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Ebute Metta: Lawyer Lambasts Lagos Government Over Frequent Building Collapses

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This comes after a three-storey building collapsed on Sunday night at 32, Ibadan Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos.

The lawyer wondered why the government refused to enforce the National Building Code, domesticated in the state and sanction erring officials,

According to him, the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration has abandoned its primary responsibilities and now focused on re-election and presidential campaign of his godfather.

Uthman said, “We are being entertained on live television by Lagos State Government officials who, once again are reeling out reasons why the three storey building collapsed at Ebute-Metta in Lagos State, surreptitiously absolving themselves and the government of Lagos State of complicity or culpability. Sad.

“The government officials interviewed with respect are nothing but bureaucratic entertainers, who ought to “Bury their heads in the sand”, like the Ostrich and keep quiet, while awaiting letters of dismissal and criminal prosecutions. Unfortunately, the incumbent Governor of Lagos State does not have the willingness or capacity to exercise either of these two options. As it were, the Ebute-Metta Collapsed Building was the Eid Ul-Fitr gift to Lagosians, after completing the mandatory Ramadan fast and to non-Muslims as late Easter present.

“The officials interviewed on Live television had the audacity to justify the unjustifiable, stating that the occupants were warned to leave that building, failing to explain why a State Government was unable to enforce the Quit Notices that has now resulted in deaths,  maiming, hospitalisation of innocent citizens and children.

“The myriad of questions will include, but not limited to the following: Doesn’t the government of Lagos State have the capacity for enforcement of its Town Planning Laws and Regulations? Was it necessary to allow carnage, death, maiming and all elements of disaster due to the shenanigans of bureaucrats who ought to know better?

“What are the legitimate reasons for the Lagos State Government to enforce the National Building Code, domesticated in Lagos State? In respect of this matter of building collapses, the government of Lagos State is crippled, maimed and cerebrally inept and constituted by incompetent persons, who all ought to be relieved of their services and sent for retraining as farmers to produce rice for the nation. Most, if not all are ill-suited and ill-fitted to perform their present assignments, but we will soon be entertained by visitations and condolence visits by array of government officials at the highest level.

“It is also politically risky to cast votes in the forthcoming elections without taking pragmatic decisions as regards competence and willpower to govern, especially in Lagos State – the commercial capital and nerve centre of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Necessarily, the electorate through the ballot should seek a change of baton, at the polls, at the forthcoming Gubernatorial Elections. We cannot afford to attract these volumes of adverse publicity within the comity of nations.

“It is time for as many as possible to obtain their PVC, votes at the forthcoming elections and ensure that the votes count. Here lies the democratic power of the people. We should not cede the future of our children to a brigandage of political jobbers, whose motivation is materialism and acquisition of ill-gotten wealth. This defeats the essence and purpose of government as postulated by Aristotle, Harold Lasky, Jeremy Bentham, the sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Owelle of Onitsha, Rt. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe (who attended my alma mater, the Methodist Boys High School, Lagos) and all other great and reverred political thinks through the century.

“We are viewing on Live TV war in Ukraine. We fought the Biafra war and its vestiges still enshrined in our regional politics and resonating in the political space. The Federal government of Nigeria should necessarily pay attention to the going-ons in Lagos. All is not well. We have a National Building Code, domesticated in Lagos State. The neglect, failure, refusal of the present government of Lagos State to enforce and sanction erring officials is a glaring testimony of the incompetence of its executive, at the helm of which is His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“For the record, we have never had it so bad in this City of Excellence. We must take our destinies in our hands and ensure that we do not cede our lives to officials whose defined purposes is to reel out excuses for gross incompetences, inefficiencies and incapabilities to justify incomes earned from taxpayers. Until the incumbent Governor of Lagos State sanctions these incompetent bureaucrats, it will continue to be a game “of musical chairs.” Not until we have transparency and accountability in government can we navigate towards a Better Rewarding Future.

“Simple Request: Please avail the public of the Agreement signed between the Lagos State Government and Lekki Concession Company (LCC) – No response, so far. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy gave assurances, but we are yet to see this “Secret” Document, which the Freedom of Information Act makes it mandatory for us to see, decipher and critique.

“How do you ignore the citizenry that voted you into power, who pay your lawful salaries? Awfully, we are entertained by a government in power demanding N100,000,000, N50,000,000, N20,000,000 to collect Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for party primaries, and many are queuing to collect.

“Here lies the bane of a Nation State and the institutionalisation of corruption in our DNA. All but one (only) that collect these forms will win the party primaries for the Presidential Elections. It is unfathomable, unbelievable and mentally befuddling to rationalise within the context of cerebral intellectualism how we found ourselves in this “shit-hole” (David Cameron). Apparently, our political class, as presently constituted, has failed us.”