Obstacles facing el-Rufai's demolition programme

Illustration: punchng.com

A section of the Twitter community has launched a social media battle against the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, over the on-going demolition of private properties in the state.

The affected buildings are said to be built on lands belonging to public schools and other public institutions.

Amid the online revolt, the governor has insisted that “encroachers into public buildings without titles will not be spared as in the case of Alhudahuda College.”

El-Rufai, who faced a more organised protest for a similar reason when he was a minister of the Federal Capital Territory, reiterated his position in a tweet posted on his official page on Monday.

The governor recently commenced the demolition of residential homes following a promise he made during his campaign. The administration said it took the bold step to save public schools and restore the Kaduna master plan.

Media report said 93 houses were pulled down at Alhudahuda College. Notices were served on the occupants in June but little did they know that the government would go ahead with its plan.

Following the governor’s insistence that the programme would continue, residents of the states have taken to Twitter to register their reservations. They are calling on the governor to exercise restraints, considering the pains the demolition will cause on the victims.

Tweeting via @Sdq84Ibrahim on Monday, one Mallam Abu Ibrahim, urged el-Rufai to be magnanimous in the urban renewal programme even though a section of the state supported the move.

“Despite our support towards the land recovery as well as the governor’s right as stipulated in the Land Use Act, the governor still has to be magnanimous,” he tweeted.

Another tweeter simply identified as Paiko, who posted on @dougzoneluv, condemned the demolition on the ground that it “does not favour any section of the state.”

Also posting on the governor’s Facebook wall, Florence Odum urged the state government to consider the impact the demolition would have on the poor before it continued the exercise.

She said, “The recovery may serve a good purpose. But we should consider that the occupants got approvals from the previous administration before they commenced construction. They could not have gone ahead to construct if the government did not give them permission.

“If a new administration comes in and begins to reverse every decision take by the previous administration, what is the essence of government? Why should anybody take the government seriously if it cannot respect a simple agreement?  

In his campaign manifestoes, the governor promised to restore the master plan of Kaduna while embarking on a comprehensive urban renewal programme to reinvent the ancient city. But since he started implementing the agenda, critics have taken their protests to digital media.

El Rufai is not strange to criticisms over bold decisions. As a minister of the Federal capital Territory during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, he was intensely criticised for similar reason. But he ignored the protests and continued with demolition which he said was necessary to restore the Abuja master plan.