Documentary photographs on the on-going demolition of Makoko Community in Lagos state.
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Documentary photographs on the on-going demolition of Makoko Community in Lagos state.
Photo documentary by Lagos-based photo journalist Aderemi Adegbite
Lagos State Marine Police Killed an Egun Man At Makoko
By ayandaabeke - Lagos, Nigeria
The people of Makoko woke up to a grime action and happening in their community this morning. As ordered by the State government, demolition of the structures on the waterfront of Makoko started on Monday 16th July, 2012 and Egun people who are the affected people by the exercise have been unexpectedly corporative ever since its commencement. Majority of them have willing dismantled their respective structures.
And judging by the state machinery on the field, they could not have achieved the ugly picture they now have in the community because there tools are not 21st century compliant. On Friday 20th July, it took one of the operators of the only two sewing-machines used for the demolition about 15mins to be able to start it. The rest of the state workers are working pulling down the wooding structure with few cutlasses on the waterfront.
At about 10:30 a.m today, Saturday 21st July, I received a text from an unknown number with the message “URGENT ALERT: Some members of the Nigerian Police Force have just invade Makoko Waterfront and have started shooting at the residents….” Instantly, I picked up my camera and head straight to the scene of massacre. When I got there I noticed that people were scared to talk to me and they even thought I was working for the State Government.
A man who does not want his identity to be known said he was at the scene of the incident and told me that the man identified as Pastor Timothy Aziponna was not in any way in argument or contest with the Marine Force who shot him. He attested that Pastor Timothy was sitting in his canoe when one of the State Marine police shot him in his stomach and he died immediately with his intestine in the open.
After much hassle by the people at the scene, the Marine force arrested three egun men and put them in their boat with Pastor Timothy’s corpse to Oworo Police Station and then to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital where he was confirmed dead. The corpse is now in the mortuary at the State Teaching hospital.
I decided to visit the deceased family and on getting to the house which was miles away from the scene, my cloth was dragged by a woman who was later said to be the daughter of decease and his son started yelling at me. The woman said “what are you looking for again in our house when you have killed my father,” but both of them later apologised when they got to know that I am not an agent of the State. Nonetheless, the family members refused to talk to me because they were not convinced enough and I was asked to come back in evening.
The Egun people of Makoko community are now calling on all Human rights activists and Humanitarian organisations to help seek for justice from the Lagos State Government. The state governor is yet to say anything about this massacre likewise the Commissioner of Waterfront who gave the order through the State Government to demolish the small fishing community – Makoko floating village. SERAC – Social and Economic Rigts Action Center has called for a Protest on the on-going Makoko demolition at the Governor’s Office on Monday 23rd July, 2012.
Lagos State Government displaced the people of Makoko Community
By ayandaabeke -Lagos, Nigeria, Nigeria
On July 16th, Lagos State Government deployed its paramilitary force, marine force and the Lagos State Security Task force to demolish Makoko Community on its Waterfront. The community which is popularly called the Floating Village by foreign photographers and journalists received a 72-hours quit notice from the Lagos State Ministry of Waterfront.
In a meeting held at the State Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja on June 23rd the commissioner for the state Waterfront said to the six invited Makoko community leaders (Egun speaking people) who attended that the sight of the community from the 3rd Mainland Bridge is a jigsaw for the civil Lagosians and the International community who ploy the bridge on a daily basis. Hence, he announced that he has been given directive by the Lagos State Government to demolish all structures on the waterfront.
The Executive Director of the Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC), Felix Morka (LL. M Harvard) pointed out in a discussion with the community leaders on July 17th, 2012 that the State Government has no jurisdiction over the waterfront. Legally speaking, Felix said that the country’s Waterfront is in within the jurisdiction of the Nigeria Inland Waterfront Authourity (NIWA). And therefore, Federal Government has a role to protect people of Nigeria.
Lagos State commissioner for Waterfront, Hon. Segun Oniru however claimed that some of the structures are directly under the High-tension Cables and therefore it’s dangerous for the safety of life and property of the people living in this community.
In 2008, Makoko was announced as one of the NINE SLUMS in Lagos State to be upgraded through the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP) funded by World Bank in a $200 million International Development Association (IDA) credit facility.
Makoko is largely dominated by low incoming earners whose major business is fishing. The Floating Village has not gained the support of the state government in time past. The development in the community has been made possible by funding from the International community: Individuals, NGOs and the World Bank initiatives supported projects.
At the moment, more than 20,000 people have been rendered homeless in the demolition exercise by the state government force agents. These people both adult and children now cook and sleep in their various fishing boats on the lagoon at night.
Repeatedly, operations of the present Lagos State Government has proven to its citizenry that the state is only meant for the indigenes and rich individuals. The Minister’s arguement may not be completely true has there are quite a number of “Exclusives Estates” and communities that are directly built under the Power-line through Lagos landscape.