By Dele Sobowale
“It is the part of a king [or Governor] to do good for his subjects and be maligned for it” – Alexander the Great, VBQ p 113.
Since the demolition of Makoko began, after several notices were given to the squatters and illegal occupants of the land by Lagos State government, several attempts have been made to halt the march of progress in the state by mostly non-indigenes. For decades, Makoko had been described by those determined to hoodwink the public by describing it as “The Venice of Nigeria”. Unless there is another Venice on this planet, Venetians must take strong exception to comparing their world class city to one of the worst human settlements in the world. Millions of people would be proud to call Venice home. Hardly anyone can be happy to acknowledge that horrible place as home.
Most of the cynical political opportunists attacking Lagos State government have never lived in Makoko; and, if left untouched, would never move there. Many have never set foot on the place in their lives. The closest they got to it was driving on the Third Mainland Bridge and glancing towards the right; and on a bright day, seeing shanties on stilts with dug out canoes tied to the poles. Far off, it looks picturesque; up close, the horrors are stomach-wrenching. Open defecation into the lagoon, into which children and adults dive for a swim or to inspect fish traps occurs 24/7. So does the increasing pollution of the waterways and widespread of diseases. These are the horrors which those seeking to halt or delay the demolition of Makoko want to perpetuate. Those are the horrors well-meaning Nigerians must support the government to eradicate soonest.
WHY WE MUST SUPPORT LAGOS GOVERNMENT
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to keep quiet.”
One question we must ask ourselves is this: Is the government of Lagos State, under Sanwo-Olu, doing something unusual in embarking on this development programme? My personal experience since returning to Nigeria, from the US, proves beyond reasonable doubt that waterfront development in Nigeria is a common experience. Here are a few examples – among hundreds, known to me throughout Nigeria.
I crossed the Niger Bridge for the first time on August 17, 1974. Halfway across the bridge, one could observe hundreds of fishing boats, either on the water, or tied to stakes on both sides of what is now Delta and Anambra States. Most of those boats also served as homes for fishermen. In Port Harcourt, the waterfront occupied about one quarter of the city; the same for Oron, now in Akwa Ibom, and Calabar, in Cross River. Up North, River Niger, even during the dry season, the waterfront covered more land than now and half of what we now call Lokoja was under water. These are just a few examples of communities with rivers, large and small passing through them.
“There are only three certainties in life: taxes, death and change” – Anonymous.
The sudden unprecedented influx of “petro-dollars” or crude oil money, after 1973, was the first national catalyst for transformation of waterfronts nationwide. From 1974 until 2019, my work assignments took me to all the states every year; in 1999, 2004 and 2002, I visited all 36 states at least once. There is no single state in Nigeria – where the waterfront had remained unchanged since 1974. In fact, alteration of the coastline is frequently more rapid than residential and business areas in many respects.
Today, anybody crossing the Niger Bridge would observe two vast structures: One each in Asaba, Delta and Onitsha, Anambra. Grand Hotel, once the best hotel in Nigeria, did not exist in 1974; today it sits on reclaimed land where over 500 fishing boats were tied. Across the river, it is impossible to miss the Inland Port in Onitsha; again occupying space where several boats were tied in the 1970s. On the Port Harcourt waterfront, the fishing boats have also disappeared; more modern structures have replaced them. By contrast, Makoko, alone, has remained largely as it was in 1974; with a few relatively modern buildings added.
In each and every case, the state governments embarking on development and progress have faced resistance by occupants – ably supported by “activists” whose favourite argument has been “they have no place to go”. Invariably, notices given by the authorities are ignored; even after compensations are paid. Granted, governments sometimes make acquisitions and serve notices without follow-up for years. In all instances known to me, nobody moves until bulldozers move in for demolition. Then the campaign of calumny starts against government – federal or state.
Clearly, we are traveling down the old familiar roads in Lagos at the moment. Mischievous elements attempt to bully government in order to prolong the unacceptable situation in Makoko. A report in the VANGUARD on February 27, 2026, titled: Demolition: Lagos Assembly halts work on Makoko, Shogunle. The state lawmakers, apparently, had called for cessation of work for two weeks to allow for the conclusion of reconciliation – whatever that means. The State House of Assembly, LSHA, should be commended for their intervention aimed at reducing tension and, hopefully, giving the people more time to move away. The LSHA should however be vigilant. The enemies of progress might interpret the respite given as authority to stay for as long as they want.
Development should proceed as fast as duly-elected officials can conceive of and execute them; not at the speed determined by the occupants.
Finally, those standing as obstacle to the demolition of Makoko are probably not old enough to know that the Lagos Island outer ring road was made possible by demolishing all the shanties along the waterfront on the Island decades ago. Without the outer ring road, Lagos Island would have long become a hell on Earth. Makoko symbolizes the Dark Age of mankind and not its future aspirations. It has for too long become a settlement where the batons of the relay race ending in poverty and destitution are passed from one generation to another; a nursery of hopelessness and despair. That is why we must stand firmly with Governor Sanwo-Olu.
STARTING WELL; ENDING BADLY AT NNPC AND POLICE
“A man who is contented does not barter his integrity for gain. He knows that his future inheritance is not money; property or titles. It is in a name unsullied by compromise” – Chief Kesington Adebutu, KJW, OON, CON, CFR, GCON.
You are reading that gem of advice from Chief Adebutu for the second week in a row. Events in the US and Nigeria made it mandatory to remind those favoured by the Almighty God to apply wisdom in every decision and undertaking. A General Manager in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, occupies a position which only about one in 10 million people enjoy, globally – given the total remuneration package. Three or four years on the seat should establish a contented person for life. Similarly, any Inspector General of Police, IGP, serving for two years should not spend the rest of his life feeding on bread and water. Those enormous perks should be enough.
“The evils that men do lives after them….” – William Shakespeare, 1564-1616
Ex-NNPC GM, name deliberately omitted to shield members of his larger family bearing the same name, was expectedly convicted and jailed 87 months in the US on account of $2.1 million bribery he collected while sabotaging the national interest for his private gain. For me, he stands condemned for three reasons. The most grievous is economic sabotage against the nation of his birth. The second was compounding that treason with the abominable transfer of $2.1 million or N2.6 billion from the poverty capital of the world, Nigeria, to the richest nation on Earth. Nigeria needs every kobo for its people; $2.1 million is akin to pissing in the ocean in the US. The third was unbridled avarice. Only a person whose inordinate ambition for opulence, even if it is wealth without work can apply his God-given abilities, not for the progress and development of his country, but, for its downfall by aiding in the illegal operations of an International Oil Company.
As I have observed on my Facebook platform, God must have been in control. It took less than seven months, from start to finish, in the US for the scoundrel to be jailed. In Nigeria, well-paid and socially-acclaimed SANs, Court Registrars, the judiciary and membership of the right political party would have combined to turn him loose.
“If I have served my God as diligently as I served my King, He would not have given me up in my grey hairs” – Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, 1473-1530.
Former IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, served his President, Tinubu, as best as he could. Sometimes, it was at the cost of discharging his constitutional duties faithfully as the nation’s top police officer. It must have come as a shock to receive the summons and follow up order to tender his resignation. The hunter has suddenly become the hunted. Social media denizens have been celebrating his sudden fall from power with unusual glee. Most of those now denouncing Egbetokun are cowards who insult dead majesty.
On Monday, March 2, 2026, one fearless columnist, who scares me with his courage, Owei Lakemfa, in VANGUARD, got published ‘Police sense, commonsense and no sense.’ It was classic Owei stuff – the opening salvo announcing the sort of attacks Egbetokun will endure for the rest of his life. Politicians are not gods; they discard those no longer useful. Certainly, it would have been better if Egbetokun left when due.
•Follow me on Facebook @ J Israel Biola
In this article