Banana Island Lockdown: Estate Gates Shut, Traffic Chaos Spreads to Lekki-Ajah Axis
Olufemi Orunsola
In a development that smacks of a tale of. how the rich also cry, reports reaching the news desk of OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News have it that the gates of Banana Island situated in the Ikoyi Area of Lagos State was on Tuesday totally shut down with no room for entry and exit from the high brow estate believed to be mostly populated by the rich in Nigeria.
OTN reports as gathered via a viral video that surfaced online on Tuesday, that long queues of vehicles were seen stranded in the estate, with some men manning the gate to the estate.
OTN News further reports that this shutdown caused gridlock on the Lekki-Ajah axis and some other parts of Ikoyi.
Although there were speculations that the shutdown was due to the proposed demolition of the Banana Club House, there were contradictory claims on the actual government agencies responsible for the development.
While some attributed it to agencies of the Federal Government, some others said agencies of the state government were responsible.
As at press time, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, (LASBCA) has denied occupying the area.
Meanwhile, a broadcast message which circulated on Tuesday read, “Lagos State Govt agency has just shut down Banana Island — disallowing residents and visitors from entering or leaving.”
Another claim corroborating the message on X by a user identified as #Nothingispromised said, “We love suffering in this country. So because government officials dey Banana Island, no car fit go in or out of the estate until they are gone? They have successfully created another crazy traffic that will affect Lekki and part of Ikoyi.”
However, in his own reaction, the spokesperson for LABSCA, Adu Ademuyiwa, noted that the claim that their officials are on the ground disrupting activities in the area is unfounded.
According to him, “It is not true. Our men are not there. And we have not stopped any residents or visitors from entering their estate on Banana Island. When the time for the demolition of the illegal buildings in the area would be done, we will communicate it appropriately to the public.”
OTN News recalls that there were recent reports about government's decision to demolish illegal structures on Banana Island in line with the government’s commitment to enforcing urban planning laws and ensuring public safety.
Furthermore, the General Manager of the agency, Gbolahan Oki, admitted that LASBCA has carried out similar actions in other parts of the state, including Abule Egba, Iyana Iba and Iyana Isheri, where illegal buildings under high-tension lines were removed.
It is also on records that the General Manager of the Agency had recently made it known, during a stakeholders’ meeting on Banana Island recently that structures found violating building codes, including those under high-tension power lines and within restricted shoreline areas, would be identified and subsequently demolished.
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