I saw the pic of an old man still with his dignity, facing a wall and captioned – A vandal.
I didn’t make any issue of it as I moved on, only to now come and hear that the pic was that of highly respected Sir Kayode Otitoju
Sir Otitoju apart from being a former Commisoner of Information in Ekiti State is also a past Chairman of Lekki Phase One residents association and a well regarded former analyst on Arisetv
To be carted away like a common criminal, thrown into a black Maria and ‘detained’ for over 24 hours with this pic of him taken and distributed all over social media speaks volumes.
The matter at hand as been on for a bit and I have had personal involvement as I have been involved in mediation between officials of the Lagos State Government and Sir Otitoju
Sir Otitoju who recently celebrated his 70th birthday anniversary at the well heeled Intercontinental Hotel with very prominent Nigerians like Femi Falana SAN in attendance has been in a heated struggle with officials of the Lagos state Government as to his ownership or otherwise of a lay back on the busy stretch of the Freedom way in Lekki
Both have very strong claims. Sir Otitoju has up to date documents confirming his claims complete with up to date tax and fee payments on the land
From the meeting held with a Director in the Ministry of Environment, I gathered that the Lagos state position is that the documents he has, were issued by another parastatal that was not authorised to do same
Now you see the confusion that a break down in the system has forged?
When you are faced with institutional collapse and you now add rent rewarded officials in places of authority, wht you get is an elder statesman paraded like a petty thief with his pictures peddled over social media.
But as I was writing, I got a call from Dr Gaj Tajudeen the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment on the matter.
Tell the man to show you his C of o he avers . The man has no claims to the land and just commandered the land using his powers as Chairman of Lekki Residents Association.
He also gave out the land illegally to mechanics and others collecting rents.
The place is a drainage and should not be blocked.
Lekki is not an Estate but a Scheme. These associations are all illegal and not recognised by law.
You can’t be gating Schemes, Lekki, Magodo and the rest are not Estates but Schemes, he concluded
Sir Kayode Otitoju is my elder friend, a man that has given so much to Nigeria and as such I owe him some level of loyalty
But from talks with Lagos State officials including the Honourable Commisoner for Environment Tokunbo Wahab who put in a call this morning, the whole thing is looking one kind to me.
According to Mr Wahab, Baba Otitoju was caught red handed ‘destroying Government fence ‘ – he has sent a video of his apprehension showing men alleged to be working for Baba Otitoju with equipment and a giant industrial generator.
According to Mr Wahab, the New Towns Development Authority gave Baba permission when he was chairman of LERA to use the place for ‘maintenance’ of the estate but surprisingly mechanic shops, farmland, poultry, entertainment spot and a huge Gas untility have sprung up
According to Mr Wahab, the NTDA has pulled out of the matter and supporting the Perm Secs earlier position to me, there is no underlying C of O to evidence ownership of the land as claimed by my baba.
He went in further to say that the place is a drainage, constructed in that unique manner to protect the edges from desolation amongst others and as such this level of encroachment must be resisted.
As we were concluding the talk, Mr Gbadegesin MD of LAwma called and I told him that I have spoken to Dr Tajudeen the Perm sec and Mr Wahab his Commissioner on the matter and that I was fully aware of Governments positon on the matter.
Sir Kayode Otitoju on the other hand has tax receipts on the land and other such documents he was issued by allied parastatals within the Lagos State structure – but as countered by the opposition, no C of O or Survey Plan which shd have strengthened his case.
All said and done, I will lean slightly towards Governments position on this matter for the simple reason that Sir Kayode hasn’t shown sufficient evidence of ownership of the plot and even if he did, the piece of land which runs concurrently beside the popular Freedom way even in my illiterate eye immediately looks like a place that is of strategic importance to the people of Lekki especially in flood prevention, beautification of the area amongst others and as such cannot house those things that have been said to be there.
Furthermore, willfully ‘damaging government property’ as alleged and as depicted in the video sent to me by Commisoner Wahab cannot be supported and encouraged.
There are clear processes of seeking redress aside from taking things into your hands.
This is why it behoves on government to strengthen its processes and instituions to bouy confidence so that Nigerians can avail themselves rather than carrying generator to government property.
Lastly, let me seek the kindness of Commisoner Wahab to please continue to treat Sir Kayode with patience.
I must comment Commisoner Wahab and his team with the way they have handled this matter since it started, especially in the way they received me and Sir Kayode at one of the mediation meetings.
They have showed a high level of professionalism, kindness and fairness but in so doing, they must remember that they are dealing with an – old soldier never die from Ekiti and we know how stubborn they can be as we all have them as fathers and grandfather’s.
Please I plead that all efforts should be made to resolve this amicably in the interest of the public and its peace and in a way that Sir Kayode Otitoju’s dignity and mental health is not compromised
Ese gan
Duke of Shomolu