The Federal Government said that those
who collaborated to demolish the 190 year- old “Olaiya House”
in Lagos, declared as national monument in 1956, would be punished.
The Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this on Sunday when he inspected
the site of the demolished building at No 6, Alli and 2 Bamgbose
streets, CMS, Lagos Island.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports the minister was accompanied on the inspection by the Lagos
State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, and Director General,
National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Yusuf Abdallah.
According to the minister, the building
was built by one of the slaves that returned from Brazil.
“This building in particular was
unique because it chronicled the historical, cultural and social
relationship between us and Brazil.
“It is like a living monument of our
slave trade past. It was a monument that exhibited the Brazilian
architecture at that time, which is rare to come by anywhere in the
world.
“As far back as 1956, the Federal
Government acquired this property as a national monument and it was
gazetted.
“The idea was that the building was
so unique and the government would not want the family to change or
rebuild it because it is history itself,” he said.
He recalled that when government
declared the building as national monument, arrangement was made with
the family on how to maintain the place and there were several
meeting held between the two parties.
The minister said that there was no
reason, except greed, that could have propelled any developer into
demolishing the building.
“We cannot equate money with our past
history and legacy because a people without history will perish very
fast.
“This building is a remembrance of
what our ancestors went through in slavery and how they triumph, came
back and they showed that they were well-to-do.
“It is worth billions of dollars
because it symbolised our past.
“We have the responsibility to
preserve our past and culture so that our children unborn will come
here and see what they are like.
“We all go to London and Paris to see
their monuments. If those people had destroyed their own culture,
architecture and heritage, what then will we be going there to see?,”
he queried.
Mohammed assured that whoever destroyed
the building would be fished out, no matter how long it would take to
do so.
The minister debunked the claim that
the structure was weak, adding that the government would take over
the defence of the civil suit filed by the developer.
.He continued: “You cannot go to
court now and say that because the structure has been destroyed, the
land should go back to the owner.
“We are ready to meet them in court
and one thing I can assure you is that nobody can benefit from his
own crime,” he said.
He said government had the picture of
the house, and that when they were through with the civil case,
government would rebuild the structure.
Speaking on the issue, Lagos State
Commissioner of Police, Owoseni, said when the building was
demolished, he immediately ordered the Area Commander to look for the
developer but they said he was very sick and on admission in the
hospital.
“When something is gazetted, the
gazette becomes an Act and whosoever does a thing contrary to the
gazette and its content, it becomes an offence,” he said.
He advised that the site be sealed-up
to prevent illegal trading on the plot.
On the issue of the ‘Angel’ on top
of the demolished building allegedly stolen by the family, the
commissioner advised the National Museum to write a petition.
He said the Police could not take
action because the case was already in court.
The Angel was said to be an antiquity
and by the provision of the law, only the National Museum has the
statutory powers to deal with antiquity.
Earlier, Mr Eric Awobuyide, a member of
the Olaiya family who briefed the minister on the demolition, said
the building had attracted many tourists from different parts of the
world.
“Recently the Brazilian authority
came and they held a dinner in respect of this. Prof Wole Soyinka and
other prominent people attended the dinner,” he said.
He said some members of the family who
leased out the building to developer had made several attempts to
demolish the building but he resisted.
He added that on the fateful day the
building was brought down, he was not around.
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