Former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili has challenged the legality of the ongoing demolitions in Makoko, Lagos State.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

In a detailed memorandum addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Ezekwesili described the demolitions as inhumane and a form of state-backed oppression targeting vulnerable communities.

She criticized the actions, saying some of the country’s poorest citizens are being abused under the guise of safety concerns and urban renewal.

Ezekwesili raised broader questions about governance and citizenship, asking whether Lagos functions as a city of equal citizens or as a space where economic value trumps human dignity.

She emphasized that Makoko residents—many dependent on fishing, informal trading, and small-scale businesses—are not illegal settlers but Nigerian citizens whose rights are repeatedly undermined due to socioeconomic status.

According to Ezekwesili, years of neglect and repeated demolitions have created a pattern where poverty is treated as grounds for exclusion from citizenship rights.

She noted that community leaders were initially told that only structures within a 30–50 metre safety buffer around high-tension power lines would be affected, an arrangement under which residents cooperated.

“A government that alters agreed conditions mid-operation and expands demolition boundaries without notice is not enforcing the law but abusing its authority,” Ezekwesili said.

She further alleged that the operation resulted in fatalities and likened it to a forceful land grab serving elite interests.

Ezekwesili argued that the demolitions were not genuinely motivated by safety or urban planning, but amounted to “class cleansing”, displacing poor communities from valuable waterfront areas.

She warned that the exercise had triggered a humanitarian emergency, displacing thousands, disrupting children’s education, and exposing vulnerable groups to hunger, disease, and insecurity. Ezekwesili stressed that when government actions create homelessness, the state has an immediate constitutional and moral responsibility to provide care and protection.