Okun Ajah: Coastal Road Diversion Triggers Corruption Allegations With Ministry Officials Fingered 

MICHAEL AKINOLA 

One of the lofty dreams of any gainfully employed worker is to retire to a comfortable home at the end of his or her service. Over five hundred workers of Etisalat Cooperative Society, Addax Petroleum, Seplat Energy, and about three hundred other residents of  Okun Ajah in Eti Osa Local Government area of Lagos State cannot be faulted in any way for planning for life after retirement.

Individually and collectively, these people worked, saved from their earnings, and acquired landed properties in Okun Ajah in anticipation of greater things to come in life. In a bid to secure their properties from the surging ocean around the area, they had invested about N10 billion in sand filling, perimeter fencing, and other necessary construction requirements.

Certain that they had met the necessary standard requirement from the local, state, and federal governments on building construction, these Nigerians were full of joy and happiness, when the Federal Government of Nigeria announced the plan to construct the Lagos-Calabar Expressway. They were certain that, since they had maintained the 2006 Coastal Road Gazetted alignment, they had no cause to worry.

Alas!, they were however, surprised as what they described as “nepotism, favoritism, bribery and corruption and total disregard for the law took over the proposed road construction.

The Federal Ministry of Works, in connivance with the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, maintained the 2006 Coastal Road alignment from the beginning of the construction in Victoria Island but on getting to Okun Ajah, decided to divert the road into their investment for their retirement and future, only to return the road back to the 2006 alignment after Okun Ajah.

The hard working Nigerian workers and residents described the diversion of the road to their properties as a clear “perversion of justice and robbing Peter to pay Paul. They claimed that despite the fact that they had secured the Right of Way Clearance, Global Certificate of Occupancy, Governor’s Consent and even approved building plans by the Lagos State Government, the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi and the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State had continued to illegally mark people’s homes and ignoring those who built on the road.

Barrister Yemi Adeshina (SAN) expressed his disappointment and disbelief upon receiving the case of the coastal road re-alignment. He was astonished when he saw documents presented by Etisalat Cooperative and others such as State Allocation, Governors Consent, Certificate of Occupancy, and other affected investors stating that this is a “Perversion of justice and disregard for the rule of law”.

Barrister Yemi Adeshina (SAN) is the Legal representative of Etisalat Multipurpose Cooperative Society and Others.

The President of the Etisalat Workers Cooperative Society, Babangida Muhammed, who is planning to retire soon, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, not to allow Engr. Umahi and the Federal Controller of Works to throw the country into an abyss.

The workers’ union president stated, “When we came into this town, we were looking for properties to acquire for our retirement. We were looking for where was safe, genuine and where we could  build our future home after retirement and we had to be very careful. We know the intrigues of properties in Lagos. Collectively, we did a due diligence investigation and were made to understand that the government had designated some parts of the community for Coastal road construction”.

“We had offers from people in the town to buy the 2006 Gazetted Coastal Road Alignment for a cheaper price but before we talked of our future and those of our children, we refused to buy them. We finally got our properties and paid for them.”

The workers’ union and its president also continued, “In Lagos, property development requires a lot of things and we ensured that we complied with all the rules and regulations of the government. After vetting our proposed property and discovering that it was not close to the 2006 Gazetted Coastal Road Alignment, we applied to the government for the necessary official document and we got the Governor’s Consent, Certificate of Occupancy, Building Plan Approval, and even the Right of Way Clearance and we were granted everything”.

He expressed his displeasure in the illegal marking of their properties on the order of Engineer David Umahi and Mrs. Olukorede Keisha ignoring those who flagrantly abused the law of the land and built on the Costal Road Alignment.

“This is not done in any sane society. How can you punish citizens, who complied with the law of the land and reward offenders with impunity?”

Solomon Erekosima, president of Seplat Energy Workers Cooperative Society, also condemned the illegal marking of the properties of hard-working workers for demolition without contravening any law of the land while those, who contravened the law are being pampered.

He said, “The Lagos- Calabar Expressway in Okun Ajah should not be a difficult thing if the Minister had done the right thing. Already, there was a portion of the community that had been earmarked for the construction of the road since 2006. Many law-abiding citizens avoided the portion and paid more for other parts of the town but some people connived, sold, and built on the portion.”

“They never thought that the government would come to construct the road. Now that the government is here to construct the road the ideal thing is to punish the offenders and not the other way round. How can a responsible government pamper lawbreakers at the expense of law-abiding citizens? We have not committed any offense and should not be made to suffer for the sins of those, who are in the good books of the minister.”

One of the residents, Ademola Adetokunbo, accused the minister and the controller of works of putting the government in a very difficult situation.

“The minister is diverting the road because of many things and that should not be allowed to stand. Initially, they were saying that they diverted the road in Okun Ajah because of the fact that many people had built on the Coastal road alignment but when we confronted them that many people had also built on where they were trying to divert the road, they could not say anything.”

“They were telling us that the minister unilaterally changed the route of the road because of his Igbo people in Okun Ajah. He changed it because of the Ocean Bay Estate, which consisted mainly of Igbos.  He also changed it because of Avista Hotel, which is owned by another influential man, Majority of those, who built on the Coastal road alignment are Igbo people. These people are now taunting us that their properties cannot be demolished because they had paid for the diversion of the road.”

He also added, “I know that if the government prevails on the minister of works, David Umahi, to maintain the 2006 Coastal Road Gazetted Alignment, those, who boasted to have bribed their way will come out and ask for their money. By then, the government will investigate the plan to divert the road. Some of them are even boasting that one of the sisters to the minister is living in their midst and that the minister can demolish their houses and leave that of his sister.”

Meanwhile, the Okun Ajah Community Development Association in an Open Letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has indicted the acting Baale of the town, Sikiru Olukosi, of contributing to the Coastal Road Alignment crisis in Okun Ajah. They accused him of knowingly selling the land to the offenders, despite being aware that it had been earmarked for road construction.

The residents also accused the Honourable Minister for Works, Engineer David Umahi, and the Lagos Controller of Works, Olkorede Keisha of misleading President Bola Ahmed  Tinubu on the true situation of things in the Lagos Community.

The residents in the open letter titled RE: Illegal Deviation From Coastal Road Alignment At Okin Ajah By Hon.Minister Of Works, Senator David Umahi, And Control Of Works Lagos, Threated Demolition Of Properties Of Law Abdiding Citizens of Okun Ajah and signed by its Chairman, Isah Noibi and secretary, Yusuf Odunuga, called President Tinubu to call the ministry officials to order.

Parts of the letter read, “We are constrained but have been led to writing this open letter because the people and residents of Okun Ajah are being threatened with an illegal demolition of their properties, life-long investment, houses, and estates, JUST FOR BEING LAW ABIDING”.

“The Okun Ajah town in Eti Osa Local Government area of Lagos State is an ancient town with a history going back to over 500 years ago. The population of Okun Ajah comprising both indigenes and residents is substantially large and diverse.”

“The Okun Ajah people, most of whom are law-abiding people became aware of the intention of the Lagos State and Federal Government of Nigeria to construct a Coastal road nearly 30 years ago. We are also aware that the Coastal  Road Alignment was Gazetted and approved in 2006, while Your Excellency was the Governor of Lagos State.”

“The people of Okun Ajah did not encroach on the Approved Establishment Right of Way for the Coastal road because of this fact, Unfortunately, the current Baale of Okun Ajah began to sell a large portion of the area, designated for the Coastal road to a group of persons from a particular tribe in Nigeria, known for their business acumen and financial capability, who bought their plot of land for as low as 5 million naira against the actual price, which is higher, while boasting that they would influence the diversion of the Coastal Road Alignment to other properties with titled Certificate of Occupancy, Lagos State Governor’s Consent and Right of Way Clearance Certificate.”

“These categories of land owners had done their due diligence and complied with the 2006 approved Coastal Road Alignment, while those, who bought the Costal Road Alignment for three million naira per plot have no allocation letters from the Lagos State Government, no Certificate of Occupancy, no Governor’s Consent and no Building Plan Approval from the Lagos State Government.”

“Today Sir, as we speak, there are rumours of hundreds of millions of Naira exchanging hands between those who built on the Coastal road and those influential forces within the Federal Ministry of Works in Nigeria to divert the Coastal road from its legally enacted trajectory of 30 years ago into properties of the law-abiding citizens, who did not build on the Coastal Road Alignment.”

The community listed the implication of the “illegal and wrongful action of the Honorable Minister of Works and the Controller of Works, Lagos to include: that the Federal Government of Nigeria does not obey its own laws, that the Federal Government of Nigeria, headed by Your Excellency does not believe and does not enforce the rule of law,  that our great country, Nigeria is a country of ‘ anything goes as long as you have money and connection, that the foreign investors, who have properties in Okun Ajah and those from the Diaspora have no security for their investment after obeying the law and not building or buying properties on the Coastal Road Alignment.

That the Federal Government of Nigeria may not be serious about attracting any type of foreign investment into any sector of the country because they cannot be trusted, that the Honourable Minister of Works is above the law and has been given a free hand to disobey the law and punish those who are law-abiding while allowing rich lawbreaker to profit, that the presidency may not be getting the actual truthful facts from the minister of works and the controller of Works in Lagos.”

The community also debunked the claims by the Minister of Works that the road was diverted in Okun-Ajah because of the presence of telecommunications cable.

They said, “Mr. President, kindly disregard the misinformation and falsehood that MTN cable passed through Okun-Ajah because there is no single cable that passed through Okun Ajah”.

For clarification purposes, the Okun Ajah Alignment is at chainage  16+500 – 17+500, while the MTN cable is at chainage 24+500, which is at ShopRite road, Okun Mopo about 7 kilometers away from Okun-Ajah. They therefore, appealed to the President to “Kindly direct the Minister of Works to comply with the 2006 Approved and Enacted Coastal Road Alignment and to stop further deviation from it.