Another demolition looms as Lagos moves against illegal occupants
…gives Ojo General Hospital encroachers seven-day ultimatum
By Nnamdi Ojiego
LAGOS — Another round of demolition may be imminent in Lagos as the State Informal Space Management Authority (LASISMA) on Monday commenced enforcement action against illegal occupants of public spaces around the newly constructed Ojo General Hospital, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, near the LASU-Iba Road junction.
The authority issued a seven-day ultimatum to traders, squatters and other occupants of structures and spaces within the setbacks and corridors reserved for the hospital and other critical government infrastructure to vacate the area.
The exercise, which marked the commencement of a wider enforcement campaign, involved sensitising occupants and serving contravention notices ahead of full enforcement.
Speaking to journalists after the exercise, the General Manager of LASISMA, Oludaisi Oso, said the exercise was necessary to reclaim setbacks around government institutions and ensure that such spaces serve their intended purposes.
Oso said the authority discovered an illegal waste dump, an unauthorised fruit market, public toilets, a wood market and structures occupied by squatters around the perimeter of the hospital.
According to him, the activities were incompatible with a health facility and could undermine the purpose for which the Ojo General Hospital was established.
“What we have here today will defeat the purpose of this institution, Ojo General Hospital. We have this kind of institution here and at the same time we have this kind of activity, illegal waste dump, unauthorised fruit market, public toilets, wood market and illegal squatters,” he said.
He said the encroachment posed concerns for public health, emergency access, security and the general environment around the hospital.
Oso noted that the situation could become particularly dangerous once the hospital becomes fully operational, especially when emergency patients, pregnant women and others require quick access to the facility.
“If a pregnant woman needs to be attended to and has just five minutes to get to the theatre on emergency, how will she be able to get into this place with all this encroachment?” he asked.
He also expressed concern over the accumulation of waste around the facility, saying decomposing refuse close to a hospital could create additional health risks.
“Should somebody come in here to be treated for malaria and at the end of the day take away cholera, even from the same health institution? It is not going to work,” Oso said.
The LASISMA boss said encroachment on public institutions was not limited to the Ojo General Hospital, adding that similar situations existed around government schools and other public facilities across the state.
He said the state government had directed the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and LASISMA to reclaim such spaces and restore them to their intended uses.
“We are starting with government institutions, and then from there we will now move to other places that have been illegally encroached upon. There is no way we can continue like this,” he said.
Oso stressed that the government was not opposed to legitimate businesses but insisted that traders and other operators must conduct their activities in locations designated for such purposes.
“Government is not saying people should not get involved in doing their businesses. What we are saying is that they should go and do it in those places that have been created for the purpose. They should go to the markets,” he said.
He urged traders whose existing markets were inadequate to approach the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development through the appropriate channels for allocation of spaces designated for commercial activities.
According to him, the state government had designated areas for markets and other uses under its development plans, stressing that road setbacks and spaces reserved for public institutions could not be converted into informal markets or business premises.
“Our setbacks today, we have declared war on them. No more illegal encroachment on all our setbacks,” Oso said.
He explained that Monday’s exercise was primarily for sensitisation and the issuance of contravention notices, giving affected occupants seven days to vacate before enforcement officers return.
“After seven days, we’ll come with enforcement,” he said.
Oso added that the entire perimeter of the hospital had been encroached upon and that the authority would serve contravention notices across the affected areas.
The LASISMA general manager also disclosed that the government had developed plans for the eventual redevelopment of the spaces around the hospital, with complementary uses intended to enhance the newly constructed facility.
“Lagos is a place that welcomes everybody. Lagos is a place that is ready to receive everybody. But when you come into a place, you must do your things in accordance with the rules and regulations,” he said.
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