Opposition mounts against Rivers waterfront demolition

By Ruona Agbroko
September 2, 2009 12:48PMT
Amnesty International has launched an international campaign against the forced evictions of residents of the waterfront areas of Njemanze [pictured] and Abonnema in Port Harcourt by the Rivers State government. This is even as some landlords in the area faulted a recent declaration of support for the urban renewal programme of the Rivers State Government by a group named Concerned Landlords and Landladies of Abonnema Wharf Community.

Speaking to NEXT newspapers in his residence at Abonnema Road, Port Harcourt, which has been pencilled down for demolition, an official of the Abonnema Wharf Community House Owners Association, Jim Tim-George said the group's actions were "a betrayal, which can only perpetuate the gross disregard of the human rights of thousands who live in the waterfront communities." "We know these people," he said. "Some of them own properties.
They wanted to sell their properties but they do not have the mandate or responsibility to represent or speak for the community. These people are a split group the government has used as a divide and rule in order to speed up their demolition activities." The state government launched a demolition exercise of Njemanze last Thursday and will proceed to Abonnema.
Both are waterfront settlements in the state capital, where according to UN-HABITAT, the United Nations agency for human settlements, an estimated 45,000 people live. Mr. Tim-George also insisted that statements by the governor, Rotimi Amaechi that the demolition of the waterfront communities is being done "to check criminal activities" is far from the truth. He said: "Because they wanted to get a quick speed of eviction of this area, they have to brand the place a criminal zone.
These people are too poor to sponsor the militants. When they are still thinking of how to fend for themselves, where will they get N400,000 to buy one AK47? "Now the boys have scattered themselves all over.
Criminals are everywhere."

Mr. Tim-George, who has multiple buildings in the area said the continued demolitions also meant families were broken up and sources of livelihood were now non-existent for the people. "The government knows what to do," he said. "It is indisputable that lands belong to the government, but there is also the right that the citizenry has a right to housing and to own property.
If government is acquiring land, the use of that place must be in public or community interest. "Even if I want to sell the house they have not approached me for compensation, yet they have marked my house for demolition."
Amnesty International, in a press release tagged ‘Urgent Action' and made available to NEXT, alerted diplomatic representatives and civic organisations worldwide that "the government of a southern Nigerian state has begun forcibly evicting people to make way for a commercial development." "The group called on the Rivers State governor to stop all forced demolitions and conduct genuine consultation with all individuals affected.

In a telephone interview, Aster Van Kregten of Amnesty International told NEXT that the organisation based its actions on the premise that "the government is obliged to carry out evictions only as a last resort, and never as a punitive measure." Locals said about 120, 000 individuals have been displaced since the exercise started.
Ms. Van Kregten said her organisation hoped the Rivers State government "would follow international standards and seek dialogue with the tenants especially."

*Photo by Ruona Agbroko