Lagos — Mechanics in Lagos State are angry and threatened; they feel let down and dejected. Many of them do not know where their next meal will come from because of the activities of land speculators, who want to grab the land that was allocated to them by the state government.

They are angry that a piece of land on which they have been occupying for more than 20 years and have paid ground rent up to December this year has been forcefully taken away from them.

Precisely on August 31, 2009, a group of persons, including some policemen, led by one Superintendent Abebisi Lawal Balogun, from the Governor's Monitoring Team (GMT), stormed the mechanic village located at Plot 6, Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja, and demolished shops belonging to mechanics and other artisans. In the process, many mechanics and traders were brutalised and beaten up; property, equipment and other valuables were also destroyed. Many of the mechanics, traders and other artisans were arrested and detained. They were made to pay various sums of money to the policemen, who arrested them before they were released. Some of the mechanics, traders and other artisans who were seriously injured were taken to a nearby hospital where they were treated and discharged.

Speaking on the demolition, the chairman of the Lagos branch of the Motormechs and technicians association of Nigeria (MOMTAN) Marufu Arolowolo, said the members of the association were devastated by the action of the task force, especially the manner in which the exercise was carried out. According to him, there was no prior notice that the structures on the plot were going to be demolished, describing the action as inhuman and unfair.

According to the state chairman of MOMTAN, the mechanic village was one of the many others that were established by the former governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande, in the 1980s. Others were FFF Mechanic Village, Ogba Jakande Mechanic Village, Sakamori, Mechanic Village and Lawanson Mechanic Village.

Arowolo condemned the recent demolition at Plot 6, Acme Mechanic Village, by government agents, saying the incident of August 31 was the fourth time his members suffered in the hands of those he said were illegal agents, in the last two years. He added that on the previous occasions, the government of Lagos State stopped the demolition of the mechanic village.

According to him, a few weeks back, officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment visited the village and discussed how to improve sanitation and improve the health situation with officials of the association. He added that the procedure that was adopted was not proper, as the occupants of the plot were not given prior notice before they were chased out and their properties destroyed and vandalised. He expressed the belief that the demolition was carried out without proper authorisation from the proper quarters.

Arowolo said members of the association suffered severely as a result of the demolition of the village, adding that they suffered similar fate in the past until the intervention of the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, who came to their rescue. He called on government agencies to put into practice the good intentions of the current administration.

"This is despite the fact that all the villages regularly pay their ground rents to the authority.

"The games by people in collaboration with government agencies have done more damage to the good reputation of Governor Babatunde Fashola's administration. These agencies should uphold the good governance of the administration, for the interest of the masses", he said.

The state chairman of MOMTAN called on the Lagos State Government to declare the action of the taskforce illegal and allow the mechanics to come back to the village or in the alternative, provide the mechanics another location so that they can continue to contribute the development and progress of the state.

Also addressing journalists, the National President of MOMTAN, Suleiman Oseni, called on the state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to come to members' aid and not allow unauthorised persons tarnish the image of government.