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A Promising Call for Diasporan Investment-turned Sour in Okun Ajah Community
For Okun Ajah residents in Lagos, the recent diversion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road from the original 2006 gazette alignment to pass through their community, was enough to raise the alarm, particularly for some Nigerian Diasporans who had invested in tracts of land. According to them, the development, which has led to the destruction of properties worth billions, is a severe blow to the confidence of foreign investors and diasporan Nigerians who were encouraged to invest in the country’s future. Chiemelie Ezeobi writes
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a call to Nigerians in Diaspora to
contribute their quota to making Nigeria great, the seed was sown far away in United States of America in the hearts of people like CEO of WinHomes Global Estate, Engr. Stella Okengwu, a US-based Nigerian businesswoman and active board member of the Africa Canada Global Trade and Investment in Nigeria.
The leading diasporan real estate investor alongside her partners, Femi Adekoya and Mr. Olawale Oluwa (Pelle Homes), responded positively to the call from the president, who had made several overseas visits to engage Nigerians in the diaspora, urging them to return home and support the country’s economic growth through direct investments.
Through their firm, WinHomes Global Estate, Okengwu and her partners acquired prime land in Okun Ajah, Lagos, with a vision of developing a real estate hub that would bring in foreign direct investment (FDI), create jobs, and contribute to Nigeria’s development. Most of the investors in the WinHomes Estate scheme were Nigerians in the diaspora, trusting in the integrity of the project and the government’s development agenda.
“We were targeting to repatriate over $250 million through the WinHomes Investment Scheme. More than 70 per cent of our subscribers are diasporans who believed in the Nigerian dream and invested in the property.
“We collaborated to acquire a substantial tract of land to support our esteemed President’s economic agenda and proceed with its comprehensive development. Driven by our commitment to invest in Nigeria, we inspired our fellow diasporans to do the same. As a result, 70 per cent of our subscribers who are diasporans invested in the WinHomes Investment Scheme Portal, purchasing property for both personal homes and investment purposes, thereby injecting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Nigeria.
“As diasporan investors, we could see the genuineness in the voice of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his eagerness to reshape the country from his inauguration as president and afterward during his visit to various overseas countries seeking investment and collaborations to revive our economy and jumpstart the country’s social and economic development. He no doubt took bold investment decisions, for example, merging the foreign exchange rates in the country, apart from other far-reaching policies of this administration.
“Our goal is to attract 250 million US Dollars in repatriated investments through the Win Homes investment scheme portal. We are law-abiding citizens committed to the development and growth of the Nigerian economy as well as its social and political development through the creation of job opportunities for over 5000 Nigerian youths both skilled and unskilled via the real estate project powered by Win Homes Global Services Ltd .
“We embarked on full due diligence and secured all necessary documents including fulfilling requirements from Lagos state government. Our due diligence included confirming that the property has a certificate of occupancy issued by the Lagos State government for the Okun Ajah community.
“We proceeded to obtain the governor’s consent and clearance from the coastal road right of way which further confirms the validity of the title to the land. We crossed our Ts and dotted our Is. I need to emphasize that securing these documents was not only challenging, but painstakingly involved a lot of effort including traveling to and fro America to Nigeria countless times and meeting with the heads of departments at the Lagos State Bureau of Lands, the Surveyor General’s office, and Ministry of Physical Planning. In the end, the estate land was secured and its development continued in earnest after confirming the land was free from the proposed coastal road alignment.”
A Project Undermined by Diversion of the Coastal Road
From a mere dream, the project was already being nurtured to reality when it came to a grinding halt by the recent diversion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road from the original 2006 gazette alignment to pass through WinHomes Estate.
According to Okengwu, the optimism surrounding this major investment project was shattered by an “unimaginable” action by the Ministry of Works, led by Engr. David Umahi, the current Minister of Works, who authorised a diversion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road from the original 2006 gazette alignment to pass through WinHomes Estate, leading to the demolition of properties and the destruction of building materials worth hundreds of millions of naira.
“Our estate was legally acquired with all necessary documents from the Lagos State government, including a certificate of occupancy, governor’s consent, and clearance from the coastal road right of way,” Okengwu stated. “We did all the due diligence, only to have our properties demolished without notice.”
Allegations of Bribery
What made the situation more concerning for Okengwu was allegations that residents in a nearby estate had allegedly bribed officials to ensure that their properties were spared from the demolition, while WinHomes Estate was deliberately targeted.
“There are serious allegations of bribery and corruption within the Ministry of Works,” she emphasized. “I contacted the Minister directly, but he dismissed my concerns. Now, it has come to light that certain individuals paid large sums to protect their properties, while our legally acquired estate was destroyed.
“However, we were surprised that the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has now done the unimaginable by destroying the properties, investments, and sweat of Nigerians in the diaspora without prior notification, using the name of the president of Nigeria as leverage to cause pain, trauma, and depression to the people in the diaspora after securing all these titles. The Minister’s action has made a complete nonsense of the entire investment.
“Above all, the minister’s action is not only destructive, but antithetical to President Tinubu’s foreign investment drive, thereby undermining the dream and goal of the office of the Chairman of Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, Dr. Abike Dabiri and Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, the minister of Trade & Investment in Nigeria, who has constantly encouraged Nigerians living in the diaspora to return home and invest in the country’s developmental and economic initiatives most especially that of Mr. President.
“As an active member board of directors for the Africa Canada Global Trade and Investment in Nigeria, we are constantly preaching to Nigerians in the diaspora to remember that Nigeria is all we’ve got and as such we need to bring our investment back home. The minister has with his actions hampered efforts to convince Nigerians living in the diaspora to come back and invest in the Country.
“The situation surrounding the demolition of WinHomes Estate is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the conduct of the Ministry of Works…Furthermore, I brought to the Minister’s attention about seven pending legal cases against the Ministry of Works around Okun Ajah. Despite this, he remained unresponsive.”
The Demolition
The CEO said they were astonished when on October 5, 2024, the Ministry of Works officials, accompanied by military personnel and Lagos State Taskforce officials, “stormed our site and demolished Win Homes property, and also assaulted our personnel on site. After which, they proceeded to remove essential building materials worth Hundreds of Millions claiming they had orders from above to do so.
“This isolated attack and vendetta raises the following questions: Is the Federal Ministry of Works aware of the bribery and corruption allegations and deliberately ignored them; or is this a case of retaliation for speaking out and doing what is right? The actions of the Ministry of Works are deeply troubling and require immediate investigation and accountability by the Senate Committee on Works.
“Indeed, the way the ministry of works has embarked on the destruction to give way for the Lagos-Calabar Highway has been brazen, rash, and punitive. The minister has flouted all laws, degraded men and women, communities, and, above all, destroyed businesses most especially the demolition of Winhomes Estate investment, Several meetings held with him have portrayed him as a tyrannical minister.
“The Minister of Works Engr David Umahi did not consider the environmental impact of sighting a Coastal Road project through residential property investment around the Okun-Ajah Corridor before diverting it from the initial master plan/gazette of 2006.”
A Call for Presidential Intervention
In her demands, Okengwu, who called on the president to intervene, also said they are not seeking financial compensation for the damages incurred but are urging President Tinubu to intervene and mandate the Minister of Works to revert to the original 2006 alignment.
According to Okengwu, this alignment, which was in place during Tinubu’s tenure as Governor of Lagos State, was clearly marked, and WinHomes Estate was not part of the designated area for road construction.
“The minister’s actions undermine the president’s foreign investment drive and contradict the goals of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, led by Dr. Abike Dabiri, and the Minister of Trade & Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, who have encouraged us to invest in the country,” Okengwu argued.
She expressed deep frustration over the lack of accountability and transparency in the Ministry of Works, stating that the demolition and road diversion have caused immense psychological and financial trauma to her and her partners. More importantly, it has tarnished the trust that many diasporans placed in the Nigerian government’s promises of protection and investment growth.
“We trusted in President Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda,” she said. “We traveled the world, convincing our fellow diasporans to come back and invest in their homeland. Now, they are looking at us, questioning our decision to believe in Nigeria’s future.”
“As Diasporan Investors, we are not seeking financial compensation of any kind from the government, but rather appeal to the President to mandate the Minister of Works to revert to the 2006 gazetted alignment as we made sure proper and detailed due diligence was done before this property was purchased.
“Take note that the minister publicly challenged Landmark on National Television claiming he lacked legal land titles. However, we possess necessary legal titles all of which were implemented when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the Governor of Lagos State.
“We are addressing the president because this issue stems from a specific faction of his ministry which is the ministry of works. If this continues, it would be wrongfully generalised as a problem with Lagos state.
“Thus we urge the President to make a prompt decision and also to hold his public officials accountable for the damages incurred. The President should also instruct the public holders to cease this action which is the misuse of the president’s immunity as a shield for wrongdoings.
“We are also calling for an urgent senate committee on works to investigate the corruption allegations within the Federal ministry of works to ensure transparency and accountability in Nigeria investment landscape.”
The Larger Implications and What it Means for Diasporan Investors
The issue raised by Okengwu is not an isolated case. The manner in which the Ministry of Works has handled the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project has broader implications for the Nigerian investment climate, especially for Nigerians in the diaspora.
With increasing calls for accountability and transparency in how government agencies manage development projects, the situation in Okun Ajah is a test case for how the Nigerian government will treat foreign investors and its citizens abroad.
Engr. Okengwu has called for an urgent investigation into the corruption allegations within the Ministry of Works by the Senate Committee on Works, urging the government to ensure that the rights of investors are protected.
“We are not asking for financial compensation,” Okengwu clarified. “We simply want our land returned, and for the government to do what is right. If this issue is not resolved, it will discourage other diasporans from investing in Nigeria. We cannot afford to have the hard-earned resources of Nigerians abroad destroyed under the guise of development projects.”
As the country seeks to attract more foreign direct investment to drive economic growth, this case highlights the importance of protecting investors’ rights.