Chime
In less than one week to the end of the current administration of Governor Sullivan Chime, his government has come under sharp criticism over the massive demolition exercise, which has left churches, schools, hotels and shop owners in tears.
The government ministries involved in the exercise are the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, the Ministry of Lands as well as the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation.
The development, findings showed, is seriously generating anger against Chime, who was seen as a performing Governor in the early years of his administration.
However, all that has now changed as many residents of the State are irked over what the State’s House of Assembly had earlier termed “unprecedented balkanization and grabbing of land”.
Apart from some areas in the three arms zone, which have already been parceled out to some individuals, with development going on day and night, churches and schools are not being spared.
The Christ Church, Uwani (Anglican Communion), is the latest in the list of churches where the Enugu government’s bulldozer had arrived, with a view to taking over a large chunk of the church’s land.
The arrival of the bulldozers yesterday, met with tears and severe protest from church members and priests.
However, at the end of the protest, no fewer than six persons, including four priests, were beaten to stupor by some members of task-force working with the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation.
The victims were Reverends Collins Odoabuchi, Mbaka Peter, Eugene, and Maxwell Onyia. Others members of the church affected were Ekpecha Okechukwu and Naomi Ibekwe.
DAILY POST had earlier reported that trouble started when members of the Task force, accompanied by armed policemen, invaded a parcel of land belonging to the Christ Church Uwani, sparking off anger from both clergymen and members of the church.
The Clerics were said to have tried to stop the Task force from carrying out the demolition exercise, but were over-powered by the government agents, who allegedly unleashed terror on the church leaders.
Although findings by DAILY POST showed that the Church was dedicated by His Grace, the Most Reverend C . J. Patterson, the then ArchBishop of West Africa and Bishop of the Niger in 1965, it was, however, gathered that the state government revoked the land with an intention to build an estate christened “Transparency Estate”.
Churches are not alone in the last minute demolition as a popular private secondary school in the State, Spring of Life, is also about to face the bulldozer.
It was gathered that earlier attempt to bring the school down within the week was resisted by the students, who said the bulldozer should get them down first before touching any of the structures in the school.
One of the students told DAILY POST that “we heard that they may come either on Saturday or Sunday to demolish our school, but that will not happen; we won’t mind coming to school throughout the weekend to protect our school”.
A reliable government source also disclosed that although the authorities of the school have already secured a court injunction against any attempt by government to demolish the structures, the exercise may still go on.
Also, anger is building up at the popular phone market located close to the Enugu Fire Service. The mini-market, which is housing no less than 100 youths, may go down anytime from now.
Speaking on the matter, one of the youths, an engineering graduate lamented that if the shops are brought down, more than 200 unemployed youths would lose their source of livelihood.
“I believe that the government should encourage youths who are self-employed and not to destroy what we have laboured to build over the years.
“Most of us here are graduates but we decided to open these shops since no job is forth coming. It will be most unfair for government to just wake up one day and destroy our means of livelihood; let government provide us with alternative means of income; most of us here are breadwinners”, he lamented.
Meanwhile, DAILY POST equally learnt that one of the biggest hotels in the State, located at Bisalla Road, has also been marked for demolition. It was gathered that the hotel would have been brought down yesterday, Friday, but it was later put off till next week. Within the last one week, no less than 50 shops have been demolished in different parts of the State, a situation that has created hatred against the out-going administration.
However, a government source who defended some of the on-going demolition, blamed it on some private developers, who he said erected structures without getting the necessary approvals from the appropriate government circles.
“Before you erect any structure, you should get approval from the Enugu Capital Territory as well as the Ministry of Lands; but several people don’t do this; some of these structures you are even talking about, like the hotel, was erected on top of water.
“So, even though it has lasted for so many years, that is not a reason for government to permanently look the other way; the illegality has to be corrected. People erect structures wrongly but when government descends on them, they will start whipping up sentiments”, he maintained.
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