Evicting the poor in the ‘overriding public interest’: Crisis of rights and interests, and contestations in Nigerian cities

《Evicting the poor in the ‘overriding public interest’: Crisis of rights and interests, and contestations in Nigerian cities》

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作者: Victor Udemezue Onyebueke;Julian Walker;Barbara Lipietz;Oliver Ujah;Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri

关键字: Forced eviction;Displacement;Demolition;Public interest;Urban planning;Nigeria

作者单位: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nigeria;Development Planning Unit, Faculty of the Built Environment, University College, London, United Kingdom;Space for Change, 7 Independence Street (1st Floor), Anifowoshe, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria;Independent Researcher and Associate Fellow, African Heritage Institution, 54 Nza Street, Independence Layout, Enugu, Nigeria.;Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nigeria;Development Planning Unit, Faculty of the Built Environment, University College, London, United Kingdom;Space for Change, 7 Independence Street (1st Floor), Anifowoshe, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria;Independent Researcher and Associate Fellow, African Heritage Institution, 54 Nza Street, Independence Layout, Enugu, Nigeria.

摘要: Forced eviction is unquestionably a global humanitarian crisis. Africa and, particularly, Nigeria bear a major brunt of this ‘global epidemic’, which carries enormous material and human costs. Yet, eviction is frequently hidden behind forms of displacements which operate within the law, and are justified on the basis of public interest rationales. Drawing on a research project into urban infrastructure-related displacement in Nigeria, this paper explores the reported incidence, patterns and trends of urban displacements and their impacts in Nigeria over a period of six years (2010–2016). Through the prism of the holistic approach, it interrogates the conflicting ‘publics’ and ‘interests’ in the diverse displacement contexts, and argues that the ‘public interest’ behind official rationale for displacement is, in reality, a highly contested affair. The paper recommends that displacements, where unavoidable, ought to be planned inclusively against the background of meaningful engagement and procedural safeguards.