Located in the mainland central part of Lagos state, natives and residents of Otto, a slum community have for a long time lived in fear of demolition, relocation or some form of ejection from their land. This fear is not despite but because of a regeneration plan of the state government in the area. Otto is one of the communities of the popular Awori people of Lagos. Otto people are natives of Lagos with a long history of existence before their relocation to their current settlement.
In modern Lagos, the Otto people are located underneath the bridges and flyovers between Iddo and extending to the National Theatre area. The people live on a Lagos riverbank. Otto has however made the news in recent times for a demolition and forceful eviction carried out in the area.
The Issue
On Sunday the 24th of March 2024, Lagos State Building Control Agency LASBCA demolished 364 houses within the Otto community. It is worthy of note that Otto is one of 7 communities earmarked by the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency for upgrading.
It is on the basis of this upgrading and the need to make more slums fit into the Lagos plans that these demolitions become a matter of resource concern. These said regenerations or renewals have always been advocated to have better impacts than eradication. However, the Lagos state government seems to have been paying lip service to its regeneration plan.
As it stands today, over 1,000 people have been rendered destitute in Otto without hopes of possible resettlement or compensation. Residents are also weary of further demolitions as just a fragment of the community has so far been affected. But this is not the change Otto was expecting.
The Promise
In 2021, when Dr. Idris Salako, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, broke the news of the creation of a new micro city with a better urban aesthetic and vibrancy in Otto and Otumara. He said the move was in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the Sanwo-Olu’s administrations' development plan. The Lagos state Governor devised Project T.H.E.M.E.S, an acronym for his administration's six strategic development agenda namely, Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism as well as Security and Governance.
The said regeneration was supposed to deliver socioeconomic amenities, such as hospitals/clinics, schools, market, water etc. In line with the agenda, phase one of the Otto Community Regeneration Project commenced. In January 2022, Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA), in collaboration with Future City Nigeria, visited Otto Community in Lagos Mainland Local Government to engage its leaders on the environmental and social needs of the slum area.
Also, in September 2021, the High Commissioner Catriona Laing met with residents of Otto and representatives of Lagos state government to witness the challenges facing the community as a result of climate change and to discuss UK support in the drive towards urban regeneration.
By the year 2022, Lagos Urban Renewal Agency Future City Nigeria carried out an assessment for upgrading Otto. Otto was then declared a "slum improvement area" by LASURA in 2023.
The above timeline clearly shows that there was ongoing engagement on the said project. However, in a drastic turn of event, forceful eviction was made in 2024. This would not be the first case of abandonment of such a slum renewal process by the Lagos state government.
Other Slums Suffering The Same Fate
The Maroko eviction of 1990 followed the same pattern. Badia east was earmarked for an upgrade scheduled to happen between 2007-2013, a $200 million world bank project. But there was a forceful eviction in the community in 2013.
The Isheri-North demolition and forceful eviction of 2021. The Otodo-Gbame eviction of 2017, to the more recent 2023 forceful eviction of residents of Oworo-shoki slum community. All these to mention a few are slums in Lagos that have suffered a similar fate as Otto.
According to a report by Amnesty International, forced evictions in Lagos state are carried out by state authorities in disregard of their obligations under international and domestic laws, and direct violation of court orders. The forced evictions and related attacks result in injury, death, disappearance, massive destruction of property, homelessness, loss of livelihoods, separation of families, and children deprived of access to education.
The news of regeneration or redevelopment should bring high hopes, but for several communities and residents of slum communities in Lagos, it has been accompanied by fear of demolitions and forceful evictions like the Otto community’s.
There seems to be a recent pattern with Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency, (LASURA) engaging community leaders and other stakeholders involved in targeted slum communities and later rescinding only to carry out demolitions and evictions. Same was the case in Otodo-gbame, Ilubirin to mention a few. Lagos State authorities have forcibly evicted at least 50,000 people since 2013, including over 30,000 people forcibly evicted from Ilubirn and Otodo-Gbame waterfront communities. The forced evictions in Otodo-Gbame and Ilubirin followed the state Governor’s 9 October 2016 announcement that authorities would demolish all structures in informal settlements along the state’s waterfronts and creeks, to address security concerns. There are at least 40 such settlements, home to at least 300,000 people. This is a clear case of struggle between the state government and residents of low-income areas in Lagos. Actions taken so far Since the demolition in Otto, the joint community development association consisting of Toluwani, Ifesowopo, Ifeoluwa, Ilaje-Otuwara has issued a petition.
The petition titled “Ongoing Demolition and Arson Case in Ifesowapo, Ifeoluwa, Toluwani and Otumara Ilaje CDA'' summoned the Lagos State government to exercise its oversight function and summon Honorable Rashidat Omaolola Essien, Ọba Bashir Abisoye Odesanya, Chief Tomori Williams to appear before the Governor to explain their position and actions regarding the ongoing demolition and arson case in the CDA.
Conclusions
What would a more inclusive Lagos mean? A question begging for serious answers. Is it a Lagos where poverty is criminalized or expunged, a Lagos of intimidation, cruelty and marginalisation of low-income earners and slum dwellers. The peculiar issue with Lagos is; where low-cost housing becomes luxury and the government pays lip service to social housing developments, the poor and economically disadvantaged are constantly forced to make choices and settle for accommodations and environments that place their health and existence at great risk and danger.
Communities such as Otto, Otodo-gbame, Isheri, Oworon-soki, Makoko, Ijora Badia etc
have been accused of such vices as crimes, drug trading among others especially by the government to justify why these communities should cease to exist. Hence, a more simplistic approach used - demolition. But are there other workable solutions you ask?
Indeed, engagement with residents of these communities would reveal the basic and fundamental developmental interventions that would make living decent and safe. The basic needs of such slum communities are water, drainage systems, basic healthcare, transportation access, schools, road networks, markets. All of which is included in the said regeneration plans of Lagos state, if only the government stays by its plans.
Article 51 of the Lagos State Urban & Regional Planning Law 2010 states that LASURA “shall be responsible for monitoring and identifying areas qualified for upgrading and advising the State Government on redevelopment or renewal programmes”. The Lagos Development Plan of 2012-2025 mandates LASURA to reduce slums by 5% annually.
However, what has become of the mandate is demolitions and forceful evictions.
On a final note, what will become of these people and what plans are there for thousands being evicted? Also, would these unlawful evictions ever stop? Would the government respect the constitutional rights of the people to life, dignity and shelter?
What of the collaboration with the British Government’s Future City Nigeria, will Lagos state government honour the partnership?
What we know for sure is what became of Ilubirin settlement after forceful evictions.
This highly priced piece of real estate on the waterfront was turned into a luxury piece of housing development. Also, the construction and creation of Eko Atlantic City began after the removal of 80,000 people living alongside Victoria Island and the Bar Beach area. Is Otto being reclaimed to accommodate modern real estate development to cater to the new era of Iganmu Theatre to emerge after renovation?