Gowon Estate residents clamour for recreation centre

Residents of Gowon Estate in Lagos suburb,under their Community Development Association (CDA), have appealed to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to urgently grant permission for the development of the only available land space in the estate for recreation centre.The appeal was coming following the disagreement over what the residents called moves by individuals within and outside the estate to acquire the expanse of land for personal reasons as against the interest of the entire community.The non-release of the piece of land by the FHA they said has discouraged many foreign firms willing to help convert it to a recreation centre for the relaxation of the over 30, 000 residents living in the estate.One of such foreign companies is Play!Ya, an independent organisation based in Berlin, Germany, which has offices in Lagos, Nigeria and has offered to help turn around the land to a recreation cetre.According to information gathered from the residents, the expanse of land otherwise known as 'Kuwait', situated on 4th Avenue of Gowon Estate, which used to be den of criminals for several years, was turned around by a combination of the police and the residents of the area.'This expanse of land which has a football field, basketball court, some ramshackle churches and mechanic workshops, used to be the den of hard drug peddlers and their patrons. In addition to the drug businesses that thrived on this site, many armed robbery suspects and kidnappers were known to use this site as their haven.'At various times, the NDLEA had carried out raids in this area, sometimes continuously for two weeks, but the problem persisted. The Gowon Estate Police Division also tried its luck, all to no avail', according to a statement by the CDA Chairman, Nathaniel C. Okoro.People of the community have lamented that all efforts made to make the FHA release the land officially had failed.
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