Gov. Fashola and Hotel Bobby: Fire on the Mountain By: Michael Daniels M.K Okoronkwo


Some times ago, my attention was drawn to Hotel Bobby by the Sunday Sun newspaper through a story of a family it headed: "The Benson Brothers". The story was a type of tragedy! At the conclusion of the story, I was set ablaze by the (unwholesome) action of Lagos state Governor Babatude Fashola. I was startled to hear (for no cogent reason, except that miscreant boys were using the structure as a hideout) that the three storeys building with more than 50 rooms were demolished—the site is now rubble. The worst part of it is that the Benson Brothers were said to have been at the verge of renovating the hotel at the period the hotel was being leveled down. In my own opinion, if it is not because of the hard economic situation of Nigeria or how the country’s economy has crippled the masses, the Benson Brothers might have completed the renovation before Governor Facula’s bulldozer could do its worst against the building.


Now let’s take a more critical look into the action of the Governor or the danger it imposes upon the people. What was Fashola’s real intention for embarking on the very action, beside checkmating miscreant boys from using the building as a rendezvous? The flattening of the building, was it (not) part of his bid to compulsorily acquire any land in sight in the state for his government? But if this was his ambition, he would have done the proper consultation and made the statutory compensation if he gets the consent of the people, instead of to adopt this ‘commodore’ pattern in this democratic era, violating people’s right of freedom of possession of immovable property in any part of the country, and which shall not be compulsorily taken from them except at certain conditions provided by the law—yet none of conditions is visible in the very incidence.


However, if the Governor insists that the building due to its state is inimical to life, why not agree with the family and renovate the house and instead lease it out, collect the rents until his outgoings for the renovation is recovered, and then hand it back over to the family. I think this would serve as part of the poverty alleviation programme which even his government is canvassing!


Okay, if Fashola does not have any ulterior motive concerning the piece of land, why is that the very house was the only structure that was razed down? Does it mean it was the only uninhabited building in Lagos this so called ‘miscreant boys’ were using as a refuge? Why were others spared? Moreover, if the breaking down of uninhabited building is the best way of controlling vagabonds or getting them out of the city, that means buildings should go down including many dilapidated structures in both our primary and secondary schools. Also such a building like former Enyimba Hotel, a six-storey, and one of the tallest buildings in the city at Ogbor Hill Aba, Abia State which I learned was sold out in the 80’s or late 70’s by the then state government and which has been abandoned by the buyer without renovating it till moment and which many socially and economically deprived people "miscreant folk" have converted into their resting place, should expect its own demolition by its host government. And because war against miscreant boys ought to be a national phenomenon, River State Government at the same time should be warming up to pull down an uncompleted and a long time abandoned 5-storey building at Water Lines, opposite Olu Obasanjo Road Port Harcourt which many less privileged people or Street Traders always take as a shade; and which the police always parade to round up bad boys. Yes, each State should gird itself very well to demolish whatever structure within its area which the owner could not have completed till now, to deny the lazy bones a hideout.

Now, back in Lagos, the Lagos state governor should have, beside, dismantling the Bobby Hotel, move further to destroy all the Overhead Bridges in Lagos under which the miscreant boys might also have been gathering. To be destroyed among others is Obalende Burial Ground which has recently turned to a home for the living or which the latter are sharing with the dead, according to report by FRCN. (The thing is that, the destitute in Lagos are sleeping in the burial ground at night.) Doing this will prove how serious Fashola is in fighting miscreant boys through destroying non-functional houses—Bobby Hotel being destroyed alone could not send miscreant boys packing from Lagos.


In fact, even if all the uninhabited-open buildings in Lagos are broken down, miscreant boys should still be found in Lagos until the correct measure is taken by the Governor. When I came to the point in the story that Governor Fashola demolished the hotel to punish the miscreant boys, a message a pastor once preached revealing how he treats witches automatically flashed back in my mind. The pastor, knowing that witches are used by the spirit of witches and that the spirit cannot die, concluded not to pray for witches to die. His judgment was that if he prays for a witch to die, and the witch dies, it is only the human being that is being possessed by the spirit of witches that will die not the spirit itself that causes the (main) havoc; and that the spirit of the witch would leave the dead man and enter into another man and yet continues its lethal action. Instead, the pastor chooses praying a prayer of salvation to the witches. Base on this, I want Governor B. Fashola to pick a lesson from this: he could not record any success by destroying citizens’ right acquired property like the Bobby Hotel in the aegis of combating lazy bones. He might end up breaking every such structure and yet without bringing any miscreant boys to order, but piques himself against the subjects (if ever he is determined to bring them to book). By the way, by removing Hotel Bobby, which miscreant boy has left Lagos?


Indeed, Babatunde Fashola owes the Benson Brothers explanation on why he did what he did and hence, should be ready to rebuild the very building he had demolished as damages for his trespasses against the Benson Brothers. I’m solidly behind the Benson Brothers in their legal suit against the Governor and pray to the court of law, the last hope of the poor masses to handle the matter holistically to avert the citizens of any further illegality by the highly placed against the proletariat. By the action of the Governor against the Benson Brothers, I can see an enormous fire on the mountain set by Babatunde Fashola. And except the law court quenches it, Nigerians are consumed.