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Waterfront residents take Governor to court to stop the demolition of their community

The continued panic over the proposed demolition of vast areas of waterfront in Port Harcourt has taken a new turn with local people from Okrika filing a legal case against the State.

Former Senator Tari Sekibo JP has taken the case to the courts citing a little known legal agreement dating back to 1913.

The Okrika chiefs have also written a memorandum to the governor asking to know what the people of the area had done to deserve what they termed “executive humiliation, harassment and intimidation” from governor Amaechi, who presides over the Port Harcourt area.

The governor has said that he is unaware of any law that gives legal rights to the thousands of people who live in the area marked for immenent demolition and has also said that he will personally be there to supervise the work.

Governor Chibuike Ameachi’s coming to power in Rivers State was very dramatic in eyes of many political analysts.

The previous Governor, Sir Celestine Omehia, whom the people voted for in the 2007 elections, was replaced by Ameachi by order of the Supreme Court.

Since the start of Ameachi's governorship two years ago he has presided over a continuous spate of demolitions of smaller 'illegal' private buildings and dwellings in Port Harcourt as well as some very controversial larger community buildings.

The much used Obi Wali Cultural Center in Port Harcourt was demolished last year and the land and a very substantial amount of money given to an entertainment company called Silver Group to redevelop the site into a Cinema.

This change of use has transformed the area from a hub of communal activity used by the poorer peoples of Port Harcourt to a playground for the wealthy.

The former University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital was also demolished by Governor Ameachi in 2007 and is housed on a temporary site while it awaits the building of a more permanent hospital, a project that initially began in 1982.

Although the need for infrastructure development improvements to hospitals, schools, roads and housing are desperately needed in Port Harcourt they are often carried out in a way that alienates the local people and even treats them with contempt.

Governor Ameachi has vowed to demolish about 35 waterfronts in Port Harcourt housing tens of thousands of people. The worry is what will happen to them once their homes and livelihoods have gone.

Millions of Naira may be earmarked for compensation but this has not translated into viable accommodation for the inevitable exodus following the demolitions. After such displacements there is often inter-communal conflict as the displaced try to find space in other poor areas of the city, areas that cannot cope with the infux.

The current climate of pending demolition is making some people a lot of money in Port Harcourt. The price of rents and houses has sky-rocketed putting money in the hands of those lucky enough to be landowners and landlords.

On Wednesday 22nd July 2009, hundreds of local women held a prayer session at Aggrey Road in Port Harcourt to take their case to God. They now believe this is the only way to change the ardent position of the governor.