By Popoola Ademola

Sitting under the tree that has served as shade to him for the past two years, Waheed Adebayo, an auto technician at WAEC Area of Awosuru, Osogbo Osun state, was preparing to pray at the remnant of his private mosque, which was destroyed.

The auto technician shared the pathetic experience of his demolished workshop and the eventual crashing of his business.

“I won’t lie to you; after the demolition, everything changed, no more customers or money to even raise to feed the home properly or even to raise another shop. I am just living in God’s grace,” he said.

After his shop was demolished, Waheed did not cease coming there and praying at the spot he had used since he built the shop over 10 years ago. The spot now had only a few weak blocks standing. His business had also crashed, bringing despair, misery, hopelessness and above all, pushing the 46-year-old panel beater to extreme poverty.

In 2023, the World Poverty Clock indicated that Nigeria has the awful distinction of being the world’s poverty capital, with 71 million people living in extreme poverty and a total of 133 million people classified as multidimensionally poor, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Waheed Adebayo is one of the frustrated Nigerians who has been pushed to extreme poverty because of the demolition of his shop to pave the way for the construction of a skills acquisition centre, a constituency project sponsored by Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, who represented Osun Central Senatorial District at the Senate between 2019 and 2023. He is also a former Attorney General of Osun state.

Across the street in Awosuru in Alekuwodo area of Osogbo Local Government, Osun State, Is the abandoned Agriculture Entrepreneurship Centre, the pet project facilitated by Basiru, the former lawmaker representing Osun Central and current National Secretary of the All Progressive Congress, APC. This structure, once filled with dreams and aspirations, now remains in desolation, yearning for a purpose.

Just like yesterday, the lawmaker came to the people with cameras and a praise-singing crowd, to announce his pet project. Shop owners were asked to evacuate the space they had been using for over 15 years without a legal notice.

The panel beater is not the only one suddenly plunged into poverty after his shop was  demolished to pave the way for a constituency project promoted by the Senator Basiru. However, despite the net negative impacts of the project on the community and businesses like Azeez, the project is not functioning, an example of waste associated with the constituency projects in Nigeria.

According to the people, their shops were demolished without a proper quit or eviction notice, which would have allowed them to look for another location. They told this reporter that the people who came to demolish their shops came to them a few days after the demolition and told them verbally that the government wanted to take over.

“A man from this school over there just came that month and told us the government needed their land. And the government came in the second month. We were not given notice but we were told and it was short. By the time they came, it was too late for us. And you know we also know it is government land.”

This is contrary to the provision of the Land Use Act of 1978, which stipulated that a legal process which includes serving a quit notice containing the date of evacuation in Nigeria. The governor also has the right to revoke land but in the state’s interest.

Section 44 of the Land Use Act 1978 also stipulates that a well-structured notice must be sent to the occupier or owner before further demolition. This Act also spells out that unless the Act is followed properly a revocation of the land by the governor can not occur.

Waheed wishes to own a new shop and make his business work again, but his only source of income has crashed. The sound in his voice depicts despair, as it continues to faint as he struggles to convince himself that he can have his business and good life again.

“I only made money from this business and since this happened, it has affected my business, lost so many customers, and nothing to take home or save again, I just keep praying to God, because I don’t even know,” he said as he was washing his feet with water in preparation to pray.

Section 44 of the Nigeria Constitution 1999 also provides that: “No moveable property or any interest in an immovable property shall be taken possession of compulsorily and no right over or interest in any such property shall be acquired compulsorily in any part of Nigeria except in the manner and for the purposes prescribed by a law.”

Residents, youth and young farmers who are also supposed to be the prime beneficiaries of this project hardly know the building, its purpose or benefited from this project.

Over four months, The Jurist visited the WAEC area of Awosuru in Osogbo, interviewed over 7 people whose businesses were removed and 15 people affected by the project, and reviewed documents showing how the project was awarded, initiated and its eventual abandonment.

Background

According to govspend.com, a 30 per cent mobilisation fee of ₦52. 3 million was released for the establishment of the entrepreneurship centre on October 16, 2021.Govspend.com is a platform that makes available timely information about government spending.

About six months later, on March 28, 2022, the balance 70 per cent of ₦113.4 million was released for the project, while the sum of ₦8.7 Million retention fee (retention is holding up of a certain amount by the government till work is fully done as specified during the contract agreement and award) was also released on November 2, 2022.

In total, the sum of  ₦174,486,152.71 (One hundred and seventy-four million, four hundred and eighty-six thousand, one hundred and fifty-two naira, seventy-one kobo) was paid for the construction of the centre.

The project was awarded to J2 Standard Investment LTD, according to the document.

J2 Standard Investment Ltd was registered in ABUJA, Nigeria with Registration Number 891556 on June 8, 2010, and maintains an active status. The company, located at PLOT 96, MABUSHI, ABUJA, FCT, is under the directorship of Alade Jimoh (malam) and Misitura Alade.

The company is said to be actively engaging in “general merchandise, general contractors, suppliers, traders, marketers and wholesales, distribution of general goods, commission agents, manufacturers’ representatives, importers, exporters, to buy, sell, manufacture and deal in all articles, substances, products, commodities, appliances and things used or in connection with the company’s business” copy of the company’s description of activities on b2bhint.com.

The project was awarded through the Federal College of Agriculture, Moore Plantation, Ibadan and placed under the Ministry of Agriculture And Food Security in Osun State.

Awarding a construction contract to a contractor who doesn’t clearly state construction as part of his activities is a violation of the PP Act section 6, which necessitates the need to award contracts to only competent contractors with prior experience of the particular goods or services.

Section 16 (6) reads: All bidders in addition to requirements contained in any solicitation documents shall (a) possess the necessary (i) professional and technical qualifications to carry out particular procurements (ii) financial capability (iii) equipment and other relevant infrastructure (iv) shall have adequate personnel to perform the obligations of the procurement contracts.

However, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agricultural and Food Security in Osun State,  Gbemisola Fayoyin, told The Jurist that the project was not handed over to the ministry.

Unfortunately, the multi-million naira project that was meant to help promote literacy in modern agricultural farming in the state has not been put to use since its completion.

The centre has now been covered with thick bushes that leave the surrounding area under threat of wide animals. Members of the community had to take up the responsibility of clearing the surroundings of the building in order to prevent it from breeding dangerous animals.

According to residents, it was constructed in 2022 within three to four months, but since completion remained locked up for over a year now.

The surroundings of the building did not only harbour bushes, but a brief peep inside it showed overgrown bushes occupying every space, standing all over like the humans that are meant to acquire skills at the centre.

The core benefit of the centre is to train youth and farmers in agricultural skills, ranging from livestock farming to organic farming, and from there, participants can be allowed to start their farming businesses.  Unfortunately, no such activities have been conducted in the centre since completion, instead, it was locked and abandoned amidst the city.

This establishment is also meant to help sustain and improve the livelihood of youth and farmers in Osun State. That is to provide them with the opportunity to learn new skills in order to bring food to their table.

Another important benefit of the construction is to serve as a skill acquisition centre for the training of youth and farmers associations in Osun State and the immediate community.

Residents also believe that such a building with a modern structure would help them register and receive lectures comfortably without having to travel miles for such benefits. Unfortunately, their hope has been covered by bushes.

Inappropriate location of the project

It would make sense to establish such a skills acquisition facility in an agrarian community, where the people are predominantly farmers, but the politician moved it to a residential area where it would be hard to find a farmer.

The majority around these areas are traders and entrepreneurs. WACE junction, as the area is popularly called, is also known for offices of some government agencies, which includes the West African Examination Council (WAEC). Also found in the area are automobile mechanics and panel beaters like Waheed, whose shops or workshops were all destroyed because of the multi-million naira project.

When our reporter spoke with the traders, they all lamented the damages it has caused them and how their businesses have been affected. One of the mechanics, whose shop was also demolished, Ogundare Theophilus, said it was an unfair situation, but they had no power to question the government.

“All we know is that it is Government land but yet we think we should have had a proper notice and at least compensation or another recommendation or provision. But instead, they told us they are still coming back to even send us away from here too” Mr Theophilus said

Since their workshops were destroyed, for fear of losing their customers, those who could not get other means decided to settle beside the acquisition centre. But the fear that they might still be sent away crippled them. They all claimed that the contractor said they should not stand or settle where they are currently using because it is government property.

Needs assessments under the Nigeria Public Procurement Law

Additionally, the community said they were not consulted or knew anything in the process of establishing the centre in their area.

The Secretary to the community chairman of Isokan community, WAEC Office area, Awosuru, Tunde Fabode and a few other community members who spoke to this reporter said they don’t even know the purpose of the building, not to talk of being mindful of it.

“It just sprang up all of a sudden, no one was consulted or even knew anything about it, all we saw was that he (the lawmaker) came with people singing and dancing and later we saw the building. We don’t even know what it was for. It is just there.”

He further promised that the community would write a report to their local government since the reporter had brought it to their notice.

“ Thank you so much for this, we will write to our local governments about this and let them know that we were not consulted and don’t know anything about it, this will be done in our next meeting,” he concluded

“All we heard was that the government wanted to use it, but no one told us it is for this or that, if our leaders were consulted they know this will affect us and it is not even what we need around here,” said Anthony Adeagbo one of the affected tenant in the area of WAEC.

This can be regarded as evidence of poor needs assessments which justify the need to ensure that procurement of public utility goes in line with the interest of the public. This is solely to establish that public facilities are in the best interest and needs of the people and also to avoid such a case of abandonment witnessed in this story.

Under Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act 2007, needs assessments play a crucial role in the procurement process.

Section 18 of the Act reads: “Subject to regulations as may from time to time be made by the Bureau Under the direction of the Council, a procuring entity shall plan its procurement by :

(a) preparing the needs assessment and evaluation ;

(b) identifying the goods, works or services required ;

(c) carrying appropriate market and statistical surveys and on that basis prepare

an analysis of the cost implications of the proposed procurement ;

(d) aggregating its requirements whenever possible, both within the procuring

entity and between procuring entities, to obtain economy of scale and reduce

procurement cost ;

(e) integrating its procurement expenditure into its yearly budget ;

(f) prescribing any method for effecting the procurement subject to the

necessary approval under this Act; and

(g) ensuring that the procurement entity functions stipulated in this Section

shall be carried out by the Procurement Planning Committee

This section of the Public Procurement Act 2007 outlines the importance of conducting a needs assessment before embarking on any procurement process. It emphasises the need for government agencies and entities to thoroughly evaluate and establish their requirements before initiating the procurement of goods, services, or works.

Overall, Section 18 of the Nigeria Public Procurement Act 2007 emphasises the significance of a thorough needs assessment to ensure transparency, efficiency, and value for money in public procurement processes. This helps prevent the wastage of public funds and promotes fair competition among suppliers and contractors.

What the law says about demolition of property

According to Nigeria’s Land Use Act, 1978, or Regional Planning Laws, occupants are entitled to a legal notice prior to the time of demolition, whether the land was acquired legally or not. A demolition can only occur without notice when the property has become a public threat.

Part IV of the Land Use Act deals with existing interests in land before the coming into force of the Land Use Act. This deals with citizens who also processed land without proper documents. It gives them the right to a fair hearing at the court and ensures fairness in the adjudication of such.

This should include the right process of revocation.“The process of revocation of prior vested rights (customary, statutory, or even equitable rights) in the land” report.

This simply established that a court should declare the revocation and subsequent demolition.

The law allows affected individuals the time to make representations about any legal or equitable interest they have in the property in the principle of fair hearing and also gives them the appropriate time to look for alternatives.

Victims must be given opportunities to be notified appropriately with a court order for the demolition.

This has also been established in a recent report and comment by Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and some stakeholders in the construction industry. Mr Falana said the government should cease demolition of properties until it has followed the due process.

The SAN at the recent advocacy programme tagged “Building Collapse and Application for Punitive Law in Lagos State” said, “Unless a building is going to collapse the next morning, and so you need an emergency situation, then demolition can occur.”

According to these businessmen, they were leased the land by a government school around the premises over 15 years ago and have been paying their due to the school since then.

Waheed said he had built a fortune on his portion of land. He had a shop, a store and a private mosque where he used to pray.

After the demolition, most of the shop owners left while a few who could not get money to rent a new shop had to move their things just beside the building.

But for over a year now, no one has heard anything from the building. The residents said they guessed that the lawmaker was busy running around for his re-election and forgot the construction there.

Unutilised projects discouraging youth from farming

In 2022, the unemployment rate in Nigeria was estimated at 33 per cent. This figure was projected to be at 32.5 per cent in the preceding year.

Chronological data show that the unemployment rate in Nigeria has risen constantly in the past years. In the fourth quarter of 2020, over 33 per cent of the labour force was unemployed, according to the Nigerian methodology

Bhadmus Opeyemi is a graduate of the University of Ilorin. After his mandatory one-year postgraduate National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, and his unsuccessful efforts to get a good job in the country.

He decided to go into snail farming, but sadly he could not raise money to start the business.

Opeyemi said his burning passion and ambition for farming had died before, as he does not think there was any focus on the state agricultural sector. The graduate said he had not heard of any skill acquisition or benefit or empowerment program for the youth in farming or the adult farmers.

“Since I can’t get money to do it properly and I don’t want to be idle, I love farming. There was a time I wanted to start poultry farming but could not even raise money to get a penthouse for them and no benefit from the state, so I had to quit that ambition.”

“I am currently picking local snails around and rearing them, I get their food from things around, I learnt they have special food but I am incapacitated to even get them. The last time I even tried to see the AFAN chairman he was not around in his office”

“I just hope the state governments can see light in empowering the youth on agriculture”

Another young farmer in Ile Ife, Gilbert Adefisan who has been a poultry farmer for over 5 years recounted his loss which he estimated was over N1 million last year. The money he said he borrowed to enlarge his poultry business.

He blamed the government for not taking the farmers seriously despite the zeal and struggle of the young farmer.

“My prayer for you is that Nigeria should not happen to you, I just realized that no matter how you try to survive in this country, systems are willing to put you down, gathering wealth in this country is like sleeping on a lake of fire” Gilbert, the young farmer lamented.

Agricultural sector suffers in the state

Recently during a competition on the Agricultural Education Training Programme (AETP) organised for selected schools across Osun State, the Chairman of Osun SUBEB, Hon. Ibukun Fadipe emphasised the need to foster agricultural practices among the youth and students in order to encourage the best practices and participation.

The representative of UBEC at the programme, Mr Mustapha Omotoso, also stated that “it has become sacrosanct for all stakeholders to come together and work for the upliftment of agriculture”

But a more promising infrastructure (the abandoned skill acquisition centre) has rendered this prospect a retard achievement, as many youths that are in farming are already frustrated with the discouraging events that surround their farming business in Osun state.

Forty-three-year-old Olaoye Joshua started farming for the past seven years. Several times, he had applied to skill acquisition programs and similar opportunities to boost his only source of income, farming. Sadly, all opportunities seemed like a dream. He said he had to stop even attending the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) meeting when he realised it was futile.

“When I got here I decided to join them, and I used to go for the meeting at Biket, I don’t even know that building has been there because it had been closed up since then (talking about the skill acquisition centre). One thing I noticed was that they were not serious at the meeting and this was what stopped me from going there. I have not benefited from anything despite applying for many opportunities”.

The young farmer also explained his challenges in the farming business in which he said the government should help the young farmers as they Are recounting losses.

“There are a lot but just to mention a few, thefts, diseases outbreak, marketing and capital”

He said farmers also need to be empowered, which includes financial capacity, skill and mechanical.

“We need empowerment program, loans, grants and a market for our product”

Many of these farmers are unaware of the skill acquisition building in Awosuru or the benefit of such a project. When asked and told about it they were surprised. They all lamented that they need an empowerment program and mostly financial support to encourage them.

Mr. Egbedele Stephen said he sponsored his school with a farming business. He farmed for over 20 years before he finally stopped because of a lack of empowerment and finances.

“That’s why I said farming is a business that has to do with great faith, without having great faith you can not achieve anything in farming. I planted over five acres of maize and was destroyed by pests and weeds which I can’t get anything out of it”.

“And I think the government should empower real farmers, not paperwork farmers. Also, they should not use farming to do politics” he concluded.

All attempts to speak with the AFAN chairman, Kayode Afolabi, were denied. He refused to pick up calls, reply to text messages or attend to the journalist at his office, as his secretary insisted that he was not around.

Agency reaction

In a phone conversation, a man identified as Abimbade Abass, who spoke on behalf of the agency, Federal College of Agriculture Moore Plantation Ibadan, Oyo state,  said the agency is a college but used to receive construction projects from the government and the exact project in this story was only placed under the school.

He further said the lawmaker is in charge of ensuring the utility of the project and not the agency.

“Yes we construct, we have a workshop, we have an engineering department and we fabricate for farmers. Like I said earlier, it is a constituency project. The senator that is in charge is supposed to know why the project has not been used,” Abimbade explained

“It is a constituency project and not a college project, the federal government just put it under the school, the only thing we can do now, the senator that is in charge, we can only invite him and ask him why, because they are calling us about it,” he concluded.

Ministry reaction

Speaking to the reporter in her office, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Osun State, Mrs Gbemisola Fayoyin, said the multi-million naira skill acquisition centre is yet to be handed to the ministry and it has not been equipped for use.

“The project has not been handed over to the ministry properly, the project has not been equipped but by the time the government is settled we will equip it”

She further explained that the ministry also gets retarded because of lack of funds, because there is not enough for the State. She said there are plans to revive the sector but the limited resources hinder their plans.

“Agricultural ministry cuts across a lot of sections, but because of the paucity of funds, we have to plan and know what to do. There is a lot of planning currently going on in the state to boost the agricultural sector, the current governor gave the sector priority to, we are number four in the line of importance in this regime”  Mrs Fayoyin said

“Agric is cut across so many parts, the youth, children, mother and the adult farmers. The rate at which things are inflated is also affecting us”  she continues.

Stressing on the state’s planning, she said the ministry will be helping farmers in the off-season to plant vegetables and also sell them cheaply for the comfort of the people of the state.

“We are heading to the off-season, the state governments through the Nigerian women program are also trying to get some benefit for the women and mothers. It is a World Bank project and they are given projects and machines to use in farming. So for the off-season, we are trying to see what we can do for the vegetable farmers. But they are still in the planning stage” she said

“In the next couple of weeks, we will see what we can do to the vegetables so that they can be sold cheaply and produce good ones. These are part of the plan on the ground for now,” the PS concluded.

Project rots away because government fails to complete and equip it

A researcher in transparency and accountability in public procurement, Mr Charles Mbah, who spoke to The Jurist also lamented on the state of infrastructural projects in the state and Nigeria at large. He emphasised on delay in releasing funds for projects and its discouragement to the citizens.

“What we have seen in your story so far is one of the developing procurement concerns at the sub-national level where budget allocation/release of funds is made for, for instance, the construction of a facility in a certain fiscal year and citizens have to wait for another fiscal year before another allocation/release of funds is made for  equipping the completed facility.”

He said it spread across projects taken up in the country.

“The issue is not just with zonal intervention projects attracted by lawmakers but also with projects included in the state budget. We have seen this a lot in the uptake of health facilities to provide health care services in states.” he continued. This issue is a very serious one that needs a lot of advocacy” he said

Mr Mbah further expressed that the situation led to a loss of the value of money which is the core benefit or importance of any procurement.

“The issue leads to huge loss in the value for money for the period when citizens have to wait before they utilise a facility that has been constructed because they are waiting for another fiscal year for monies to be allocated for the supply of equipment to furnish a facility that was completed in the previous year or years back”

He said abandonment of a project or waiting for funds to complete or equip a project should be discouraged as such has damaged a lost project while some projects became totally dead because of the situation.

“But this practice should be totally discouraged as it does not ensure value for money and could also contribute to the abandonment of projects,” he also concluded.

Lawmaker fails to respond

At the time of filing this report, the former lawmaker refused to respond to several calls, messages and chats. The reporter sent him SMS messages and another on his WhatsApp number in October which later indicated that it was read by the appearance of blue of the marked lines in the body of the message. Yet, the user refused to respond nor did the reporter get feedback from him.

Messages were also sent to his Twitter account while calls were put through but they all got no response.

The Jurist Newapaper also visited the office of the lawmaker in Ayetoro area of Osogbo but was told to come back in two weeks, even as the man who attended to the reporter said the National Secretary of the APC does not stay in Osogbo anymore but in Abuja.

This Investigation republished from The Jurist is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting.