‘What we built in six years was demolished in six hours’, Landmark Beach owners cry out

Owners of the Landmark Beach on Victoria Island, Lagos, which was one of the structures demolished on Monday to give way to the construction of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, have cried out over the destruction of the multi-billion dollar property.

The beach, along with other structures were earmarked for demolition for being in the right of way of Nigeria’s biggest public infrastructure project.

Despite public outcry and fears of potential loss of jobs and means of livelihood, Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, while defending the planned demolition in an interview last week, had stated that the move was necessary considering that the Landmark Centre was located on the Federal Government’s Right-of-Way.

During the demolition exercise on Tuesday, structures worth millions of naira including cabanas, football turf, and many others were pulled down.

READ ALSO:Umahi flags off demolition of structures for Lagos-Calabar costal highway

A post on X by the parent company of the centre, Landmark Africa, summed up the feelings of owners who said they lost in six hours what took them six years to put together.

“What we built in six years was destroyed in six hours.

“We are overwhelmed at the show of support we have received from Landmark Citizens and all our partners. Thank you for standing with us and believing in our mission and cause so far.

“This is not the end!”

Chairman of the Landmark Africa Group, Paul Onwuanibe, had earlier pleaded with the government to have a rethink on the demolition of the beach facility believed to be worth over $200m.

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