By Kunle Odufuwa
The Federal Government has finally taken the first step towards concessioning the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos by placing an advert (see under) to that effect.
The action of the federal government is not in the interest of Lagos and its citizens because it is not the original owner.
The old Odan now Tafawa Balewa Square was given to the Colonial administration by Oba Dosunmu in 1858 for horse racing, cricket and other allied sports. It also served as the parade ground for the Empire day marking the birthdays of the Queens or Kings of England until October 1,1960 when it hosted Nigeria’s Independence celebration and went on to host
Nigeria’s attainment of a Republican status in 1963. It was indeed the foremost horse racing destination on the West Coast of Africa before it was eventually named the Tafawa Balewa Square after Nigeria’s first Prime Minister.
The square remains the largest open space in Lagos state and it is logical for the federal government to hand it over to the Lagos state government to hold and manage on behalf of the people of the state.
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It is nauseating that successive PDP federal governments in sixteen years denied the Lagos State government the use of the square all on the excuse that it was a federal property. Like the PDP administrations mismanaged Ikoyi at the end of its leasehold from the then Chief Aluko Onikoyi,the Onikoyi of Lagos in 1898 by distributing the property there to their cronies instead of returning same to the Onikoyi family/ Lagos state and today, Ikoyi serves more of the interests of foreign owners and not that of Lagosians.
Calabar and Lokoja at different times served as the seats of government but buildings used for such purposes are today vested in the respective state governments. Why should Lagos be different?
It is interesting to not that when then President Obasanjo was reminded that the leasehold on Ikoyi had expired in 1998, he turned deaf ears and resorted to his totalitarian way of doing things.
If President Buhari could order the handover of the old government house near the Tafawa Balewa square to the Lagos state government, why not include the square where occupants of the house used as recreational grounds
Some may argue that the square was rebuilt by the federal government. Does that mean it should aggregate its ownership. At the worst, let the government ask for a refund from the Lagos state government which I am sure President Buhari would not do. Why concession it to
private hands and expect Lagos State to rent the place from them whenever the need arises.
Today, Lagos is being denied a special status while its historic property is also on the verge of being concessioned.
It is time for the Lagos state government and all well meaning Lagosians to rise and fight against the concessioning with the place ending up being mismanaged as displayed by the PDP in its sixteen ignoble years of partisan rulership. Denying Lagos government and Lagosians of the use of their bonafide property is not a fair and just deal.
Let President Buhari rule against the concessioning and order its return to the Lagos state government for the greater benefit of the people of the state.
A situation whereby a so called concessionaire would be dictating to the government and people of Lagos state on whether to grant the use or otherwise of the square is unjust,wicked and an open robbery.
We know the degree of hatred Chief Obasanjo had for Lagos state during his Presidency and thank God that President Buhari did not follow that blind alley.
One of the greatest legacies President Buhari can bequeath to the government and people of Lagos state is to return the square back to its rightful owners and not to a few persons to use as their cash cow.
Robbing Lagos to pay concessionaires is wicked, condemnable and not in the interest of the greatest number of the people of Lagos state .
It is condemnable for Lagos to continue be a tenant on its ancestral property.
