demolition of their houses and shops by the Lagos State Government.
According to one of the shop occupants, who asked that his identity be protected, they got the information that shops and houses along that road will be demolished when some contractors working on the road started marking the building for demolition sometime last year but they did not know when the demolition will be effected.
However, they woke up this morning to find bulldozers attacking the buildings.
Timothy Ayoola, one of those whose building was demolished, said that he was not in a good mood, as such couldn’t say much. “I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know where to go tomorrow.”
Ikechukwu Nwafor, a tenant of one of the affected buildings, said: “I am bitter. You can see it on my face. I hope to get another place soon.”
Another tenant, Emma Jesus, also expressed his dissatisfaction. “I feel bad but there’s no other way round it,” he said. “It is a way of moving to another level. As I speak, there are tears in my eyes. It is a sign of transformation that God wants to transform us from the level we are to another level.”
An official of the state government, who asked that his identity be protected because he was not cleared to talk to the press, said the demolition was necessary for the state to carry out its road construction and expansion exercise.