Adelanwa Kadiri is the chairman of Eti-Osa Community Development Committee. He told VICTOR ORIOLA why the people of the area are opposed to the plan by the Lagos Concession Company (LCC) to tax them over their right of passage on the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
Why are you against the Lagos State Government’s development of Lekki/Epe Expressway?
It is funny. We are not against the state government. In fact, Eti-Osa Local Government belong to the ruling party, and we are ardent supporters of Fashola. We have made our complaints known. The whole issue would not have degenerated to this if our complaints had been listened to. If the LCC, the concessionaire, has tried to listen to us we won’t go this far, but they are not ready to bend. Even when we made a representation to them that this is an indigenous area they would not listen.
But they claimed the agreement was sealed during the previous administration of Bola Tinubu. Why are you raising eyebrow now?
But we are the community that this concessionaire would affect most. So, I think they ought to take us into consideration in whatever plan of development they have for us.
Are you saying you were not consulted before the agreement was sealed?
No, we were never consulted. We would not have entered into an agreement that would enslave our people. This is an indigenous area that has been cohabited for hundreds of years. Even when this place was a jungle, we moved freely among ourselves. I am just coming from Bashorun now. So, you are telling me that if I am going there I have to pay tolls in three places. Before I came here I was at Igbado; by the time they fenced off the road, it means there won’t be such opportunity again. We don’t want that, our people are not slaves.
What is your next line of action now since the LCC says there is no going back?
That is why we petitioned the State House of Assembly when they came here during their public sitting. We have also made representation to the governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, to express our feelings that we would not allow being fenced and we would not pay any toll under the guise of development. This is pure slavery. Again, during the last stakeholders meeting with the LCC and the state government we told them our mind. We told them that the road they want to concede now was a legacy bequeathed to us 27 years ago by the Jakande administration as a dividend of democracy. Now, we have a coastal road in the pipeline, if they really want to assist us, if not that they want to exploit us they should focus on that. The space is there, it is a virgin land; why don’t they develop that. They can put as many as ten toll gates there and fence it to heaven, nobody cares. We have been enjoying four lanes for 27 years, and they now want to add one lane each side and erect three toll plaza in a distance of 23 kilometres within the same local government. No, this is uncalled for. And they will use it for 30 good years. That would mean 30years of enslavement. We won’t allow that, in fact our children won’t forgive us.
Have you taken time to calculate how much will be expended on the road to know if it commensurate with the 30 years concessionaire plan?
Well, I have not. But I know we have people who have done a research into that. But no matter what we know what it takes. The last statistics conducted here about two years ago says that about 55,000 vehicles ply this road per day. Now, we have so many estates. By now we will be having about 100,000 vehicles plying this road per day. You can calculate if they even pay 50k per toll in three places, that will be hundred of millions every month. And you know how many billions that will be in a year. That is terrible enslavement no matter what.
The first toll gate is springing up at Mobil end. What are you planning to do?
We are not a violent people. We will still continue to explore all available means of dialogue to resolve the impasse. We will cry to everywhere that we can cry to. If possible we will cry to ECOWAS to come and see the injustice people want to perpetrate in the name of exploitation; in the name of development. We are ardent supporters of development. We are ardent supporters of Fashola. You see, we have leaders and we have supporters. What they are crying for now is that they don’t want to be enslaved. No to tollgate. No to fencing, we abhor it. We wouldn’t want anybody to come and cage us in the name of development. The regional road is there, the coastal road is there, let them go and develop that, for God sake.
But LCC has said that the fencing will beautify the road and reduce traffic snarl. How would you react to this?
Let me tell you, if they fence the road if anything happens the whole road will be cut off. No other alternative. Once, it is just a single route; even if it is five lanes we will still have chaos. Why are they not providing an alternative route? There is a place that has been earmarked as alternative road, they should go and develop that.
Have you met with the governor to express your grievances?
Yes, even at one of the instance, the governor was at one of the spot there when we met him and we registered our grievances.
What was his reaction?
He said he would call us to a meeting but up till now we have not been invited to any meeting. But we have met LCC at various times but they are not ready to listen to us. They are hell bent. And if you look at the composition of people in the LCC, they are people who don’t know our feeling. They have never been with us. They are not even Lagosians
How do you mean?
They are not Lagosians. It is true we are all Nigerians; we want people to come and develop our area. But at the same time they have to take our feelings into consideration.
They have to develop our area within the contest of our culture. Our culture is to move around our people. We have old people who will move from Igbo-Efon to see their next of kin at Idado. But by the time they fence us, they want to hurry our elders to their grave because there won’t be any free movement anymore.