Former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi has urged Lagos and other States currently on demolition of property spree to have human sympathy against the back background of economic hardship in the country.
Scores of homes were pulled down in the Lekki asis of Lagos in what the State government described as illegal structures distorting the plan of the city. Many of the affected persons are from the Easter part of Nigeria and for some, it was seen as tribal cleansing.
But the Lagos State government explained that the affected buildings contravened the state’s laws, critics described the development as an attack on the Igbos in the State.
But reacting to the exercise Thursday Obi stated on his X page. “It’s with complete despondency and unhappiness that I have followed the ongoing demolitions of properties across the country, especially knowing the extra hardship such acts have been heaping on hapless citizens who are already battling with multi-dimensional Poverty.
“What a responsive government should be doing under the current harsh economic conditions in the country is to come up with measures aimed at alleviating the people’s hardships and to carry out measures that will take more people out of poverty.
“Even if there are some violations as the governments are claiming, this critical time is not auspicious for such an exercise knowing the hardship in the land and the consequences it will have on the poor who are struggling to make ends meet with their little resources.
“The poor in our midst who are putting their meager resources are going through very severe financial stress that should not be multiplied further. In some cases, the properties being demolished are the lifetime savings and retirement abodes of the aged and incapacitated.
“My appeal therefore is for the respective governments involved in this act to consider the hardship in the country and try to put a human face to their actions. While we should enforce sensible regulations, all actions of the government must show compassion,” he wrote.
