The Chief Executive Officer of a firm, Stopover Bar and Grill, Avwenagha Charles, has broken down in tears after the demolition of his business in Abuja, saying the Nigerian government has destroyed an investment he financed with a £75,000 loan obtained in the United Kingdom.
He lamented that this is despite repeated calls for Nigerians in the diaspora to return home and invest.
The devastated entrepreneur said he is now considering abandoning Nigeria altogether, returning to the United Kingdom and giving up his Nigerian passport after watching bulldozers flatten his business without a prior notice.
Charles, who said he established the hospitality business only one year and three months ago, disclosed that 84 employees directly depended on the business for their livelihood, while hundreds of others working in neighbouring businesses have also been thrown into unemployment following the demolition.
Speaking emotionally shortly after the demolition, Charles said he had already begun dismantling parts of the property himself after hearing rumours that the land might be reclaimed, but insisted that no government agency officially informed him of any impending demolition.
“As I’m talking to you now, I’m actually thinking of counting my losses, packing my load and going back and tearing the Nigerian passport. I have friends in the UK that have done it. I’m thinking of that as I speak.
“I heard rumours about a week ago that they were coming to claim this land from nowhere. Nobody gave me any notification. Nobody came to me with any form of notice.
“I decided by myself on Sunday to shut the place down and start evacuating my equipment by myself. On Monday, I evacuated some things. Tuesday morning, I had welders here, I had carpenters here, I had masons here, I had people dismantling things.
“Around 12 or 1 in the afternoon, bulldozers just came. They saw people on the roof taking out roofing sheets, removing wood, welders working. They told them to come down and bulldozed the whole place to the ground.”
The distraught businessman said he returned to Nigeria solely because successive governments encouraged Nigerians abroad to invest in the country.
According to him, unlike many contractors doing business with government, he relied solely on funds borrowed overseas.
“Nobody gave me notice. I took a loan from the UK — £75,000 — to come and invest in Nigeria.
“You people say we should come back from the diaspora to invest in Nigeria.
“I’ve never done one government contract. I don’t know anybody in government. I’m not even interested.
“I came with money from the UK to invest here. So I have to deal with that loan now.”
Charles lamented that the demolition has left dozens of workers stranded and uncertain about their future. Eighty-four staff. Eighty-four. That’s what I was feeding here.
“I built this place a year and three months ago exactly. That’s when I built this place.
“It’s painful. I stood there and I watched it go. Nobody cares.”
Questioning the government’s repeated promises of attracting foreign and diaspora investment, he said the demolition sends the opposite message.
“And you’re telling me now to convince anybody to invest in this country?
“Look at 84 people. What are they going to do?
“I have a choice. I will go back, count my losses and find a way of sorting out the loan I took.”
He added that the impact goes beyond his own establishment.
According to him, several neighbouring businesses — including Barbados, Amalashita, RM’s Dream, Hunters, and Aris —were also affected, throwing hundreds of workers into unemployment.
Look at 84 families just from Stopover.
“There’s a place next to me called Barbados. There’s Amalashita. There’s RM’s Dream. There was Hunters. There was Aris.
“These are all people that employed workers.
“In this place alone, I’m not exaggerating, at least 300 people have been rendered jobless.
“And you people say they’re creating jobs? Is this how you create jobs?”
Several employees of Stopover Bar and Grill also broke down emotionally as they narrated how the demolition had instantly destroyed their means of survival.
Another affected business owner said he had invested heavily in his establishment after returning to Nigeria, only to lose everything before recovering his investment.
He disclosed that his business employed more than 20 workers.
“My staff count is over 20 in the club, and I’ve been here since February 14, so it’s not even up to six months that I opened this establishment.
“Obviously, you know how business is. I’ve not even made back my investment.
“This is actually one of my first structural investments that I have here.
“People always say, ‘Come back to Nigeria. Come back home.’
“And I came back home to actually invest, and this is what’s happening to me right now.
“My business is gone.”
The Manager of Stopover Bar and Grill, Muktar Yahaya, stated that workers were still evacuating equipment when bulldozers moved in.
Another female employee said the demolition had instantly stripped workers of their only source of income.
One of the affected workers, who is also a student, said the demolition may force him to abandon his education because the job paid his tuition and other academic expenses.
He appealed to the authorities to consider the devastating consequences of the demolition on ordinary Nigerians.
The demolition has generated fresh concerns over the treatment of private investors and Nigerians in the diaspora who heed repeated government calls to return home and invest, with affected business owners insisting that hundreds of families have now been pushed into economic uncertainty following the destruction of their businesses.
