When very senior officials of the government took it upon themselves to convene a meeting with a Trustee of the Chief J.K. Randle Memorial Hall [instead of meeting with all the three Trustees] six months after the iconic edifice at Onikan, Lagos was demolished by the government on 24th September 2016 without any prior notice / warning or demolition order, the ringing of alarm bells was inevitable.
Indeed, considering the maze of aggressive and punitive
measures inflicted by the government on the J.K. Randle family over several
decades, rather than merely ring the alarm bells, we are now compelled to
recognise that the red line has been crossed by our tormentors. Nothing is
sacred. What we are entitled to expect from government is a fulsome apology and
offer of prompt remedy combined with an undertaking never to trespass or invade
the property.
For the government to engage in a brazen attempt to
“divide and rule” the Trustees is a huge disservice to the frank and courteous
manner we have conveyed to the government the elongated catalogue of injuries
we have suffered for no reason other than we have sought to protect and
preserve the sacred heritage bequeathed to us by our illustrious ancestors.
Not only has it been firmly established, (even by past
Commissioners of Justice and Attorney-General) that the land on which the hall
was built is properly 2 vested vid a 99- year lease between The Government of
The Federation of Nigeria and the Trustees of the J.K. Memorial Fund. The lease
is dated 9th June 1962. It was duly registered on 25th July 1962 as Title No
LO4514 as evidenced by the Lagos State Land Registry Certificate. Therefore,
the government cannot just wake up and proceed to demolish private property for
whatever reasons to serve its own purpose without due process and compliance
with the law. That is the recipe for chaos and anarchy.
While we were still struggling to come to terms with
the demolition of Chief J.K. Randle Memorial Hall, the government had tasted
blood and immediately pounced on the adjoining property – the Dr. J.K. Randle
Swimming Pool, which was the private property of late Dr. J.K. Randle, a
pioneer medical practitioner [1855 to 1928]. We should be forgiven for
wondering why government should be so eager to commit its resources to a
business which would be better consummated by private enterprise.
In a democracy, the government has no business in
business!! Rather, government should confine its energies and resources to far
more pressing social necessities – schools, hospitals, roads, security, etc. On
our own, we had applied to the government for approval to construct a befitting
edifice to replace the old Chief J.K. Randle Memorial Hall to commemorate the
60th Anniversary of the demise of Chief J.K. Randle who died on 17th December
1956.
Unknown to us, the non-responsiveness of government was
a deliberate ploy to frustrate us in order to clear the way for its own hidden
agenda. Similarly, ahead of the 90th Anniversary of the death of Dr. J.K.
Randle on 28th February 1928, our plan is to commence the building of a brand
new Swimming Pool and specialist hospital on the site of the old Swimming Pool.
Again, government is determined to frustrate us.
What have we or our ancestors done to incur the wrath
of government stretching back over six decades? The list of totally undeserved
aggravations, violations, invasions and confiscations is as long as it is
inexplicable. The “Case File” has been forwarded to the highest level of
government but there is no response.
Consequently, the situation with which the J.K. Randle
family is faced with calls for the highest degree of maturity, diplomacy, tact
and strategic thinking that extends to (and embraces) RISK ASSESSMENT / RISK
MANAGEMENT. This cannot but commence with the professional valuation of the
Chief J.K. Randle Memorial Hall; the Dr. J.K. Randle Swimming Pool and the
adjacent former “Love Garden” now known as the MUSON Centre, which was also the
property of Dr. J.K. Randle.
Fortunately, we have at the highest level of government
seasoned chartered accountants who are well versed in OPPORTUNITY COST as well
as COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS. Hence, the J.K. Randle family cannot reasonably be
expected to surrender exceptionally valuable (and unique) land for a project in
which they would have neither equity nor reversionary rights. Indeed, we are
not even privy to the project scope; design; Business Plan; Budget; Feasibility
Report; Return On Investment; Financial Modelling; econometrics etc.
As regards the management of the project when
completed, we are completely in the dark. Of course we are vaguely aware that
the project contemplated by government is meant to attract tourists to Lagos.
We have no idea of the magnitude of the expected revenue. In any case, owing to
the escalating number of global terrorist attacks against tourists (and other
soft targets), most countries are compelled to review (or revise downwards)
their investment in tourism as well as the potential damage in the event of a
fresh wave of kidnapping of tourists or bombing of tourism sites/venues. Hence,
tourism is probably shifting from ‘’Diamond’’ status to ‘’Gold’’ or ‘’Silver’’
status.
It bears repetition that our ancestors were champions
of goodwill and love to all; malice and hatred to none. This automatically
raises the question which must be vigorously addressed: What is different now?
The answer is partially provided by the cynical ploy to create division amongst
the Trustees of Chief J.K. Randle Memorial Hall.
Regardless, we must be emphatic in the pursuit of
CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT with the government. We are ever willing to follow the
footsteps (and footprints) of our forefathers whose forte were compassion and
generosity of spirit combined with genuine philanthropy. Why then would
government devote so much venom, hostility and atrocities at their successors?
The only choice we are left to exercise is endurance as a virtue with patience
as its vital currency and lubricant.
We have every reason to support the contours of
greatness and the outline of exceptionalism which the government has promised
to deliver but from what we have witnessed so far, we must plead for damage
control. We cannot discountenance the thorny legal issues as well as complex
moral matters which have to be resolved regarding our legitimate heritage. The
easiest one to deal with is that of Chief J.K. Memorial Hall. Unless the
government is able to prove that the title deed in the possession of the
Trustees is a forgery, the case is closed. As for both the Dr. J.K. Randle
Swimming Pool and the Love Garden, (now known as MUSON Centre) it is the
government that must establish that the gift, donation, or bequest by late Dr.
J.K. Randle was perfected in his life time or subsequent to his death; and that
it is irrevocable.
This conclusion is based on very sound legal opinion of
both local and international lawyers who have emphasised further that by the
very fact that the deemed gift is no longer being used for the purpose for
which it was meant, it should revert to the estate of the benefactor /
testator. Even more glaring is the case of the “Love Garden” which a military
government ostensibly acquired for public purposes and preceded to hand it over
to a private organisation – The Musical Society of Nigeria. No compensation was
paid. Hence, it was all a sham and an exercise in grotesque absurdity which are
bound to render the arbitrary exercise of power null and void.
Furthermore, it is somewhat strange and self-serving on
the part of the government to painstakingly insist on MUSON CENTRE, which was
constructed 6 around 1989, being designated as a monument to be preserved while
entirely ignoring the adjacent much older properties – Dr. J.K. Randle Swimming
Pool (1928); and Chief J.K. Randle Memorial Hall (1962).
The litany of transgressions and catalogue of
atrocities by the government against the J.K. Randle are enough to serve as a
handbook on unrequited love further compounded by unrelenting hostilities and
heavy casualties. A random sample of the atrocities would serve as an
illustration. Perhaps we should add that the government has deliberately chosen
not to acknowledge the fact that Dr. J.K. Randle was the founder of Nigeria’s
first political party – the People’s Union (1908). Even before that we have the
following testimonial: “As far back as 1898, Dr. John Kehinde Randle; Dr.
Akinwande Savage; and Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford (of the Gold Coast) the
founders of the National Congress of British West Africa had begun to agitate for
the Independence of Nigeria and the rest of West Africa.” As if to add insult
to injury, the government has never participated in any ceremony in honour of
either Dr. J.K. Randle or Chief J.K. Randle regardless of the annual invitation
to: · Olympic Dinner ·
Swimming Competition · Memorial and
Thanksgiving Service. This disdain and contempt even extended to the 60th
Anniversary of the death of Chief J.K. Randle held on Saturday 17th December
2016.
Most galling of all is the recent vigorous endeavour to remind the
government that about one hundred years ago, it was Dr. J.K. Randle who
petitioned the then Colonial Government to build public toilets and waste
disposal houses for the “natives” of Lagos who were excluded from “the European
Quarters”. The Colonial Government refused. It was Dr. Randle who took it upon
himself to build the public toilets with adjacent rubbish disposal houses (“Ile
idalenu”) with his own money at various locations all over Lagos. Fortunately,
some of them have survived the mendacity of gangsters who have converted them
to lucrative private enterprises for themselves. They are still in existence at
Cow Lane; Ita Faji; Igbosere Street; Amuto Street; Ajele Street; Iddo Motor
Park; the Marina etc.
The singular act on the part of our progenitor is more
than enough to persuade the government to institutionalise the Randle family as
its permanent friend and ally. Alas, our detractors are hell bent on creating a
wedge between the government and our family. Our dilemma is that subsequent to
the candour and transparency with which we have been dealing with and
interacting with the government, we appear to have been lured into a false
sense of security. Hence, the belligerent posture and hostile actions by the
government have caught us by surprise. We have been caught grossly
underprepared to tackle the apparent determination of the government to
dispossess us (or banish us into exile).
As justification for their malice and resentment, our
detractors must first of all establish that our inheritance was acquired by
fraud or the proceeds of crime. This is clearly totally out of the equation.
Therefore, government cannot impose penalty on our family on account of our
ancestors being devoted with zeal, energy and resources to the general NIGERIA
project plus ESPECIALLY LAGOS as regards which they were spectacularly
passionate. It is indeed a most painful irony that no other family has been the
victim of this relentless asphyxiation.
On the contrary, virtually all the leading families have
not only been able to protect their property, they have extended their domain
through sandfilling and reclamation without let or hindrance. To put matters
bluntly, if the properties / land in question belonged to the dominant
politicians, military / security chieftains and business tycoons/moguls would
government have sent in the demolition squad first and thereafter resort to
subterfuge and intimidation? Both local and international lawyers have conveyed
to us their bewilderment over what appears to be total disregard of the Land
Use Act of 1979 by the government in the manner it has dealt with the Randle
family.
However, we remain convinced that our ancestors were
highly principled and never compromised their integrity. We cannot be expected
to compromise or contaminate the genetic code by any act of omission or
commission.
Consequently, we must remain steadfast in the diligent
and lawful pursuit of our projects in memory of our ancestors. We can afford to
take a long-term position as we have up till 28th FEBRUARY 2028 when the 100
YEARS Anniversary of Dr. J.K. Randle will, God willing, be celebrated by the
Randle family and the government
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