Two communities, Ishefun and Camp David in
Ayobo-Ipaja area of Lagos State, are now at loggerhead following an alleged
attempt by the Camp David community to change the name of a street in Ishefun.
Following the crisis, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr.
Ehis Omoijiade, has petitioned the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the state
Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, over the imminent breakdown of law and
order in the area.
In the petition titled: ‘Possible Breakdown of Law
and Order at Ishefun, Ayobo over Street Naming’, Omoijiade explained that he
was acting as the solicitor to his client, Mr. Tony Amokeodo, on whose
instructions the petition, February 20, 2020, was written.
The lawyer, in the petition, alleged that the
Ayobo/Ipaja LCDA Chairman, Yusuf Sakiru Adisa, ignored a directive from the
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs
over street naming controversy in Ishefun.
According to him, the street in dispute, Tony
Amokeodo Street, was duly registered by his client since 2011 and has remained with
the same name until sometime in August 2019 when he (Amokeodo) received a call
from an official of the council informing him that the council has no record of
his registration and that the street belongs to one Mr. Olamilaken Ola.
“Our client immediately took steps by writing a
petition to the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs
being the supervising ministry, and in response to the petition, the ministry
invited all the stakeholders for a meeting at the ministry.
“At the end of the meeting, the council was
directed by the ministry to restore the street to Mr. Tony Amokeodo.
Surprisingly, the council in a complete disregard to the directive of the ministry,
invited our client to another meeting vide a letter dated February 10, 2020,
through his lawyer.
“The Executive Chairman, Yusuf Sakiru Adisa, was
reminded by Omoijiade who stood in for Mr. Tony Amokeodo and other staff of the
council of the decision reached by the ministry, but the LCDA boss insisted
that the council will carry out its investigations. The LCDA boss informed the
stakeholders of his decision to visit the street in dispute, and another
meeting was thereafter fixed for February 19, 2020, as the date for the
visitation.
“After the visit to the street in question, the council
chairman invited the two traditional rulers of the two communities, Ishefun and
Ijon Camp David, for a meeting with the stakeholders which further gave
credence to our earlier claim that the street registered by our client is under
Ishefun Community not in Camp David Ijon, where Olamilaken Ola house is
situated. The traditional rulers identified two separate letters which both gave
consent to Mr. Tony Amokeodo and Mr. Olamilekan Ola, and for the registration
of the street.
“Surprisingly, the LCDA Chairman in a most bizarre
and one-sided posture awarded the street to Mr. Olamilaken Ola.
“Your Excellency Sir, we hold the view that the chairman’s
decision to carry out a separate investigation outside the one already
conducted by the ministry was just to formalise a premeditated decision.
“We state further that the chairman turned logic on
its head when he awarded a street belonging to two communities to one person
without the consent of the traditional ruler from the other community which can
result in a communal clash between the two communities if not properly managed,”
he said.
Omoijiade added: “We have since been informed that Mr.
Olamilekan Ola has boasted that as an official of the NURTW, they controlled the
state, and that there was nothing they cannot achieve in Lagos.
“We, therefore, urge you to urgently intervene as
possible breakdown of law and order is imminent because a chairman of an LCDA
lacks the power to impose one community on another.”
Some of the residents, who sought anonymity because
of the sensitive nature of the matter, confirmed to journalists that the street
in question was indeed named after Tony Amokeodo but the pole indicating the
name was removed by unknown people.
They also confirmed that the two communities
(Ishefun and Camp David Ijon) were separated by a gorge, serving as the
boundary between them, which was later filled to close the boundary.
When contacted, the LCDA boss, Adisa, denied having
any interest in the said street, saying all he wanted was for the two parties
(Amokeodo and Ola) to appear at a meeting with the LCDA officials.
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