An Ibadan-based lawyer, Mr. Adeniyi Muhammed Uthman has sued the Oyo State Government for converting a large portion of Agodi Botanical Garden, Ibadan, to a housing estate.
The garden, which is over 40 years old, is tucked between Mokola Hill and the state secretariat, Agodi. It was originally established for flood control and preservation of nature and animals. the current administration under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde has begun a redevelopment of over 40 hectares of the natural site to a housing estate, citing the use of the reserved place as a hideout by criminals and need to provide housing for residents as the reason for the government’s decision.
Uthman, in the suit filed against the action at an Oyo State High Court, is seeking “a declaration that the Agodi gardens situate at Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State (otherwise called Agodi Botanical gardens) as a tourist and recreational facility, forms one of the core and socio-cultural heritage of Ibadan as a city and Oyo State at large and which therefore ought to be preserved.”
Makinde’s decision had generated a controversy among the elite, who see it as anti-environmental protection and a destruction of a historical heritage.
