Anti-demolition protest rocks Kano as Govt. Targets More Structures
From Abdullahi Yusuf
Hundreds of youths on Monday staged a peaceful demonstration against the ongoing demolition of illegal structures embarked upon by the Kano State Government.
The protesters whom included victims of the exercise, trooped out in the early hours of the day and converged at the demolished Daula Hotel along Murtala Muhammad Way, carrying placards with different inscriptions condemning the act
Some ot the inscriptions read: “Abba Gida-Gida is envious of investors”, “Don’t bring insecurity to our state, our people are dying in the process of demolishing”, “A responsible governor cannot destroy what his predecessors built with taxpayers money,” among others.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the protest, the Director, Research and Development Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiative, Zahraddeen Sani Baba, described as unfortunate that, properties worth N226 billion had been destroyed within three weeks of Abba’s regime.
“We the people of Kano State unanimously voted for Governor Abba Yusuf to bring development to the State. It was believed that, the Governor was the messiah of the time who shall continue with people-oriented programmes of his predecessor to salvage the people of Kano State.
“It is unfortunate that within six days in office, the perceived messiah became a source of sorrow to many residents and indigenes of Kano State, who acquired land from the previous administration of Abdullahi Ganduje.
“It is disheartening that the Governor ordered demolition of properties worth over N226 billion within his three weeks in office. Let it be on record that six days in office is insignificant for a people-oriented government to order demolition of properties,”Baba said.
He alleged that the governor was only “on a mission of vendetta”,adding that: “It is our belief that Governor Yusuf is using people’s hard-earned investment to settle political scores with the previous administration which is a bad development.
“The Land Use Act specified that, an individual does not own land as all lands belong to the Government. It is true that government is also a continuous process where successors inherit assets and liabilities.
“We had last week urged Governor Abba Yusuf to call the affected persons to a round table with a view to compensating them over the illegal demolition of their properties.
“Today, we are here because the government has marked more buildings for further demolition, even though it has partially complied with the ultimatum given to him by this organisation, the Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiatives to stop further demolition of properties of Kano people,” the director said.
The state government has already marked more buildings for demolishing, especially along BUK road, which has also attracted legal action from various Quaters.
Since the inception of the Abba Yusuf-led administration many structures it deemed illegal have been demolished across the state, among which are Daula Hotel and shops at Eid-el-Kabir ground at Kofar Mata in the Kano metropolis.
