Maroko, Lagos

Last updated

Maroko was a community in Eti-Osa, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was adjacent to Ikoyi and east of Victoria Island. It was a low-income area that attracted a lot of migrants since it was in close proximity to economically robust areas. Flooding and sand-filling affected Maroko during its life. [1]

Contents

Demolition

In July 1990, [1] Maroko settlement was made up of Ijaw and Ilaje people amongst other yorubas. The Lagos State government, under civilian governor Alhaji Lateef Jakande attempt the first eviction of the settlement in 1980 which lead to kiosk where government workers lost their lives. The military administrator Raji Rasaki, evicted the residents of Maroko and demolished the community. The government said that Maroko was below sea level and needed to be filled in with sand and that Maroko needed infrastructure improvements. [2] About 300,000 people lost their houses. [3] It was one of the largest forced evictions in Nigerian history. [1]

The former residents tried to get compensation in the Nigerian court system. In December 2008, the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and Debevoise & Plimpton, filed a communication with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, stating that the eviction violated the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. [2]

In media

The Beatification of Area Boy (1995), a play written by Wole Soyinka, has its plot woven around the infamous eviction of Maroko residents.

Maroko is a setting in the book Graceland (2004) by Chris Abani.

Related Research Articles

Nigeria is Africa's largest ICT market, accounting for 82% of the continent's telecoms subscribers and 29% of internet usage. Globally, Nigeria ranks 11th in the absolute number of internet users and 7th in the absolute number of mobile phones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting</span> Unauthorized occupation of property

Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there were one billion slum residents and squatters globally. Squatting occurs worldwide and tends to occur when people who are poor and homeless find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing. It has a long history, broken down by country below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagos</span> City in southwestern Nigeria

Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 following the government's decision to move their capital to Abuja in the center of the country. The Lagos metropolitan area has a total population of roughly 23.5 million as of 2018, making it the largest metropolitan area in Africa. Lagos is a major African financial center and is the economic hub of Lagos State and Nigeria at large. The city has been described as the cultural, financial, and entertainment capital of Africa, and is a significant influence on commerce, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion. Lagos is also among the top ten of the world's fastest-growing cities and urban areas. The megacity has the fourth-highest GDP in Africa and houses one of the largest and busiest seaports on the continent. The Lagos metropolitan area is a major educational and cultural centre in Sub Saharan Africa. Due to the large urban population and port traffic volumes, Lagos is classified as a Medium-Port Megacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Island, Lagos</span> Former island of Lagos island

Victoria Island (VI) is an affluent area that encompasses a former island of the same name neighbouring Lagos Island, Ikoyi and the Lekki Peninsula by the Lagos Lagoon. It is the main business and financial centre of Lagos State, Nigeria. Victoria Island is one of the most exclusive and expensive areas to reside in Lagos. The town and island lie within the boundaries of the Eti-Osa Local Government Area (LGA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Nigeria</span> Constitutional human rights

Human rights in Nigeria are protected under the current constitution of 1999. While Nigeria has made major improvements in human rights under this constitution, the American Human Rights Report of 2012 notes several areas where more improvement is needed, which includes: abuses by Boko Haram, killings by government forces, lack of social equality and issues with freedom of speech. The Human Rights Watch's 2015 World Report states that intensified violence by Boko Haram, restrictions of LGBTIQ rights and government corruption continue to undermine the status of human rights in Nigeria.

Aliyu Modibbo Umar is a Nigerian technocrat who was the federal Minister of State for Power and Steel from December 2002 to May 2003, Minister of Commerce from July 2006 to July 2007, then Minister for the FCT, a post he held until October 2008.

The Lagos Plan of Action was an Organisation of African Unity-backed plan to increase Africa's self-sufficiency. The plan aimed to minimize Africa's links with Western countries by maximizing Africa's own resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eti-Osa</span> LGA in Lagos State, Nigeria

Eti-Osa is a Local Government Area of Lagos State in Nigeria. Lagos State Government administers the council area as Ikoyi-Obalende LCDA, Eti-Osa East, and Iru Victoria Island LCDA. Within Eti-Osa are several important areas of Lagos State, including Lagos' Victoria Island. Before the Nigerian capital moved to Abuja, Eti-Osa Local Government Area served alongside Lagos Island Local Government Area as the seat of the national capital.

The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) was a Geneva-based international non-governmental organisation founded in 1994 by Scott Leckie as a foundation in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banana Island, Lagos</span> City in Lagos State, Nigeria

Banana Island is an artificial island off the foreshore of Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. Its name derives from the curvature of its shape. The island is a planned, mixed development with residential, commercial and recreational buildings.

The N2 Gateway Housing Pilot Project is a large housebuilding project under construction in Cape Town, South Africa. It has been labelled by the national government's former Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu as "the biggest housing project ever undertaken by any Government." Even though it is a joint endeavour by the National Department of Housing, the provincial government of the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town, a private company, Thubelisha, has been outsourced to find contractors, manage, and implement the entire project. Thubelisha estimates that some 25,000 units will be constructed, about 70% of which will be allocated to shack-dwellers, and 30% to backyard dwellers on the municipal housing waiting lists. Delft, 40 km outside of Cape Town, is the main site of the Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to housing</span> Economic, social and cultural right

The right to housing is the economic, social and cultural rightto adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right in the International human rights law which was clearly in the 1991 General Comment on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The aspect of the right to housing under ICESCR include: availability of services, infrastructure, material and facilities; legal security of tenure; habitability; accessibility; affordability; location and cultural adequacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makoko</span> Informal Settlement in Lagos State, Nigeria

Makoko is an informal settlement across the 3rd Mainland Bridge located on the coast of mainland Lagos. A third of the community is built on stilts along the lagoon and the rest is on the land. The waterfront part of the community is largely harboured by the Egun people who migrated from Badagary and Republic of Benin and whose main occupation is fishing.

Nigeria is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons including forced labour and forced prostitution. The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017. Trafficked people, particularly women and children, are recruited from within and outside the country's borders – for involuntary domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, street hawking, domestic servitude, mining, begging etc. Some are taken from Nigeria to other West and Central African countries, primarily Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, Chad, Benin, Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, and the Gambia, for the same purposes. Children from other West African states like Benin, Togo, and Ghana – where Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rules allow for easy entry – are also forced to work in Nigeria, and some are subjected to hazardous jobs in Nigeria's granite mines. Europe, especially Italy and Russia, the Middle East and North Africa, are prime destinations for forced prostitution.Nigerians accounted for 21% of the 181,000 migrants that arrived in Italy through the Mediterranean in 2016 and about 21,000 Nigerian women and girls have been trafficked to Italy since 2015.

The Karu Urban Area is an urban area in central Nigeria. The urban area is majorly located in the Nigerian state of Nasarawa, but with some parts stretching into the boundaries of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It has an area of 40,000 hectares (400 km2) and a population of some 2 million.

Forced eviction in the People's Republic of China refers to the practice of involuntary land requisitions from the citizenry, typically in order to make room for development projects. In some instances, government authorities work with private developers to seize land from villagers, with compensation below the market price. In many cases, they are also offered alternative housing instead of or on top of monetary compensation. Forced evictions are particularly common in rural areas, and are a major source of unrest and public protest. By some estimates, up to 65 percent of the 180,000 annual mass conflicts in China stem from grievances over forced evictions. Some citizens who resist or protest the evictions have reportedly been subjected to harassment, beatings, or detention.

Ancestral land conflict over the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) arose in the 1970s between the government of Botswana and the San people (Bushmen), and is ongoing, resulting in one of the most expensive court cases in the history of Botswana.

The Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission of Nigeria, also known as the Oputa Panel, was a commission that was developed following the collapse of the military dictatorship that controlled Nigeria until 1998. It was created by Olusegun Obasanjo, the newly elected President of Nigeria, in 1999. Its mandate was to investigate human rights during the period of military rule from 1984 to 1999. In terms of reconciliation, the commission also worked towards unifying communities previously in conflict. The commission submitted its final report to President Obasanjo in 2002, but the government has not taken any action to date. Its report was not released to the public until 2005, when it was published by two activist groups, the Nigerian Democratic Movement and Nigeria-based Civil Society Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Nigeria</span> Occupation of unused land or derelict buildings in Nigeria

Squatting in Nigeria refers to a person who is not the owner, taking possession of land or an empty house. Squatters migrate from the countryside to informal settlements in cities such as Abuja, Port Harcourt and in particular Lagos. Lagos had a population of over 14 million people in 2019 and many slums, including Makoko.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Kenya</span> Residential occupation in farms and cities

During the colonial occupation of Kenya, Black Africans working on farms owned by white settlers were called "squatters" by the British. As of 1945, there were over 200,000 such squatters in the Highlands and more than half were Kikuyu. The Mau Mau rebellion began amongst these squatters in the late 1940s and after independence in the early 1960s, peasants started squatting land in rural areas without the permission of the owner.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "SERAC files Maroko Communication before the African Commission." Social and Economic Rights Action Centre. 19 December 2008. Retrieved on 1 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 Megbolu, Chinazor. "Nigeria: Groups Seek Justice for Maroko Evictees." This Day . 23 September 2009. Retrieved on 1 September 2011.
  3. Agbola and Jinadu 272.