Oworonshoki Residents Displaced by Demolition Sell Belongings at Giveaway Prices
Oworonshoki Residents Displaced by Demolition Sell Belongings at Giveaway Prices
Days after the Lagos State Government’s midnight demolition of waterfront settlements in Tolu Alashe Street, Oworonshoki Area, many residents—primarily women and children—remain stranded outdoors, lacking shelter, hope, or a clear destination.
When Journalists visited the area, the once-bustling community had been reduced to a landscape of rubble. Broken blocks, scattered roofing sheets, and abandoned household items littered the dusty pathways where hundreds of families had lived and traded peacefully.
Residents’ belongings were strewn outside, with some women tearfully scavenging for items to sell. Among them was Mrs. Rebecca, a mother of one, who sat helplessly by the roadside. She revealed her despair, contemplating suicide after losing her home, shop, and savings to the demolition.
“I just came back from the hospital,” she said weakly, sitting beside a rusted pot and an old standing fan. “I have a problem with my spinal cord. After some treatment, I returned home that night, hoping to sell a few things before my rented two-room house was demolished. I paid N360,000 for that house. I had just finished paying when they came at night and destroyed everything. I almost killed myself, but my sister stopped me.”
Rebecca, who previously sold cooked food, explained she’s now selling her remaining belongings, including her fan, to scrap buyers (“aboki”) for as little as N1,000—money she needs to buy food and pay rent.
“I bought that fan for N35,000, but the aboki offered N1,000. I don’t have a choice,” she said tearfully. “I need money to eat and to treat myself. Everywhere I turn, there is no help.”
Journalists observed scrap buyers negotiating with women across the area, purchasing their possessions.
Another affected resident, Mrs. Jumai, who had lived in the community for ten years, recounted how she and her children narrowly escaped the demolition night.
“They came around 11 p.m.,” she recalled. “We were sleeping when our neighbors shouted that the bulldozers were nearby. We grabbed what we could and ran out. My house and my shop—where I sell pepper soup and drinks—were in the same compound. They destroyed everything.”
Jumai lamented that her children’s school and her home had both been wiped out. “We lost everything—my house, my shop, even the school. I don’t know where to start to rebuild their education,” she said despairingly.
