00:00I read this report that the Lagos government has paid over three billion naira as compensation to
00:06various property owners whose property have been demolished in recent times in various parts of
00:13Lagos where that is encouraging, if I can use that expression, people need to be compensated
00:20when their properties have been demolished for public purposes. However, I think that government
00:27can do a lot to prevent the anxieties that usually go along with this demolition. We are all familiar
00:37with the expression of anger, with the expression of sadness. I think government must take responsibility.
00:45In this case, I'm not even sure whether everybody concerned will be compensated. There are some people
00:51who may not even have a, you know, a genuine document. And by law, according to our procedure
00:57of the Lagos government, we don't have the necessary papers, the necessary documents. You are not entitled
01:02to compensation. Then one other thing is that government says they are taking over these plots
01:08of land or properties for public purposes like schools, like hospitals. That is fine in theory,
01:15but the experience of many Lagosians is that when government takes over this place, they eventually
01:20use it to develop the sites for the elite. When government takes over land, they should really
01:27use it for public purposes that can be seen by everybody. But more importantly, government should
01:34try to prevent, you know, demolishing buildings that have been there for many, many years when people
01:40were not even warned that they are not supposed to be there.
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