• Two dead, others injured during demolition exercise
Tension rose yesterday in Salanta quarters of Kano metropolis as residents sought to resist the demolition squad sent to the area by the state government in continuation of the pulling down of alleged illegal structures.
Properties estimated at N126 billion have been leveled since the commencement of the exercise on June 3,according to an investigation by The Nation.
They include a three storey plaza consisting of over 90 shops on the Race Course, Nasarawa GRA, worth over N100 billion and the almost completed 90-room Five-Star Daula Boutique Hotel costing over N10 billion.
Thousands of people have been displaced on account of the demolition and more structures are billed for flattening as sanction for what the government called encroachment on public land.
The government yesterday confirmed the death of two persons it described as scavengers in the aftermath of the demolition.
It commiserated with the bereaved families but warned scavengers to keep away from demolished structures, warning that scavenging on the sites of the demolished structures across the state is not only criminal, but dangerous to human safety.
Governor Abba Yusuf gave the go ahead for the exercise six days after his assumption of power. He had accused his predecessor, Abdullahi Ganduje of giving out public land to private individuals.
Ganduje dismissed the allegation and said some of the structures were approved by his executive council as Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.
The government’s bulldozers first rolled over the Kano Race Course where the three storey plaza consisting of 90 shops was reduced to rubble.
The governor then ordered developers in the Hajj Camp area to stop construction.
But as soon as the night fell, the bulldozers roared back into action, leveling all buildings there.
Also demolished were the 90 per cent completed Five-Star Daula Boutique Hotel and the N160 million Golden Monument, which the government said it pulled down because it carried the cross in a state with a large Muslim population.
But the demolition took a twist yesterday when residents of Salanta Quarters sought to physically stop the demolition of their buildings by the government task force allegedly without prior notice and compensation.
They claimed to have followed due process in buying the land from the Ganduje administration.
One of the residents who appeared to be injured during the pushing and shoving that ensued between them and the demolition squad was seen on video calling for help from someone by phone.
Another one was heard saying:“You cannot demolish our properties overnight without prior notification when we have all our documents intact. We all have our families here, and this is injustice. They have voted calamity for us.
“They have demolished our shops in the market, and now they have returned to our residences without any compensation. We will die here, and if you demolish this house, it will (be a curse on) your life.”
Some others chanted Allahu Akbar! (God is the greatest) and vowed to protect their properties from demolition.
Lamash Properties Limited, the developer of the properties on the old Daula Hotel land, has gone to court, seeking a compensation of N10billion from the state government.
It described the demolition of its properties as a “flagrant disregard for globally acceptable principle of fair hearing.”
Lamash, in a statement by its Director of Sales, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, said it was invited by the State government alongside other companies in 2020 to bid for the redevelopment of the old Daula Hotel under a Public Private Partnership (PPP).
His words: “We submitted a bid of three components:
* Residential – to comprise 25 luxury apartments
* Commercial Hub – Various sizes of lettable commercial space
* Daula Boutique Hotel – A 90-room five star hotel
“Our bid, like every other bid submitted, went through all the processes including going before the State Executive Council after which we won the bid. We were issued the letter of award and we signed a PPP contract agreement with the Kano state government after which we began work on the project.
“The value of the land being the equity contribution of the Kano State government into the project plus the agreed profit share of the state government all in the sum of Two Billion, Two Hundred and Ninety Seven Million, Sixteen Thousand Six Hundred and Twenty Two Naira, Eighty Nine Kobo (N2,297,016,622.89) only was converted into the hotel and its ownership was given to the Kano State government as its share of the project under the PPP arrangement.
“On May 27, 2023, the immediate past governor of the state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, performed the commissioning ceremony of the hotel and it was handed over to the state government as its share in the project.
“To our utmost surprise, we received a call around 2am on Sunday June 4, 2023 that officials of the state government led by the new governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, had mobilized to the site of the project with bulldozers and were tearing down all the buildings on the land including the already completed 90-room 5-star Daula Boutique Hotel, the 90% completed commercial area (malls) as well as the ongoing residential apartments.
“We wish to put it on record that at no point did the state government or any of its officials notify us or invite us for clarification on the project.
“We have made it clear on several occasions that we did not purchase the supposed land but that it was made available to us to provide facilities, one of which was the Daula Boutique Hotel which formed the equity of the state government in the project. This action of the state government is a minus and a negative development which will scare away other potential investors willing to invest in the state.
“We have instructed our legal team to institute legal actions against the state government to claim compensation to the tune of N10billion already invested in the project and to stop the state government from further taking actions that will negatively affect us based on the PPP contract agreement we signed with it. We are resolute in seeking redress in the court of law and we are optimistic that justice would be served.”
But it was the demolition of the Golden Monument that has attracted the most criticism. The monument was constructed at a cost of N160 million by the Ganduje administration in 2017 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the state.
The project was the brain child of the sub-committee on monuments and endorsed by the main committee of 51 prominent Kanawas led by the late Prof. Umar with the then deputy governor of Kano state, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar as co-chairman.
The unique cultural edifice, which was built strategically at the roundabout in front of Government House, Kano, was engraved in traditional models with artistic works depicting Hausa cultural heritage.
Hajiya Kaltume Gana,prominent artist who designed the monument says the demolition has left her deeply sad and heartbroken.
“I am very sad and displeased by the demolition of this monument which has become the symbol of Kano. In fact, it is the face of Kano; the people keep appreciating its tourism essence,” she said.
The design, according to her, embedded cultural and traditional arts and crafts inherent in Kano as well as local patterns unique to Kanawas (Kano people).
Hajiya Kaltume Gana, Curator of the National Art Gallery in Kano, whose works have been exhibited in Washington DC, United States, Vienna in Austria, as well as in London and some African cities, could not fathom what informed the decision to destroy the Golden Monument, saying “we must all condemn this thoughtless decision.”
Journalist and public analyst, Jaafar Jaafar was similarly shocked.
He said: “We must all condemn this thoughtless decision to demolish this monument, designed by a young female architect to commemorate Kano’s Golden Jubilee.
“I support the ongoing demolishing of private buildings in schools, hospitals and mosques, but not wanton destruction of public monuments/buildings, simply because they were built by Ganduje.
“I do not like the politician in Ganduje but I like some of his projects as a governor,” Jaafar wrote on his Facebook wall.
Adams Jerry, a journalist and developer, accused the governor of pursuing a bitter political vendetta against former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, while injuring the innocent people of Kano State. He said: “The ongoing demolition in Kano State is totally wrong and unacceptable. People should look beyond just Ganduje and what have you; for this is pure vendetta against the former governor and to the innocent citizens of Kano who bought and developed those places.”
Some of the affected persons are seeking redress in court, while the helpless ones have taken to the social media to lampoon Yusuf over his actions.
A resident, Nasiru Umar, advised the governor to stop the demolition, or risk a second term.
He said: “Governor Abba should learn not to throw the baby and the bath water in the name of a proxy war. Now that he is the governor, he must see things objectively, otherwise he will crash land before 2027.”
Calamity has befallen Kano -APC:
The state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) branded the demolition barbaric and a calamity.
The state APC Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Maigari, told reporters in Kano that the new NNPP-led administration had gone too far in its action.
“This barbaric and wanton destruction of the people’s means of livelihood by the state government calls for serious prayers by all well-meaning persons, as the people are now counting their losses in billions of naira,” Maigari said.
According to him, the demolition has paralysed and brought to a standstill, commercial activities at the Kantin Kwari and Kofar Wambai markets, among other business centres in the ancient city.
“We call on all those affected to maintain calmness and explore all legal means to protect their properties and seek legal redress for the damages done and the losses incurred,” the APC deputy chairman said and urged security agencies in the state to “step up action that will restore the people’s confidence in the light of the shock and calamity that has befallen the state.”
Ganduje commiserates with victims of demolition:
Ganduje has commiserated with the victims of the demolished Daula Hotel building.
The former governor in a statement through his Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba, described the incident and the attendant death and injuries as a huge loss to the state.
He prayed for quick recovery for the injured and for God to give the family of the dead victims the fortitude to bear the loss.
Ganduje expressed regrets over the “theft of properties by looters” from several demolished buildings in different parts of the state capital.
The former governor has also commiserated with property owners who legally acquired and developed their properties for business and other purposes but were destroyed by the NNPP government in the state without any form of investigation.
Govt confirms two deaths; commiserates with families of victims
The state government has also commiserated with families of scavengers who were killed or injured at the sites of the demolished Daula Hotel and other structures at the Eid ground,
Debris from demolished structures at the two sites crushed two persons to death and left several others injured.
Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Abdullahi Baffa Bichi described the victims as scavengers.
He warned scavengers to keep away from demolished structures.
He said: “The attention of Kano State Government has been drawn to the activities of scavengers at the sites of the illegal structures demolished by the Special Taskforce, especially at the former Daula Hotel and Eid praying ground.
“The activities led to accidents on both locations that regrettably involved the loss of two lives.
“We commiserate with the families of the deceased and wish the injured ones rapid recovery.
“It has also been reported that more than 100 such scavengers have been arrested by the security agencies.
“We commend the efforts of law enforcement agencies, especially the Nigeria Police and National Security and Civil Defence Corps for protecting these sites and for their vigilance in ensuring the protection of lives and properties at, and around the sites.
“Government is further appealing to these agencies to redouble their efforts in the fight against crime while at the same time preventing access to the demolished illegal structures by scavengers.
“We equally appeal to parents, community leaders and religious leaders to continue to guide our teeming youth in channeling their energies into productive ventures.
“We wish to assure the general public that the demolition of illegal structures in our schools, places of worship, hospitals, city walls (badala), graveyards and all other public lands will continue in an orderly manner and will be completed in due course.”
THE NATION
