Ned Okonkwo is one of the most successful real estate entrepreneurs in Lagos.
At the last count, he has developed over 2,000 buildings in Lagos State, not in Anambra, which he has sold to his clients, the majority of whom are Igbos.
The last time I checked, Ned was from Ojoto, Anambra State, and not Lagos.
Ned is not an outlier; there are many like him from the same part of the country in this city who are in the business of developing and selling properties.
None of these guys have seen their properties demolished.
They are Igbos and not from this state.
I live on an estate where Igbos own 99% of the properties.
Lagos state government agents or federal housing authorities have not moved their bulldozer to demolish my house or the other properties owned by our people in my estate in Lagos.
We have many properties that are legally owned by Igbos in Lagos.
Nobody is disturbing them or harassing them for being Igbos.
The biggest commercial building in Lagos, before Alakija launched hers, was owned by an Igbo man called Dr. Ernest Obijackson Azudialu.
The Lagos State Government has not demolished his property even though the owner is from Okija, Anambra state.
The problem is that our people who are victims of this demolition do not understand what it is to perfect a property in Lagos State.
Once their friend informs them that there is land for sale at Abulu Oshu, Abulado or Ajao estate, over a bottle of beer and Nkwobi, they will rush to buy without doing the necessary background check before paying.
Some of these people are too stingy to hire a lawyer to do a thorough background check, but no, they will be crying wolf once the original owner of the land comes for his land.
I dont understand why some one who has his sense intact will go and buy a land belonging to the Federal Housing Commission (FHC) or a land belonging to the Lagos State Government that they have earmarked for something else and then expect the owner to leave you to stay on his land.
If na you my brother will you leave the illegal squatter to stay in your land?
Without doing your background check to know whether it is free land, you will go and spend 50 million naira to build on a land you are not sure of its status.
Tomorrow, when your property is demolished, you will start crying that Lagos State is hostile to Ndi Igbo.
Meanwhile, what happened to you was self-inflicted and could have been avoided if you had hired a lawyer to do a background check for you.
Please, my dear young person, before you buy any property in Lagos State
I beg you in the name of whatever you worship.
The first thing you should do is to hire a lawyer.
What the lawyer will do for you is simple.
To do a background check on the property to be sure it is not encumbered and it is free land, a free land that you can easily get your C/O from the Lagos State Government tomorrow before you go ahead to pay.
After you pay, please commission the same lawyer to start the process of getting your C/O if the land does not come with it.
Again, I beg you, don’t be stingy when it comes to paying a professional.
Whether a lawyer or a surveyor, pay for value because the professional will save you a lot of stress, which includes saving you from your property being demolished over night.
And as you are building on the empty land,
Please, let me beg you again: make sure you pay all the necessary permits before you start building.
Dont circumvent
Don’t cut corners.
In fact, don’t settle the boys from Aluasa who came to seal your property during development; please, please, and please follow them to the office and make sure you pay whatever it is they said you should pay to the designated Lagos State Government account.
Don’t pay into a personal account.
After the foundation is done and you want to start decking, please make sure you pay the necessary fee to the Lagos State Government before you authorise your engineers to add a block to the building.
Yes, there are human beings like me and you who are property owners in Lagos.
They paid all the necessary fees to the regulatory authorities, and they are fine.
No one demolished their property.
But because Ebuka, who went to buy a property belonging to FHA, thinking he was smart, is caught in his foolishness,the narrative is that Lagos is hostile to Ndi Igbo.
This is wrong.
My friend will soon move into his new house.
Nobody will demolish it.
You know why.
My friend went to school, and he knew that there is a reason why lawyers exist.
We can actually avoid attracting the attention of the FHA and Lagos state governments, but it starts when we start doing the right thing and, most importantly, get a lawyer who understands the land business in Lagos to be part of your team.
This is important, as it will save you a lot of stress and mental torture.
