Environmental activist and architect, Nnimmo Bassey, has kicked against the demolitions in the Makoko area of Lagos State.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, Bassey described the development as a continuous practice of dispossessing the already dispossessed residents of the area.
According to him: “We are discussing communities with very high population densities, struggling Nigerians who have long been under-served.
“The destruction of these communities can never be a justifiable response to urban problems. The Lagos State demolitions have been handled poorly.
“It’s government duty to ensure that everybody can live in dignity, and that wherever they live is properly serviced with clean water, with sanitation and power. But you find a place where people are struggling, almost like everywhere else in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian economy is basically informal. I mean, up to 60-70 percent of the Nigerian economy is informal. Food production is by the artisanal, I mean by the householder farmers. The economy is run by artisans. Even the mining sector, a lot of activities going on are by artisans. So we shouldn’t be surprised that people are just struggling to survive, and destruction of communities can never be a good way to respond to urban problems.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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