The demolition on Sunday morning of musician Yinka Ayefele’s Fresh FM station has continued to trend on the social media. Some of the people who expressed disappointment with the demolition of the N800m Music House from which the radio station operated from, recall that Governor Abiola Ajimobi was once interviewed by the radio station after he won his second term. Respondents share divided opinion about the issue, even as many see it as politically-motivated. See some of the responses as tweeted: Ilemona recalls Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s interview with the radio station: After he won his reelection Gov Ajimobi visited Yinka Ayefele’s Fresh FM & had this interview. He ordered the demolition of the same radio station today. pic.twitter.com/s7KiksRFTb — Igala_King (@I_Am_Ilemona) August 19, 2018 It has led to attack on APC billboards and other party appurtenances: Report reaching me has it that Billboards and posters of all APC candidates are being pulled down at the moment in Ibadan following the demolition of Yinka Ayefele’s Fresh FM by the state government. – Interesting days ahead. — Bhadmus Hakeem (@Bhadoosky) August 19, 2018 A clampdown on the press: Adebayo Philip says the governor forgot what he said: Years back when Ajumobi was constructing d road, he said it wasn’t necessary 2 pull down Yinka Ayefele’s MH. D gov said if you can’t add to d fortune of a physically challenged person,don’t remove from them. 2day, with Ayefele’s Fresh FM deemed 2 be anti APC, it became necessary pic.twitter.com/OP77zEJ4kp — Adebayo Philip (@AdebayoPhilip11) August 19, 2018 It’s all about cutting Ayefele down to size: As usual, known pro-APC handles will try to justify this act of executive thuggery. But even here you can hear, the reason why – Yinka Ayefele & his Fresh FM were considered opponents. This was just about cutting them down to size — Igala_King (@I_Am_Ilemona) August 19, 2018 Like Kaduna, like Oyo State:<doc-sep>The Director-General of NBC, Ishaq Midibbo-Kawu, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin, said the demolition was a worrisome development and did not speak well of the state government. The structure, “Music House, ” reportedly valued at N800 million and which had been in operation for 10 years, was demolished in the early hours of Sunday. The property is owned by a popular musician, Yinka Ayefele. Kawu said: “The development is worrisome because for all it is worth, the broadcast outfits are playing a big role in reducing unemployment, especially in this situation where many young Nigerians are idle. “They also play social, informational, educational and entertaining roles in the society. “Such development does not speak well of the government and has a negative effect on the nation, especially at a point when more broadcasting outfits are influencing the social space in the country. “In this case particularly, there are so many issues that can be weaved up negatively by people. “We hope that as we move forward, we will be able to find a solution to the situation,” Modibbo-Kawu said. The director-general said when the NBC got hint of the demolition, he made some contacts with some people in the state. Kawu said that he could, however, not stop it. The NBC boss promised to set up a meeting with the state government on finding a way forward on the issue. The NBC boss recalled a similar experience in Nasarawa State about a year ago when the property housing Breeze 99.9 FM was demolished. “What we did was to meet our licensee to find out what the issues were because he was prepared to go to court. “We also met with the state Commissioner for Information and the Governor. “The issue also was that the building violated the usage of urban space. “We were able to reach an agreement that the government should give the broadcaster a new plot of land and assist him to go back to building a new station. “However, just last week, I got a letter that the side of the government in the agreement had not been fulfilled,” he said. Modibbo-Kawu also clarified the recent media report that his commission banned some songs, saying Nigerians must understand the statutory mandate of the NBC. “It is important to let Nigerians understand that NBC does not ban any song. “I read on social media platforms all the time that NBC banned a song; the commission never bans any song. “What NBC does all the time is to remind our licensees that there are certain categorisation of music that are important in broadcasting. “If a song is categorised, “Not To Be Broadcast” (NTBB) because of the lyrics of the song, then, we will remind the broadcasters that they cannot be broadcast. “This is what it is misinterpreted in the social media that we banned the song,” he said The director general also refuted the allegation that NBC was “carrying out a Jihad on Nigerian songs” based on a petition by a faith-based human rights organisation, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC). He stressed that the NBC did not carry out any Jihad, but only responded to a song on a radio station because it had lyrics that were NTBB. Kawu gave an assurance that the Federal Government, through the NBC, would not infringe on artistic liberty or licence. He, however, reminded artistes and broadcast organisations of their responsibilities to Nigerians and the youths, in particular. “Last week, I issued a press release to urge Nigerian artistes to have different versions of their songs. “They should do a version that can be used for public broadcast space and another version for club usage which can carry all kinds of lyrics that they want. “If they want their songs to be broadcast on radio and television in Nigeria, these songs must conform to rules and must be songs that young people can listen to,” he said. He disclosed that the commission was planning a national dialogue with Nigeria leading artistes on the need to avoid vulgar lyrics and hate speeches in their songs. “The truth of the matter is that 75 per cent of our population is under the age of 35 while 63 per cent is under the age of 25, so we have a younger population. “If you go on Youtube, Olamide song, “Wo” has over 10 million hits. “ That tells you the kind of influence these young artistes have on all our children in the country. “They should help to orientate the young people on the right values. “If their songs celebrate sex, violence, the use of drugs, alcohol and fraud, then they are not helping in the moulding of young people “We believe that the young generation who listen to them can be guided through the use of their artistic works to play functional social purposes in the society,” he said.<doc-sep>Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has accused Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State of “executive rascality”, following the demolition of Yinka Ayefele’s Music House, on Sunday. According to the organisation, “the unlawful demolition of Fresh FM building owned by Yinka Ayefele, and the forced evictions of residents by the Oyo State government is a grave violation of fundamental human rights and contrary to international law.” Government bulldozers brought down a section of the building, located at the Challenge area of Ibadan, despite a pending court action. According to a statement signed by Timothy Adewale, SERAP’s Deputy Director, on Sunday, the demolition is “a gross abuse of powers by the Oyo State Government and Governor Ajimobi against a radio station simply doing their job.” SERAP described the action as “politically motivated, patently arbitrary and entirely inconsistent with international human rights standards and national laws,” noting that “the action amounts to executive rascality and seriously undermines the integrity and authority of our courts. This kind of action has no place in a democratic society that is based on the rule of law.” Describing the demolition as a “repression of media freedom," the statement also called for an immediate stop to the destruction, and for adequate compensation to be paid to the owner of the building. The statement read: “The destruction of a radio station on the grounds that the Oyo State Government dislikes their work is a textbook case of repression of media freedom and violation of the right to adequate housing. The authorities must immediately stop the demolition, ensure appropriate repairs of the building and adequate compensation, and guarantee of non-repetition. SERAP will challenge this violent and reckless destruction of Ayefele’s Fresh FM in court. “The Oyo State government has not only engaged in forced eviction, but also violated the right to adequate housing, the right to freedom of expression and media freedom. It is the obligation of Oyo State government to ensure that Ayefele and everyone affected by this act of illegality is adequately compensated for the property of Fresh FM that has been demolished. “Nigeria is a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which requires Oyo State government to refrain from arbitrary forced evictions and arbitrary destruction of resources that individuals and families have invested in building their homes. “Nigeria has also ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects individuals from arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, and guarantees everyone the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attack.” “In its "Resolution on Forced Evictions," the U.N. Commission on Human Rights affirmed that forced evictions constitute a gross violation of human rights. The term "forced eviction" is defined for the purposes of international law as the permanent or temporary removal against their will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection. “It is important to note that international standards focus on protecting individuals who occupy homes and land and do not depend on any particular form of ownership title to the land or house, nor on the legality of the occupancy.”<doc-sep>The Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists on Sunday condemned the demolition of Yinka Ayefele’s Music House which houses his Fresh FM 105.9 radio station. A statement jointly signed by the council’s Chairman, Mr Adewunmi Faniran, and the Secretary, Mr Bola Ogunlayi, said it was highly disturbed that the building was demolished when the matter was before a court of competent jurisdiction. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the building belonging to the popular musician was demolished at about 4.30 am on Sunday by the state government for allegedly contravening its town planning laws. READ ALSO: NAF degrades bandits’ hideouts in Zamfara The council expressed concern about the fate of the journalists and other media workers in the establishment as well as the loss suffered by the owner of the broadcast outfit. “As the fourth estate of the realm and believer in the rule of law, the Oyo State NUJ expects that the court would have been left to take a definite decision on the issue of demolition before it was carried out,” it said. The council called on the state government to ensure that “ it comes to the aid of Fresh FM which has been a pride of Ibadan in particular and Oyo State.’’ It urged the government to relocate the station to another site and ensure the smooth take-off of its operations. (NAN)<doc-sep>
The demolition notice as ordered by the Oyo State Government was received by the radio station on Monday, August 13, giving them three days to vacate the building and remove the structure, or risk having it removed by the government. Speaking with Pulse Nigeria, David Ajiboye, the station's Director of Corporate Affairs, said the recent notice isn't the first they have received from the State government. On October 2012, the government of Oyo State under Governor Abiola Ajimobi, threatened to demolish the building to allow for the expansion of the road into a dual carriage way. In an audio obtained by Pulse, Ajimobi, speaking as a guest on a radio programme at Fresh FM, said he was pleased he didn't demolish the building. “Thank God we didn’t heed the advice to demolish this building, I thank God I didn’t demolish this building”, he said. According to Ajiboye, the demolition was issued because "the staff canteen in the premises was not approved, "a spiral staircase was not in the approved plan," "the mast was not in the approved plan," and "the fence was not in the approved plan.” He however insists that an approval was gotten for every work that has gone into the building, and that the recent move is just a political one. "The management of music House, on Monday received the news of the demolition notice with mixed feelings. Although, we are not really shocked because series of letters coming from State government to both management of the building and Fresh Fm, the tenant of the building have already pointed to an obvious fact that the state government is really up to something evil," Fresh fm said in a statement signed by Ayefele and sent to Pulse on August 15, 2018. Ajiboye told Pulse that the radio station recently received a letter requesting to inspect the building. After the inspection, they were accused of building the Radio Tower (Mast) without approval. An allegation which he denies, stating that they got the NCC and NBC approval before setting up the mast. In Fresh FM's official statement, the company questions why the Oyo government isn't also focusing on other media houses on the same axis? "We view this as a selective justice by the state government especially when the Governor had earlier said during his visit to the Music House that some politicians actually advised him to demolish the building on the allegation that Ayefele is not supporting them. Is the govt planning to expand the road again? Of what political gain will the demolition add to the achievement of the state government? When is the state agency going to demolish Cocoa House for housing some radio stations?