He looked so sad as he walked into the Muson Centre; the venue of my play, Fajuyi. "Wetin happen?" I asked my friend. "My brother I am bleeding," he responded. "Bleeding?" I asked. "Yes o land grabbers don kill me.. The extortion, the harassment, the insecurity and the millions I have to spend to keep them off has killed my business and is wrecking my health." At that point, I could only say take heart and walked away.
Then I got another call from another investor in Lagos and this time the story was more gory. He had been confronted by land grabbers who gave him an option. He was asked to release specified units from his development or they encroached. He screamed, "How?" He had a joint venture with a family that legitimately owned the land, got all necessary government approvals, and paid all dues and fees both legitimate and otherwise and yet he was now confronted with a force that defied all legal barriers. His run towards the authorities --both legal and traditional-- all fell futile as the level of involvement of almost all organs of government can only be imagine
Land Grabbers Investors Lagos Extortion Harassment Government Approvals Legal Barriers