Former Minister of Education and prominent activist Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili has strongly condemned recent demolitions in the Makoko waterfront community, describing them as “state-sanctioned oppression of the poor” and an assault on constitutional citizenship.
In an open memorandum addressed to President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, published in
The Guardian newspaper and shared on her social media, Ezekwesili accused the Lagos State Government of carrying out vicious forced evictions that have resulted in loss of lives, property destruction, and the displacement of thousands of impoverished residents.
She argued that the demolitions extend far beyond any legitimate safety rationale such as clearing areas near high-tension power lines amounting instead to “class cleansing” and land grabbing aimed at displacing the poor to pursue a “world-class” city image.
Human rights monitors have reported demolitions occurring between 277 and 522 meters from power lines, well beyond claimed buffer zones.
“Makoko residents are not squatters on the Nigerian soil,” Ezekwesili wrote. “This memorandum is written for the children of Makoko who now sleep in the open, for their mothers clutching what remains of their households, and for a nation that must decide whether poverty which by the way is mostly the result of bad governance is a crime, and whether justice still means anything in our country.”
The activist highlighted Nigeria's staggering poverty statistics, noting that over 133 million people (more than 60% of the population) are multidimensionally poor according to the National Bureau of Statistics. She questioned how authorities could justify hiding or crushing the poor in pursuit of global prestige.
“The Nigeria-State can never successfully hide away her poor by seizing their land and killing them,” she stated.
“Our distressed country cannot be respected because we built a city that chases global prestige by crushing its poorest residents to achieve so-called ‘world-class’ status. With such overwhelming poverty numbers, how many poor Nigerians can your Governments, Mr President and Mr Governor evict, kill or hide away from sight?”
Ezekwesili called for urgent humanitarian intervention, urging the federal and state governments to immediately address the needs of grieving Makoko families, including children now homeless.
She demanded proper, humane, and sustainable relocation plans before any further actions, emphasizing that the affected residents deserve constitutional protections and dignity.
The memorandum comes amid recurring forced evictions in Lagos waterfront and low-income communities, including previous incidents in areas like Otodogbame and Ilubirin.
Residents and advocates have long protested the lack of prior notice, adequate compensation, or alternative housing in such operations.
