The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday directed the immediate demolition of houses and other structures obstructing designated water channels and green spaces across the capital.

The exercise came barely three days after heavy rainfall submerged homes, businesses and vehicles in parts of the FCT, including the highbrow Maitama District.

While the FCT Administration said the demolition was necessary to restore waterways and prevent further flooding, those whose businesses were affected alleged that they were caught off guard and left counting their losses.

“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them (the owners) are senators. Some of them are big men. Whether there is an election or no election, all those houses will go down. Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done,” he said.

The minister said the affected structures were not recently constructed and were largely owned by wealthy Nigerians, stressing that the government would no longer allow social status to prevent the enforcement of development regulations.

“In all those built-up areas that were not supposed to be built up, not a single poor person will live there. Those houses are houses built by well-to-do Nigerians. Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses were there 10 years ago, eight years ago.

“I’m going to bring those houses down. Any house that is found on the water channel will go down. From today to Saturday, if Development Control delays, let them find any excuse to run away,” Wike warned.

The minister also frowned at the conversion of designated green areas in the capital into other uses, vowing that the administration would protect Abuja’s environmental assets.

He said the government would continue to enforce planning regulations irrespective of how long illegal developments had existed, adding that the administration would focus on addressing problems in the FCT rather than engage in political arguments.

Daily Trust had reported how several mansions, particularly at Goalview Estate, Maitama Extension, Abuja, were flooded over the weekend.

Residents attributed the incident partly to indiscriminate construction along waterways and the blockage of drainage channels in the area.

But findings by one of our correspondents yesterday showed that the flooding may have been worsened by the obstruction of a major canal in the area.

Residents told Daily Trust that the canal had been covered with concrete to create a platform for construction, allegedly for a building linked to a serving senator from the North-East.

A visit to the area on Tuesday showed that a section of the major canal had actually been covered with concrete, apparently to create space for the construction of a structure.

Residents said the development had narrowed the waterway and obstructed the free flow of water along the corridor.

They attributed the severity of Saturday’s flooding in the area, in part, to the obstruction of the canal, saying the waterway could no longer accommodate the volume of runoff generated by the heavy rainfall.

They also alleged that some structures in the area were being erected on portions previously designated as green areas or within corridors meant to serve as waterways.

Daily Trust also observed that the problem was not limited to Goalview Estate and its environs, as several locations within Maitama District previously designated as green areas or drainage corridors are now being demarcated and developed.

Such activities were particularly noticeable along both sides of Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard and Alvan Ikoku Way where portions of open spaces and areas that serve as natural drainage routes are undergoing construction.

The situation has raised questions about compliance with approved building plans, the protection of drainage corridors and the enforcement of development regulations in the nation’s capital.

Business owners and workers affected by the demolition of structures in parts of Maitama, including Maitama Extension and the old WAEC building area around the Mississippi axis, have appealed to the FCT Administration to reconsider the exercise and provide a humane resolution.

They said they were caught off guard by the demolition, which they claimed had resulted in the loss of businesses, livelihoods and personal belongings.

Among those affected was the owner of Xpressor, Mustafa Onimisi, who described the exercise as inhumane.

Onimisi said the affected business owners had been informed by officials that their properties would be marked and that they would be given time to respond to the situation.

He said they were expecting an opportunity to engage with the authorities and find a solution before any demolition took place.

“We were told yesterday (Monday) by the director that they would mark them and give us two weeks. But to our great surprise, we woke up this morning and heard that the FCT minister was here himself and ordered the demolition,” he said.

He said though the FCTA has the authority to enforce its policies, the process should have been handled with greater consideration for those whose businesses and properties were affected.

“The minister is the alpha and omega, but he could have put a human face to the process. You are not dealing with fowls,” Onimisi said.

He appealed to the authorities to engage the affected business owners and consider a mutually acceptable solution.

“We should sit down and synergise and look at the best possible way forward. It is for the best interest of everyone around,” he said.

Onimisi, who identified himself as an indigene of Kogi State, said he was not the only person affected by the demolition, adding that several businesses in the area had suffered losses.

Workers at the affected businesses also expressed concern about the impact of the exercise on their livelihoods.

During a visit to the area, some affected persons were seen scrambling to retrieve their belongings from the structures as demolition work continued.

Some residents also pointed to an unfinished block of apartments whose owner was not immediately known, with the structure located close to the drainage channel.

More structures marked for demolition

Officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) also yesterday demolished the perimeter fence and part of a gym structure at a residential property on Mississippi Street, Maitama, Abuja.

The demolition reportedly affected parts of the property, including the perimeter fence, air-conditioning units and other items, according to one Yusufu Aminu, who said he was related to the owner of the property.

Aminu told Daily Trust that he was alerted by the property’s security personnel after officials arrived at the premises at about 8am with demolition control vehicles.

“They came on Monday and gave us a notice, you know, like a two-week notice for us to remove our items that are here, for the marked-out areas that we need to remove, which is fine. At least it is a two-week notice. Even if it is a one-week notice, at least we are there to comply.

“So, all of a sudden, they came today (yesterday), they said the FCT Minister came, and now he instructed them to demolish this place, to demolish the fence. Let them give us time for us to move our items. They didn’t listen to us,” he said.

Aminu said the property had been affected by flooding for several years, which he attributed to a newer building allegedly constructed over a major canal close to the residence.

“We never had any issue with flooding, not until the building sprang up and we’ve been complaining. We’ve been to the development control on many occasions, telling them that our house is flooding as a result of this building.

“We’ve been experiencing flooding several times. Even our vehicle, our buildings, our house, they all got flooded. Our building, our vehicle got flooded as well. So, now, why has this very house that is sitting on the main canal, where the water is supposed to pass through, not been touched while you are on a cycle? That’s the question that we need to ask. Why is this building still sitting on the canal?”

Daily Trust could not independently verify the allegations concerning the approval of the structures, the alleged canal encroachment or the circumstances surrounding the demolition.

Experts worry over encroachment on green areas

Speaking to Daily Trust, a real estate expert, Bashir Musa, said there had been infractions on green areas in the last three years, particularly in highbrow districts such as Guzape, Maitama, the Central Business District (CBD), Katampe, Wuse and Kado.

In some instances, he said, specially designated areas were being converted into residential structures or used for other purposes, including the construction of business outlets.

He said: “The sad development is a disaster in waiting, considering that such areas are secured to preserve the natural setting of the capital city as a way of ensuring the safety of residents while also maintaining the beauty of the capital city.

“In Guzape, a green area located along Abdulrahman Okene Street, where a U-shaped land totalling 3.4 hectares was originally allocated as a park and recreational area, has been used for residential buildings.

“Also, in the Central Business District (CBD), a number of places that have been reserved for conservation, parks and water channels, among others, have been converted to other purposes.

“I have personally seen another area that has been reassigned from a green area to a residential area behind Government Secondary School, Area 3, Garki. Already, plots are being fenced ahead of construction. The new plots could be seen from the NNPC mega station.”

Musa said the situation would turn Abuja into a flooding zone if nothing was done immediately.

Another expert, Bldr Joy Bolaji, described the recent flooding as a product of bad urban planning that must be corrected, while identifying some flood hotspots.

“If you look around FCT now, you will see that construction work is going on in green areas. For instance, there is one ongoing on a green area and floodplain around the National Mosque. The site is crammed on both sides of the Nigeria-Export Import Bank, City Park and the Wood Bridge Park.

“Also, there was a very popular park and garden in Wuse Zone 6 opposite Sky Memorial junction; that place is now almost fully developed for commercial purposes, and as an expert I feel sad seeing all these things,” he said.

Bolaji stressed that something must be done immediately to avert a crisis that “may be difficult to contend with”

Also, the past chairperson of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, FCT chapter, Lami Ayuba, said the craving by influential people to live in some popular districts like Maitama, Guzape and Garki was putting pressure on government officials to convert green areas to residential buildings.

She said the pressure from various quarters was making some officials violate the master plan by re-allocating green areas for other purposes or mixed use, as the case may be.

She said that “unless something urgent was done, the annual disaster at the Trademore Estate, Lugbe District, would be witnessed in other districts.”

Wike’s demolition order coming too late’

Speaking on Wike’s directive on the demolition of structures built on waterways and other environmentally sensitive areas, a town planning expert and former Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu, described the action as coming too late to prevent the flooding already confronting Abuja.

Shuaibu, a town planning expert, said the government ought to have acted months earlier when warnings were issued about the likelihood of severe weather conditions and the need to keep waterways and drainage channels clear.

He said waiting until flooding had begun before ordering the removal of illegal structures amounted to a reactive rather than preventive approach to urban planning.

According to him, the National Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had raised concerns around February and March about the expected weather conditions, giving authorities sufficient time to clear drainage channels and prevent further encroachment on waterways.

“Since around February and March, NiMet predicted that there are so many areas in this country that this year’s weather is going to be devastating.

“So all authorities should make sure they clear drains. They should make sure they don’t develop where it is a water path,” he said.

Shuaibu said the flooding being witnessed in parts of Abuja should not be viewed merely as a natural disaster, arguing that the problem had been aggravated by human activities, particularly the conversion of green areas, waterways and drainage corridors to building sites.

He identified several locations where he alleged that development had taken place in areas originally designated as green zones or water channels.

He cited the Zone 6 neighbourhood in Wuse, where he said a major sewer line traversed a green area but had been removed to pave the way for construction.

“Take an example of Zone 6 neighbourhood in Wuse. That area, apart from being a green area, there is a major sewer line that traverses that land. It is now removed. Construction is going on there,” he said.

The former AMMC coordinator also mentioned the area around the Villa Gate, where he said a green park located close to the entrance had been built over.

“The green park is by the left before the gate. Extensive green park. And there are service lines under that one also. It’s now also built,” he said.

He further identified a large expanse of land between Halley Brothers and the Mega Filling Station in the Central Area as another area where development had encroached on a natural water channel.

According to him, the area, known as the Wupa water basin, was previously left undeveloped because of its role as a natural water channel.

“To your left, if you are coming from Wuse to the Central Area, you see a very vast land. Before, it was fully green because it’s a water channel. We call that Wupa water basin.

“So that area has been completely cleared, ready for construction,” he said.

Shuaibu warned that tampering with natural waterways could have serious consequences because water would eventually find another route whenever its original passage was blocked.

He cited the situation around the Central Area, where, according to him, a wide natural stream had been narrowed to only a few culverts.

He said the channel had been designed with a buffer zone within which no development was supposed to take place, but that the natural watercourse had nevertheless been altered.

“When the first rain came, it overflowed the culvert because the two or three channels that are there will not convey the water that is coming from the upper level. So it created its own path, a very big gully by the side.

“Because water most definitely takes its own way,” he said.

The town planner said the resulting environmental degradation was a direct consequence of such violations, stressing that retaining the natural water channels would have helped reduce the impact of flooding.

“There is complete environmental degradation in that area now. What we are seeing now is a consequence of some of those violations,” he said.

Shuaibu also criticised the FCT administration for focusing on demolition without addressing how the structures were allowed to emerge in the first place.

He questioned the authorities responsible for allocating the lands and approving developments in areas where construction should not have been permitted.

He argued that officials who knowingly allocated or approved developments on green areas and waterways should also be held accountable.

“If he (Wike) didn’t order the allocation, he must discipline the people who allocated the land there and bring them to book,” he said.

The town planner said merely deploying bulldozers to demolish a few structures would amount to a cosmetic response if the government failed to revoke illegal allocations and sanction those responsible for granting them.

“The way forward is removing all those developments that are unauthorised. All those developments, all those plots that have been allocated in green areas, must be revoked,” he said.

Shuaibu further urged the FCT administration not to spare influential property owners whose buildings may have been constructed on waterways or other prohibited areas.

He maintained that the current flooding challenge should serve as a wake-up call for the government to return to strict enforcement of Abuja’s master plan and prevent further encroachment on waterways, drainage corridors and green areas.

He said the authorities should conduct a comprehensive review of land allocations and building approvals in environmentally sensitive locations, revoke illegal allocations and prosecute officials and individuals found to have violated planning regulations. (Daily Trust)