Governor Nasir El Rufai
A large crowd of residents of Gbagyi Villa – a suburb of Kaduna metropolis – on March 17,
trooped out, carrying placards in protest against demolition notices issued to them by Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Authority, KASUPDA. The residents said they had been living in the community for decades and had acquired the necessary titles to the lands and, as such, were jolted by the intention of Kaduna State government to eject them.
Mr. Chris Obodum, Chairman, Gbagyi Community, later told journalists that the community boasted of about 3,500 buildings, 40 churches, 16 schools and 35,000 residents. He narrated: ‘The story of Gbagyi Villa is easy to understand. For hundreds of years, the area has been inhabited by the Gbagyi people.
However, sometime in 2010, a suit was instituted against some members of the local community by Kaduna Polytechnic. In the course of the court proceedings, the polytechnic sought for settlement out of court. The court obliged and the matter was settled amicably.
“Thereafter the Kaduna State government issued a White Paper to that effect and the Surveyor General prepared a survey map demarcating the polytechnic land from that of the community.
“The polytechnic accepted the resolution of the dispute and, thereafter, proceeded to erect a concrete wall fence demarcating its land from that of the community.
“From the foregoing, it is clear to us that the polytechnic is not laying claim to Gbagyi Villa and has no pending case against us. For the Kaduna State government to claim that our community, after all these years of existence, sits on the polytechnic land is incomprehensible to us.
“Furthermore, the allegation by KASUPDA of non-possession of planning permits is false. KASUPDA knows this. It is just a veil to deceive the public and to obscure the true motive of government,”
Shortly after the community headed to Kaduna State High Court, presided over by Hon. Justice Hannatu Balogun, who granted an injunction stopping “the state government, the Attorney General of the state, Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority KASUPDA), respectively as respondents, either by themselves or through their employees, staff, servants, agents, proxies or whosoever, from demolishing or destroying the applicants’ buildings,” until the case was disposed.
The court order caused wild jubilation in the community, returning hope. Last Thursday, five months later, as Governor Nasir El-Rufai visited the place to see for himself, anxious residents lined the streets, not knowing what to make of the visit. But many of the residents, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard before the arrival of “Russau” (‘demolisher’ in Hausa tongue – which seems to elate El-Rufai), said they were sure that when the governor saw the quality and number of buildings in the community, he would be moved by compassion to forget any planned demolition in the estate.
