As we know, Africa has many problems. One issue not written about all that much is urbanisation on the continent. According to UN Habitat, urbanisation is one of the biggest challenges facing African countries. Currently two-thirds of Africa's urban population live in informal settlements without adequate sanitation, water, transport or health services. At current levels of urbanisation and with distinct variations across regions, an average of 70% of the urban population in subSaharan Africa has traded a rural lifestyle for life in the city.
More than half of Africa's estimated 750-million people will be living in cities within the next 20 years. The combined population of African cities will double in the next 14 to 18 years. At least 200-million additional people are expected to move to Africa's cities. An estimated 187 million Africans are accommodated in slums, just 19 percent have access to running water, and only 7.5 percent are connected to a sewerage system.
Not only is housing and service provision a problem, but the major African cities are also battling with inner city decay and generally trying to improve the state of city buildings. Concerning city betterment programmes, an unfortunate trend has started to emerge in many African countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Municipalities decide to upgrade an area, and then evict thousands of people, often on short notice, without bothering to provide alternative housing.
Lagos in Nigeria, is the latest city to come under criticism from Amnesty International for carrying out such policies. Sapa has the story.
"Police broke down the gate of a huge housing complex to oust thousands of civil servants and their families last Friday in the latest mass eviction by a government struggling to gain control of its chaotic and crowded cities. Police officials were not available for comment on the evictions, but Umma Muhammed, a spokeswoman for tenants of 1 004 Residences, said the move followed a decision by the government to sell off several of its properties in a privatisation scheme. Authorities have not provided the estimated 8 000 residents with other accommodation."
Amnesty International has called such evictions in Nigeria a human rights scandal.
Evictions of shack dwellers in Zimbabwe earlier this year earned the government in that Southern African country international approbation amid accusations that it was trying to break up the urban strongholds of its opponents. But similar moves in Nigeria, Kenya and elsewhere in Africa often pass unremarked.
Africans are moving to cities at an increasing rate -- faster than the continent's economies, infrastructure and political systems are developing. The result can be volatile, with often authoritarian governments turning on their own citizens.
In Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, dozens of police arrived at 4am (3am GMT) and rammed the chained iron gate of one of the entrances to
1004 Residences with a truck.
Police entered and banged on apartment doors. Residents said the police were ordering them to pack up and leave.
"I am so sad ... This is a place where civil servants are meant to be taken care of, but now they don't want to take care of us," said Usman Adams (32) who had just vacated his flat where he lives with his wife and a cousin. "I will stay with ... anybody I can find," he said.
It was the third mass eviction of civil servants this week in Lagos, a city of more than 13-million.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, security forces evicted hundreds of tenants from 200 apartments at two sites in Lagos, and few were provided alternative accommodation, said a spokesperson for residents, Sunny Baba. In both operations, soldiers and police turned up at 4am (3am GMT), as on Friday.
Tenants of other Lagos apartment blocks have been given notice that they would also be evicted.
The privatisation of civil servants' residential blocks is part of a wider package of economic reforms President Olusegun Obasanjo has been pushing since he was re-elected in 2003. The reforms have provoked strong criticism because of mass layoffs of civil servants and the liberalization of petrol prices, which has contributed to sharp price increases at fuel stations.
Thursday, thousands of people were evicted from a residential district in Abuja, the capital, by police and soldiers, as part of authorities'
attempts to prevent the city from disintegrating into the chaos of Lagos and other Nigerian cities.
A statement from Abuja's regional government said the evictions there were "part of the ongoing efforts ... to reclaim the sanity" of Abuja.
It said the neighbourhood was one of seven communities designated for demolition.
Ulrika Sandberg, a researcher on Nigeria with Amnesty International based in London, said the "mass forced evictions are a hidden human rights scandal".
Amnesty International has estimated that more than a million people have been forcibly evicted from their homes in Nigeria -- both in Abuja and elsewhere -- since 2000.
"Yet again, the Nigerian government is justifying mass forced evictions on the grounds that they are needed for development or beautification projects, and in the process making some of the most vulnerable members of society homeless," said Sandberg. - Sapa-AP
I think at times, there is a thin line between what constitute flagrant human right abuse and plain stupidity.
The demolition is Abuja is to me is justified give that the demolished buildings were illegal structures or did not meet the city code standard.
The case in Lagos is more difficult ti interpret. Those evicted were residents in government-owned buildings that were later sold several months ago. The tenants were given amble time to move out, but they didn’t. The courts have not clearly ruled to favor any of their demands.
What is the government to do?
Yes, a social responsible government should provide affordable accommodation for the vunerable members of the society. Those affected by the evictions do not fall under that classification. Those affected in Abuja acquired their land through questionable means. The case in Lagos is simply a demonstration of forces of capitalism at work.
How does these constitute human rights violation, because the police came in the middle of the night?
The western world often use the Eminent Domain, and strictly enforce real estate/building laws, standards and codes. Are these Human rights violations?
Posted by: imnakoya | December 13, 2005 at 01:27 AM
I see your point but I think it's a rather difficult dilemma. Understandably government's need to improve cities, but when it comes to the genuinely poor, shouldn't they provide alternative housing?
This issue is an ongoing debate in South Africa where many people have been evicted at short notice without being given alternative housing - our govt has a Constitutional obligation to provide housing to the poor.
Posted by: Bronwyn | December 13, 2005 at 07:46 PM