Recounting his ordeal in an emotional interaction, the victim said the incident not only destroyed his means of livelihood but also erased valuable personal and professional assets tied to his long-standing business operations.
“I lost all the investments of my life and important items I bought over the years to equip my shop,” he lamented.
Among the items lost were books, critical documents, data storage devices, used smartphones, gift items meant for customers and loved ones, as well as treasured personal effects such as photographs and a decade-long collection of tabloids.
He added that academic and reference materials, including thesaurus compilations and multiple editions—8th, 9th, and 10th of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, were also destroyed, alongside business reports and archival files he had painstakingly gathered over the years.
The barber further disclosed that the demolished structure, which was situated on marshland, housed not just his business equipment but also personal utilities and household items. These included clothing, footwear, ornaments, generators, satellite decoders, MP3 devices, water storage containers, and other essential belongings.
According to him, the demolition occurred while he was indisposed, battling vertigo-vestibular complications. “I was lying in bed when the heartless demolition took place. It caught me completely unaware. By the time I got to the scene, everything I owned had been ruined,” he explained.
Tracing the roots of his career, the distraught barber recalled starting his hair-cutting business as far back as 1984 during his secondary school days. He later honed his skills at Government Technical College, Ajegunle (AJETECH), Ogun State, where he obtained Levels I, II, and III certifications under the City & Guilds of London in Graphic Art and Printing Technology between 1985 and 1988.
He revealed that he had occupied the demolished shop since May 5, 2014, operating continuously for over nine years before the incident abruptly ended his business journey at the location.
Now 55 years old, the victim said the loss has left him in a state of uncertainty and emotional distress. “I don’t know where to begin again. I am completely destabilised. That shop was not just my business place, it also served as my residence whenever I was away from my family in Ijoko-Ota, Ogun State,” he said.
He noted that he typically visited his family fortnightly but depended on the shop as a base while working in Lagos.
In a passionate appeal, he called on government authorities, human rights activists, and well-meaning Nigerians both at home and abroad to come to his aid. Since the incident, which reportedly occurred on December 1, 2022, he said he has been relying on the goodwill of sympathetic customers for temporary shelter.
“I am helpless. I have nowhere to sleep or rest whenever I come to Lagos to hustle. I urge kind-hearted individuals and advocates to intervene and help me rebuild my life,” he pleaded.