Residents of Games Village cry out: We are living in danger

Residents of the Games Village in the highbrow area of Surulere, Lagos, comprising top civil servants, are going through a challenging period as their dream of living in a well managed and a serene environment has long been dashed, despite all measures they jointly put together with the authorities of the Federal Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development (FMLHUD) to ensure just a comfortable living.

  Currently, the residents are unhappy because the automatic sewage plant built for the Village has being literally rendered ineffective due to administrative bottlenecks reportedly created by the Lagos State field office of FMLHUD.

Instead of the waste water and other waste products passing through to the treatment plant, residents now spend a huge amount to manage their waste by themselves by engaging owners of waste dislodging trucks, who were alleged to be agents of the state field officials of the ministry.

The Games Village was built in the 70s by the Federal Government under Gowon administration. It was originally built to accommodate athletes and the sports officials, who took part in the 1973 All Africa Games.

 The buildings have since been sold to private investors through the Presidential Implementation Committee set up by the Obasanjo administration, for effective management. 

The official handing over of the estate was done by the Federal Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development (FMLHUD) under its former Minister, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, who is presently the governor of Ondo State.

It was gathered that the administrative responsibility of the Village was given to three separate bodies including Towers Owners, Pilot Crescent/Pilot Close Landlords and the Red Bricks Flat Owners, who were to, among other things, monitor the Village and see to the effective management of the estate’s properties, including the sewage treatment plant.

The sewage plant was built as an automatic facility that converts waste from the estate to water. It is made to pass through the underground channel to the sewage plant.

 But the situation today is that the facility is suffering from lack of effective management as officials of the ministry are alleged to have blocked the free flow of waste directly into the sewage plant, thus, making it difficult for the residents to effectively utilise the facility for its original purpose.

Chairman of the Games Village Community Development Association, Mr Johnson Oguns, while speaking with Inside Lagos, lamented the situation, saying that residents usually experienced untold hardship due to the non-functional sewage plant.

According to him, residents spent a huge amount to manage their waste by themselves, adding that owners of waste dislodging trucks charged residents a lot for services rendered.

Ogun explained that every property in the Games Village, including the sewage plant were sold to the residents, alleging that the ministry officials, through the state field officials had “resorted to playing pranks with the whole thing.”

“The properties and everything connected to it, including the sewage plant were sold to us by the government then, but the ministry officials, through the state field officials of the Federal Ministry of Housing resorted to playing pranks with the whole thing.”

Continuing, the CDA boss recalled that all the stakeholders of the Village had agreed  that the plant should be managed by the Dock Management Nigeria Limited on behalf of the residents and, therefore, appealed to the Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development, to intervene in the matter.

“We are appealing to the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to use her good office to redress the situation for us to take charge and manage the Sewage plant on our own without any interference,” he said.

Also speaking, a resident of the area, Mr Kola Ajayi, expressed concern over the bad state of the sewage plant, lamenting that the plant had since been abandoned.

According to him, the equipment had been vandalised, while the site had been overgrown with weeds, thereby becoming a ready abode for miscreants.

“We are not comfortable with the whole situation, our inability to use the sewage plant is becoming a big problem to all the residents, and we cannot fold our arms and remain silent as if nothing is going wrong,” he said.

He lamented that the residents did not deserve this kind of treatment from the state field officials.

Also speaking on the state of the infrastructure, another resident, Abdullai Olowo, 65, said the decrepit condition of the village was hazardous to the environment, adding that criminals often hid inside the facility at night.

“We are living in danger. Thieves can use the place as a temporary place to launch attacks on the residents of the community. The government should rebuild the structure and put it into use. 

When they started demolishing parts of the structure, we thought they would rehabilitate it quickly, but work has stopped on the building.”

When contacted to know the reaction from the state field office, the Personal Assistant to the Controller of FMLHUD, Mr Kunle Ojo, said it was the Abuja office of the ministry that could speak on the issue.

However, a letter that was written by the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, dated October 2013 and signed by the Director, Engineering Services to Games Village Stakeholders, urged  all the stakeholders to come together in order to revive the deteriorating  Sewage Treatment Plant for effective utilization.

In the letter, the ministry said it would be willing to provide technical support in that regard.

It was, however, gathered that nothing has happened since then due to alleged failure of the state field officials of the ministry to comply with the directives, thus, making the residents to appeal to the Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development to come to their rescue