Residents of the Natufe/Animashaun Community Development Area in Surulere, Lagos, on Saturday, staged a peaceful protest against the proposed construction of a cemetery within their neighbourhood.
The PUNCH reported that the disputed site, a vast stretch of land located along Babs Animashaun Street, sits directly beside residential homes, a school, and a church, a placement residents say makes the project unacceptable.
Carrying placards and chanting “No to the cemetery,” protesters voiced fears that the project would endanger their environment and health.
Speaking during the demonstration, the community’s chairperson, Alhaja Omolabake Braimoh, recalled that a similar plan had been initiated over two years ago but was successfully stopped after residents rose in opposition.
“They tried it over two years ago, and we opposed it. Suddenly, we noticed he had started construction again, and he is working day and night to achieve his purpose. So, we are out here again saying no because the cemetery is not good here. We heard he wants to build an adult cemetery here and one for children about three blocks away.
“We do not want it. Look around you, this is a residential neighbourhood. We have children and elderly people here. We have schools, churches, and estates here too. Locating a cemetery will pollute our land. We are not using pipe-borne water. Our source of water is a borehole, which the cemetery will pollute,” she said.
Braimoh added that the community had written to the Chairman of Coker-Aguda LCDA, and more letters would be sent to relevant government agencies to intervene and stop the project.
She also alleged that a recent stakeholder meeting convened by some government officials at Eko Club, Surulere, did not include any representatives of the Natufe/Animashaun community.
“On Monday by 4 pm, somebody called me and said he is from physical planning and that I should come with my people to Eko Hall, and I said the notice was too short and that they are not schoolchildren. To gather people together is very difficult, and they should please reschedule. They said no, that they had already fixed the meeting. Immediately, I went to my executives and we sent a letter to them that we won’t be able to make it.
“And since we have been seeing what they were up to, we sent some spies, and we were told that people who attended and claimed to be residents of this area were from Orile, Shitta, and Mushin. At the end of the day, they claimed that 60% of us have agreed. That is part of the reasons for this protest because we did not have representatives at the meeting,” she added.
A former CDA chairman, Olarenwaju Olaniyan, also spoke at the protest, alleging that the developer might have obtained official approval to proceed with the construction.
“We learnt that the developer now has the permission, but I trust that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will never give such a permission. The developer should know the consequences of his actions and desist from such a wicked act. We do not have good water here. We are surviving on boreholes, and the moment you start burying people here, you will pollute our ground and water. You will kill us all. We won’t allow that,” Olaniyan said.
He added that residents, some of whom have lived in the area for over five decades, were only asking for a project that would bring development, not destruction, to their community.
“We have stayed here for over 50 years. We have people who are 80 years old and above among us. We are appealing to the developer to do a business that will develop the community and not one that will destroy us. The community says no to turning this place into a burial ground,” he said, noting that 11 petitions had been sent to various agencies when the plan first surfaced.
Meanwhile, Sunday PUNCH reported that the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, during a stakeholder session at Eko Club last week, stressed the importance of inclusive dialogue in the planning process.
“It is important to carry everyone concerned along to ensure a balanced review of critical planning proposals,” Olumide stated.
He explained that the proposed cemetery project aimed to address the lack of a designated burial ground within Surulere, adding that the initiative aligned with the government’s plan to equitably distribute essential infrastructure across all local government areas.
“Locating the cemetery within the informal space along Babs Animashaun Street was permissible, given the state’s dense population, limited land availability, and adherence to international best practices,” he said. “Lagos is growing exponentially within a defined land space and requires creativity and collective effort to address its planning needs.”
The project manager, Olumide Amure, also presented the design highlights of the proposed cemetery, which would include modern facilities such as 24-hour security with CCTV, street lighting, a drainage system, and a 20-metre setback from nearby buildings.
The protest underscores a larger conflict between Lagos’s rapid urban development and the shrinking availability of land — a challenge that continues to pit community interests against the government’s infrastructure expansion plans.
