Road Dualisation: Shop Owners Lament As FG Demolishes Property At Obollo-Afor

Onyema Eze’s phone accessory shop is among those demolished at Obollo-Afor, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, to pave way for the dualisation of Makurdi-Otukpo-Obollo-9th Mile carriageway. Although his goods were removed from the shop before it was pulled down, Eze said it would be difficult for him to overcome what the demolition had caused him.

“I charge phones, sell phone accessories and recharge cards; and also repair phones,” narrates Eze. “But since the demolition, the business has ended. I’m yet to find another shop. It is really difficult for me. Many traders suffered the same. My case is that I renewed my shop rent two months ago. We know that the demolition would come, but we didn’t know how soon. I was thinking the work from Makurdi was going to stop at the boundary between Benue and Obollo-Afor. Then this side would be done by the contractors coming from 9th-Mile side. Those ones are still far. That was how many of us were deceived to renew our rents.”

Augustine Okpe is a major beer distributor at Obollo-Afor expressway. His shop was also demolished. He said he wept when bulldozers were destroying a part of the building he uses for business. “It was tears of joy for me,” says Okpe. “I lost millions of naira because that building is mine. It was not fully demolished, but it is not in the class of what my business requires. But I’m happy because we, as Ndigbo, have been remembered by this administration. When this road is dualised, the benefit will be for eternity. I have another shop at Ogrute. I’ll concentrate there for now until I find a good place at Obollo-Afor. Obollo is a commercial area, and I’ll surely return.”

The case of Charles Akpa is however different. He said the demolition has rendered him jobless. “I was employed as a security man at a warehouse around Apo junction. A part of the warehouse was demolished. My boss is out of business for now. He told me to leave until he finds a better place. My family is in Calabar. Feeding them is a big problem to me. I’m still searching for another work. If I couldn’t get at the end of the month, I’ll leave Obollo. The federal government hurriedly came to Obollo. They should have skipped this commercial place and given business owners more time.”

A socialite, Prince Innocent Chukwuma, urged the federal government to expedite action on the project. According to him, many people were rendered jobless by the demolition.

“Over 500 shops were demolished,” quoting Chukwuma. “Almost all the filling stations and hotels along the road were affected one way or the other. All of them had their barricades or fences removed. Some had their gas pump spots removed. But the most affected ones are shop owners. Many people have been rendered jobless. Most have relocated.”

He however said the shop owners were to be blamed. In his words, “They were duly informed. FG sent their representatives to tell the affected owners to leave. They came many times to mark the affected shops and also remind the owners about the impending demolition. Nobody took them seriously. Some believed that owners of big businesses, like Peace Mass Transit and hotels, would bribe the contractors to skip Obollo. When the bulldozers came, they didn’t spare both the rich and the poor.”

A pastor, Thomas Uwacke, said the demolition also affected his family house. “My concern is how long the project will take before its completion. This is not the first time this road has been proposed. They started same at 9th Mile many years ago; and no progress was made until this government came on board. If the road is delivered immediately, I guess the victims would be consoled.”

An engineer working for the construction company handling the road explained that the contractors were given a time to complete the job. According to the engineer, “People say the road has been awarded many times before without any action. Today, they are witnessing action. They should not doubt any longer. The contractors have been mobilised. Supervisors from the Federal Ministry of Works are on ground. We are currently clearing the marked areas to commence work as specified in the contract. I advise those yet to evacuate to do so. All marked areas will not be spared.”

THE WHISTLER gathered that one of the companies that were partly demolished is an aluminium company that recently started operations. A resident of the area, Meletus Nnadi, said the demolition was a sad story for the owner of the aluminium company.

He said, “This aluminium company employed many workers. It is among the biggest companies in Obollo. The owner was building the complex when it was marked for demolition. He continued and completed it. He even started operations. Today, a half of the company has been demolished. He lost in billions. The owner knew the danger when he was building it. He might have thought that the work won’t start immediately.”

A politician, Nick Eze, said the victims of the demolition should have been compensated. “Some are crying, some are smiling. No development doesn’t come with pains. It is part of it. It will be more painful if the road is abandoned midway. I am surprised that the affected building owners were not compensated. They should have been given some commensurate money to alleviate their sufferings.”

A young man who identified himself as Musa said the demolition made him rich. He was seen removing condemned rods from demolished buildings. “The demolition gave me money,” he said. “I made over N200, 000. I was breaking demolished building walls and removing some irons. I sold them to people buying condemned iron. Then I was also collecting money to remove doors, roofs and windows for some property owners. I saved a lot from it. Some people abandoned their buildings. Those ones, we removed all valuables and sold them.”

A popular hotel at Obollo-Afor is also counting its losses. “Our fence was pulled down,” narrates a security man working at the hotel. “Since then, our customers have reduced. Many are saying that because there is no fence, they might be exposed to insecurity. Some don’t want their vehicles to be seen openly. So they are now going to other hotels that have fences. The demolition adversely affected our parking space. The dualisation is a good development, but many will lose their jobs. If we don’t have many customers as before, definitely, many will be sacked.”

A filling station owner, who declined to be mentioned, told our correspondent that he was lucky because the demolition did not affect much of his facilities. “It only affected my gas point. About fifty metres of my space was also claimed by the dualisation, but generally, my business is intact. My prayer is for the swift completion of the work. It will make businesses at Obollo-Afor thrive more. I thank the federal government for this project. The perennial gridlock at Obollo expressway usually witnessed during Christmas is not over.”

Simon Itodo’s family house was also affected. According to him, “We didn’t anticipate that the demolition would get here too soon. I doubt if the exercise was not influenced by some people who don’t like us. How can they demolish Obollo-Afor when they are yet to complete what they’re doing at Otukpo axis? They should have spared Obollo for sometime.”

Itodo however said they were duly informed. “The buildings were marked, and we were notified. But they should have had a human face, knowing what the country is currently. I maintain my position because we were not paid compensation. My building containing seven shops was pulled down. From where can I get money to feed my family and train my children? Maybe we would have insisted that the FG pay us compensation as is the norm in most places.”

Johnson Ogbodo, an engineer, however, commended the federal government for the ongoing dualisation. “We’ve been crying that we have been abandoned by the federal government. Now a project like this has come. I’m happy despite that I no longer have a shop. I am looking for another location. It may not be at a choice area like the one I had before, but my personal interest can’t override public interest.”