20October2016Lagos,Nigeria

agbajowo la fin soya

pili pili toloton mi je po godo tolonayo

unity is our strength

THENIGERIANSLUM/INFORMALSETTLEMENTFEDERATION

REACTSTOLAGOSSTATEGOVERNMENT’SCLARIFICATIONOFEVICTIONTHREAT&

RENEWSITSCALLFORDIALOGUEWITHGOVERNMENTONALTERNATIVESTOEVICTIONTHROUGHPARTNERSHIPONSECURITYANDDEVELOPMENT

Today, the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation – comprising dozens ofwaterfront communities and other informal settlements across Lagos – reacts to theclarificationoftheevictionthreatbytheLagosStateGovernmenton18October2016andwerenewourcallfordialoguebetweenthreatenedcommunitiesandGovernment.Forthelast10days,dozensofourmembercommunitiesonwaterfrontsacrossLagosStatehave been thrown into pandemonium over the public statement of His Excellency,Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on 9 October 2016 which was reported in the media asfollows:“wewillcommencedemolitionofall theshantiesaroundthecreeks inLagosStateandalsoaroundourwaterwaysinthenextsevendays.”Basedonourprofilingofover40communities,suchactionthreatensatleast300,000personswithhomelessness.On11October2016,seventeenofourmembercommunitiesheldanemergencymeetingandresolvedtowriteanopenlettertotheGovernordemandingretractionofthisnotice.Whenwehadnoreply,weembarkedonapeacefulprotesttoAlausaon13October2016torequestaudiencewiththeGovernor.WeweremetbytheOfficeofCivicEngagement,whichappealed to us to give them36 hours inwhich to seek the Governor’s response.Withinthose 36 hours, the Government commenced demolition of Ilubirin community. WereceivednoresponsefromtheGovernment.Consequently,asthe7-days’noticewasabouttoexpire,wehadnochoicebuttoembarkonaseconddayofpeacefulprotestsatAlausa.At all opportunities, our request has been dialogue with the Lagos State Government.However,meaningful dialogue canonly takeplacewhenneitherparty is underduress –here,thethreatofimmediateevictionanddemolitionofourhomesandcommunities.AlthoughtheLagosStateGovernmenthasnotengagedusdirectly,wedoappreciatethaton18October2016,severalLagosStateCommissionerssawfittorespondviapressbriefingaimedatclarifyingthenatureoftheevictionthreat.Weusethesamemediumtoreact.Wereject theGovernment’s implication that,bywriting to theGovernorandengaging inpeaceful protests,we are using “cheap blackmail.”We are peacefully exercising our civilrightstodrawtheattentionoftheGovernmentandthepublictoourplight.

We also reject the accusation that we are inciting the public against the Government.Rather, it is the Government’s resort to overbroad threats to the lives, shelter, andlivelihoodsofordinaryNigeriansandtheurbanpoorthathasledtopublicdemonstrations.We also reject the Government’s characterization of our waterfront communities as the“abode ofmiscreants/street urchins, kidnappers, touts….” Our communities are home tolaw-abiding,hard-workingurbanpoor,mostofwhomarefishermenandwomenengagedinfishsmokingandfishselling.Anyonewhovisitsourcommunitieswouldfindregisteredsand-dealingbusinesses, fishsmoking facilities,barbershops,provisionsstores, churches,mosques,andsomanyotherfacilitieswherelawfulbusinessandnormaldailylifeoccurs.WecontributemeaningfullytotheeconomyofLagos;indeedtheurbanpooraretheengineoftheeconomy.Wepaytaxes,levies,ratesandchargestothelocalandstategovernments.Werejectallsuchfoullanguagethataimstodefameanddemonizetheurbanpoor.WeurgetheGovernmentandothers to take time to engagewithus andvisit our communities tomeetthehard-working,law-abidingresidentsandtohenceforthceasesuchdefamation.Weappreciate theGovernment’s statement that it “wouldbe considerate to theplightofthoseconsideredasurbanpoor.”Weareconcerned,however,thattheGovernmentseemstopersistinsuggestingthatwe,theurbanpoor,jeopardizethesafetyofothersinthecity.AccordingtoUNHabitat,anestimated67%ofpeople living inNigeriancities– includingLagos–liveinsettlementsclassifiedasslums.Wearenotthefew,wearethemajority.Weagreewith theGovernment’sconcernoverstructuresbuiltunderhigh-tensionwires.We are also concerned with the safety of our communities and we are educating ourcommunitymemberstoensurerespectforrequiredsetbacksforhigh-tensionwires.WeremainconcernedabouttheGovernment’sopenthreattostructuresalongriverbanks.WeremindthatpeopleandparticularwaysoflifeexistedinNigerialongbeforetherewerebuildingregulations.Anumberofpeoples indigenous tosouthernNigeriahavecoexistedwith water since time immemorial and built our homes close to or above water. Ourindigenousconstructionmethodsarenotunsafe;noraretheyathreattofreeflowofwater.Rather, theyareadaptivetotheflood-proneconditionsof low-lyingareas likeLagos.Ourbuildingregulationsandlawsshouldrecognizeandleaveroomforourlocaltraditions.WeappreciatethattheGovernment’sclarificationleftoutanymentionofsettlementsalongthe shore of lagoons, creeks, and the ocean, focusing instead exclusively on riverbanks.However, this is not sufficient assurance for communities close to otherwaterbodies toresteasyandsleepwithbotheyesclosed.Weremainvigilantwithoursistercommunities.In light of all the above, we hereby renew our call for dialogue between ourselves,communitiesthatfeartheyfallundertheGovernment’sopenthreat,andtheGovernment.We remind Government that we are in a democratic dispensation. As citizens, we areexpectedtoproactivelyengageourGovernmentthroughlawfulexerciseofourcivilrights.

WecallforreframingthemegacitydreamasanaspirationforanINCLUSIVEMEGACITYinwhichtheurbanpooralsohaveaplaceandopportunitytopullourselvesoutofpoverty.We call for realistic policies and laws that do not criminalize our homes and ourlivelihoods,butrathercreateaccessiblepathwaysforgradualformalization.TheNigerian Slum/Informal SettlementFederation is amovementof theurbanpoor forourdignityanddevelopment,madeupofcommunitysavingsgroupsinover70slumsandinformalsettlementshereinLagos–andgrowingalsoinotherNigeriancities.Inadditiontocommunity-ledeconomicempowermentthroughoursavingsgroups,weworkwithourmembercommunitiestoundertakecitywideslumprofiling,mapping,andenumerationtoidentify and understand our development challenges and opportunities to feed into ourcollectiveadvocacyforabetterurbanfuture.WearesupportedbyJustice&EmpowermentInitiatives–NigeriaandaffiliatedwithShack/SlumDwellers International (SDI),aglobalnetworkofslumdwellers’federationsin36countriesaroundtheworld.Weareworkingwithourmembercommunitiesandotherpartners tograduallyupgradeourcommunitiesthroughinnovative,environmentallysustainablesanitationsolutionsandmore holistic in situupgrading. We have a social housing committee that is developingprototypesforconstructionofsocialhousingwithprivate-public-communitypartnership.Wehaveanetworkofcommunityparalegalswhoreportcasestolocalpolicestations,etc.All these strategies we are employing are aimed at helping ourselves, the urban poor,gradually move out of poverty, improve security, and upgrade our settlements. Massdemolitionwillonlysetusbackinoureffortsbycausingwidespreadhomelessness,lossoflivelihoods, separation of families, etc. We need partnership and dialogue withGovernment,notdemolition,tobuildasafer,moreresilientandinclusivemegacity.PLEASE JOINUS INDEMANDINGTHEFULLRETRACTIONOFTHEEVICTIONNOTICETOWATERFRONTSACROSSLAGOSANDCALLINGFORPARTNERSHIPTOFINDLONG-TERMSOLUTIONSTOSECURITYANDSUSTAINABLEURBANDEVELOPMENT.Thankyou.SIGNED:NIGERIANSLUM/INFORMALSETTLEMENTFEDERATION,LAGOSCHAPTERFormoreinformationortovisitsomeoftheaffectedcommunities,pleasecontact:AkinrolabuSamuel–08039214391,07086391373BimboOshobe–08170206386,08036088915Photographsofrecentpeacefulprotestsavailableforusebyjournalistshere:Day1of#SaveTheWaterfrontsprotests,13October2016:https://www.flickr.com/photos/93512835@N04/albums/72157674093327730Day1of#SaveTheWaterfrontsprotests,17October2016:https://www.flickr.com/photos/93512835@N04/albums/72157675266733906