…Families homeless, children’s schools destroyed
By Efe Onodjae
Days after the Lagos State Government’s midnight demolition of waterfront settlements along Tolu Alashe Street, Oworonshoki, hundreds of residents — mostly women and children — remain stranded in the open with no shelter or relief in sight.
When Vanguard visited the area on Wednesday, the once-bustling community had turned into a field of rubble. Broken blocks, scattered roofing sheets, and damaged household items covered the dusty streets where families once lived and traded.
Many residents, their faces lined with exhaustion and tears, were seen sorting through debris and selling off their remaining belongings for meagre sums.
Among them was Mrs. Rebecca, a mother of one, who said she lost 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 fan. “I have a spinal problem. I paid ₦360,000 for a two-room apartment. I had just finished paying when they came at night and demolished it.”
Rebecca, who used to sell cooked food, said she now sells her household items — including a fan she bought for ₦35,000 — to scrap buyers for as little as ₦1,000, just to feed herself. “I don’t have a choice,” she said tearfully. “I need money to eat and treat myself. Everywhere I turn, there’s no help.”
Vanguard observed several scrap collectors negotiating with displaced women over their damaged property.
Another victim, Mrs. Jumai, who had lived in the community for ten years, recounted how she and her children narrowly escaped when bulldozers arrived late at night.
“They came around 11 p.m. We were sleeping when neighbours started shouting that the bulldozers were close. We carried what we could and ran out. My house and my pepper soup shop were both destroyed,” she said.
She added that her children’s school, located within the same community, was also demolished. “Everything is gone. I don’t even know where to start their schooling again,” she lamented.
Grace Manu, a mother of two, said her vegetable business was ruined and her children’s education disrupted.
“I sell cucumber and garden egg, but everything got spoilt. Since last week, I’ve not sold anything. Even to find where to sleep is difficult. I went to Magodo and Ogba to look for a house, but rent there is over a million naira. Where do I get that kind of money?” she asked.
Nearby, Filomena, a mother of three, said she now sleeps under a makeshift tent made of old nets.
“They demolished the school where my children attended. Nobody came to talk to us — not government, not traditional rulers,” she said.
Efforts to speak with community chiefs were unsuccessful, as guards at the palace denied Vanguard access.
The Lagos State Government had stated earlier that the demolition was part of efforts to reclaim the right-of-way and clear illegal structures along the waterfront.
However, for the displaced women and children of Oworonshoki, the exercise has brought untold hardship — hunger, homelessness, and shattered livelihoods.
The post (Photos) Tears and Hunger in Oworonshoki: Displaced women sell belongings after Lagos demolition appeared first on Vanguard News.
