Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan
Oyo State chapter of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, on Wednesday, expressed dismay over the manner in which Ayefele Musical House in the Challenge area of Ibadan was partly demolished last Sunday, by agents of the state government.
The organisation in a press release signed by its acting Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, lamented that the manner of the demolition is condemnable in every material particular given the circumstances that surrounded it.
It will be recalled that the three-storey building houses the radio station owned by the musician, Mr. Yinka Ayefele, a conference hall and musical studios, among others.
Reports indicated that the government officials who carried out the demolition arrived the premises at about 4.30 a.m. and pulled parts of the building down at about 6.30 a.m. of the same day while the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, said the building was brought down because it flouted extant regulation.
Ayefele however debunked the claim as he explained that on three occasions had his agent submitted copies of the approved building plan to the Town Planning Department that requested for the document.
However Afenifere said it was informed that when the broadcaster cum musician got wind that his property was under threat, he went to court to restraint the state government from demolishing his building and the case is still in court as at the time the demolition was carried out.
Afenifere stated further that it is highly disturbed that a property would be demolished in this manner as it smacks of high-handedness, impunity and an abuse of power.
Ajayi said, “The first reason for our distress has to do with the timing of the demolition. Weekends in Nigeria are normally work-free for government officers except for those on essential duties. To the best of our knowledge, demolishing a house that was not certified to have structural defects is not a thing that could not wait until the day of normal government business which is between Monday and Friday of the week.
"Secondly, a case, as stated interalia, was instituted in court over the matter. It is curious that the government which kept imploring the citizens to always follow the rule of law and go to the court rather than taking law into their hands, itself resorted to self-help. Employing self-help is capable of engendering chaos and even violence."
Afenifere observed that the government gave the impression that it believes in the rule of law by asking a lawyer to write a letter to Mr. Ayefele on the basis of an alleged slanderous statements aired on his radio station, stating that the letter written on July 27, 2018, alleged that Governor Abiola Ajimobi was defamed and asked Ayefele to meet three conditions failing which he and his radio station would be sued to court.
“There might be no report that Ayefele fulfilled the three conditions as demanded by the Governor’s solicitor, Messrs Yomi Alliyu & Co, Ibadan. One would expect that the action that would have followed such failure would be litigation rather than a demolition", he said.
Afenifere statement recalled that in June this year, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Seun Abimbola, warned lawyers, surveyors, estate surveyors and all those who have something to do with properties never to use force in an attempt to chase or scare away anyone from their properties. A sanction of as much as N500 million and jail-terms were to be imposed on any defaulter.
“One is therefore at pains to understand why the same Oyo State government would resort to the usage of force to either settle a slanderous case or a violation of building enactment. We have no doubt that whatever the infraction was could be redressed in a way better than demolishing the building on a Sunday”, it said.
The statement concluded that the government’s action seems to be indicative of the impunity with which many governments in Nigeria are known today in their dealings with the citizens.
“Actions such as the demolition of the Music House are unacceptable to Afenifere Oyo and members of the public. We demand reparation as well as an assurance that such actions that border on an abuse of power would no longer occur in our land", it stated.
