The Ondo State Government, through its Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, has issued what it calls a clarification on the controversial Alagbaka Staff Quarters redevelopment project. Unfortunately, what we read was not clarity but a carefully polished attempt to spin displacement and privatization as progress.
Let me be clear. No one is against modernization or genuine urban development. What we oppose is the brazen attempt to repackage a land takeover as a public-spirited intervention. The administration claims the project aligns with global best practices but conveniently omits one critical global principle which is consultation with the people most affected.
The government admits the Alagbaka quarters house only a small percentage of the workforce but fails to explain why this minority, mostly civil servants and retirees, must now be sacrificed for a glossy estate that may very well be unaffordable to the average Ondo citizen. These occupants, some of whom have lived there for decades, are suddenly being labeled squatters or rent seekers, while no clear relocation or compensation plan has been publicly announced.
If this were truly about infrastructure development, the government could have explored renovation and not complete demolition. The claim that these structures are beyond repair is not only debatable but suspiciously convenient. A government that has done little to maintain the quarters now wants to raze them down and start afresh, likely through a private-public partnership that would see the land sold off to the highest bidder.
This is not the first time we have seen such moves. Urban regeneration has become the new alibi for pushing ordinary citizens out and inviting the elite in. A state battling economic hardship, crumbling schools, joblessness and insecurity should not prioritize luxury housing estates.
What is more disturbing is the air of condescension in the press release. Concerned citizens like us asking valid questions are dismissed as peddlers of mischievous rhetoric. So much for democracy and accountability.
Let me urge Governor Aiyedatiwa to pause and reflect. A government that plans with the people, not against them, is the one that earns true legacy. Transparency does not mean issuing statements after decisions have already been made. It means involving stakeholders before the first brick is moved.
If the Alagbaka project is indeed in the public interest, let it pass the public test. Show us the full plan. Show us the relocation strategy. Tell us the potential beneficiaries. Tell us the duration of the project. Until then, the people of Ondo State will continue to see this for what it truly is, a real estate venture cloaked in the language of progress.
