Just when it seems Nigerians have run out of reasons to be upset about the state of the nation, the government comes through with an upgrade. This season, it is unannounced demolitions.

You wake in the morning, prepare to go to your business place, pray that sales go up in these hard times, you open shop, then the bulldozers come for you.

They pull down your efforts, savings and hopes, unapologetic, much less a compensation. The ones who were lucky to get a demolition notice got it 24 hours prior to demolition day.

Nuli Juice and six other small businesses who share the same building in the Ikoyi area were brought to ruins over the weekend.

The business owners claim they were not notified and were not even given the chance to evacuate before their shops were brought to rubble.

Barely three days after, another small business owner in Abuja shared an Instagram post of a 24 hour notice scribbled in brown paint on her wall.

Chloe’s Cupcake Haven has been in business for five years but its owner had barely few hours to clear out the shop, and undo all the emotional attachments that had been built over the years.

But what is all this about?

The Lagos state government, on its part has claimed that it is targeting illegal structures in the state.

Nuli Juice and its neighbours were said to be environmental nuisances, traffic snarls and security threats to the neighbourhood. Well, according to Lagos.

Regardless of the fact that the government came for only the land owner in their defence, the very neglect of the occupants of the land who do due diligence, is purely inhumane.

Then…

Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, via a statement revealed that the government is reeling out an affordable housing scheme aimed at transforming tenants to house owners.

This is contrary to what has been going on. Except the plan is ruin one to cater to the other. Whichever it is, it is definitely not the change we voted for.