By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The New Year Eve demolition of Monkey Village left the already poor displaced residents economically crippled.
The demolition, which happened without any prior notice, caught the residents, majority of whom were petty traders, off-guard. Their wares destroyed, savings gone and livelihoods threatened.
But a non-governmental organisation, Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), came to the rescue of the women on February 2, with cash empowerment to enable the women to regain their economic position in the society. They were also assisted with food items.
According to CEE-HOPE executive director, Betty Abah, the measure was aimed at assisting the women to stand on their feet again after losing everything to the demolition which was carried out on December 31, 2020.
Monsurat Abolarin was one of the beneficiaries of the CEE-HOPE gesture.
She recalled her troubles after the demolition of the place she knew as home.
“Life has not been easy. We sleep in the open since the 31st of December when they demolished our homes. Only Aunt Betty has been given us food, money, water. She even gave us a shelter to go there with my daughter,” Abolarin said.
Abolarin, who is a food vendor, added: “They destroyed all my business. Because I went for Christmas and New Year, they destroyed everything before I came back. They called me on phone, before I reached here, everything has been destroyed, including my food items. We sleep outside by the side of the carnal. We don’t have anywhere to go.”
She explained that the majority of the women in the community are widows who could not afford the rent in their old homes after the demise of their husbands, a reason they moved to Monkey Village where the rent was cheap.
“Like me, my husband died on the 18th of September 2018. If you wait till 8:00pm, you will see net everywhere. All these dustbin, people are sleeping there, no where to go. Since my husband died, I have to struggle to support the children through school,” she said.
Abolarin appealed to the government to find homes for them.
Another woman who also benefited from the cash donation to support her business, is Habiba Usman.
Until the demolition, Usman makes fried groundnut and pop corn which she hawks to support her four children, all of whom are in school. But when the demolition happened, she was reduced to ground zero.
She said: “Life has turned bad. If not for Aunt Betty, I don’t think I would have have been okay. I wasn’t at home on the day of the demolition. I went to clean some people’s home. Before I came back, they have demolished everywhere,” she said.
She explained her losses. “Aunt Betty had earlier given us N20,000 for my business. All of the money was in an envelope When they demolished my house, the money disappeared. I had also bought groundnut and corn N30,,000. That also vanished. My frying pan was destroyed. It was Aunt Betty who gave me money yesterday (February 1) to buy Frying pan. I became sick because its not everything I will have to be telling Aunt Betty. I sleep outside. Aunt Betty actually tried. She gave us a place to sleep. Its because of my cleaning work every Saturday that is why I couldn’t go there,” she said.
She said the cash capital given to her by CEE-HOPE will really help her return back to her groundnut and pop corn business.
Another beneficiary, Emita Jidda, said the demolition destroyed her business and left her at the mercy of nature until CEE-HOPE intervened.
“Aunt Betty is the one who gives me money to buy food for my children and water. I don’t have husband. My husband died nine years ago. She is the one helping me for books and everything for my children. Only God can reward her.
“The demolition happened in the morning around 9 am. Some people had their cooking pots on the fire. We didn’t carry anything out. I had no dime with me. She is the one that has been helping me after the demolition. Before the demolition, I was frying yam and eggs. The pot and everything I was using for my business was destroyed,” she said.
She said the money will assist her return to her fried yam and egg business.
For Agnes Peter, the demolition could have ended her life because it disrupted her thriving drinking joint business.
“My business was disrupted because all my three freezers were destroyed. I sell drinks, I fry eggs and chickens. I wasn’t at home. I usually go for cleaning. Before I came, everything was destroyed,” she said.
She explained how she ended up in Monkey Village: “My husband had died almost six years. He left me with my three children. It was after I lost my husband that I relocated to Monkey Village where I pay rent of N1,000 a month. Its Betty that has been helping us. Life became miserable. I sleep in my sister’s shop,” she said.
She said now that Betty has supported her with cash capital, she would begin selling soft drinks and bottle water.
The demolition of Monkey Village did not only cripple livelihoods of the residents, but also the health of the people. One of the most pathetic cases was that of Jidda Abdulrahman, a diabetic patient who sustained a nail injury on his foot when he tried to escape the rampaging bulldozer. The wound became swollen and was rotten away until Abah rushed him to hospital.
He explained: “Before the demolition, I was fine. I had no complaints with my body. I was very healthy. I could go to anywhere by myself. But on the day of the demolition, as I was trying to scale the rubble, then nail pierced my foot. Since then, the wound has refused to heal until Aunt Betty took me to hospital. I spent ten days in hospital. Now, it’s better. The leg was so bad that It looked like a loaf of bread. I couldn’t go out until Aunt Betty took me to the hospital where I was getting good food and a nice place to sleep, then I regained my strength. Before then, not a single strength in my body. But God has helped me through her and the wound is healing. There is a drug that has just finished which is helping with the healing. And I don’t have the money to buy it. Once I have money, I will buy it and resume using it. I appeal to the government to come to my aid. I do not have a place to sleep. I sleep outside, whether rain or cold, I sleep outside.”