We’ve lost our source of livelihood, say staff of demolished hotels
Lekue Garaa, a father of two is the Maintenance Supervisor of the demolished Prodest Hotel located at Seko Road, Alode, in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Garaa lost his wife in 2018 and was left alone with the responsibility of taking care of the two children the marriage produced. But shortly after the incident, Garaa who was jobless for several years secured employment with Prodest Hotel. Since he got the job, the management of the hotel not only pays his salary as and when due, but the proprietor, Mr Promise Gogolobari, had taken up the responsibility of paying the school fees of his two children.
Garaa, who spoke with our reporter, said that his life is shattered with the demolition of the hotel.
He said that since the hotel was demolished, his family has been in disarray as he does not know where the next meal will come from.
He called on the Rivers State government to consider the plight of staff of the hotel and others who earn their living from it and compensate the owner of the hotel so he can go back to business.
Another senior staff of the hotel, Nornu Bari Edwin, said with the demolition of the hotel, his only source of income has been shut down.
“The demolition has brought a lot of hardship to many families who earn their living from the hotel. This is where my family feed from. All of us depend on this hotel to earn a living. Our families’ only source of income has been taken away from us. Some of our staff have been calling me to know the next line of action. About 17 staff of the hotel are presently out of job. We are helpless and don’t know what to do,” he said.
Another staff of the hotel, Tessy Obari, said that she cannot come to terms with the fact that her only source of income is gone.
“When the management informed us that it would be shutting down because of the state government’s directive that all hotels in the state should close to check the spread of COVID-19, we were hopeful that after sometime we will go back to business but I did not know that misfortune was knocking on our way with the demolition of the hotel. I use what I earn to take care of my mother and my personal needs. Now that the hotel is demolished, I don’t know what to do,” she said.
Another staff Mary, who joined the hotel in 2017 as a waitress, said the future of her siblings has suddenly become bleak because she caters for them from what she earns from her job.
The demolition of the hotel has equally affected those doing business along the stretch of its location.
A provision shop owner directly opposite the hotel said she’s been experiencing lull in her business since the demolition of the hotel.
“As you can see, my shop is directly opposite the hotel. The place was always bubbling. Cars and bikes come in to bring guests to the hotel. This area is a beehive of activities, especially at night, because of influx of guests. Even security operatives parade the street. Guests to the hotel come here to buy one thing or the other but with the hotel demolished, my business will definitely suffer after the lockdown,” stated the source who pleaded anonymity.
When our reporter visited Etemeteh Hotel located at Onne, the premises was under lock and key. Our reporter was unable to trace the staff of the hotel.
A resident of the area who refused to disclose his name said with the arrest of the managing director of the hotel by Rivers State government, no staff has been sighted.
The demolition of the two hotels at the instance of Governor Nyesom Wike attracted reactions and counter reactions from across the country.
Wike, who monitored the demolition of both hotels, said they flouted the Rivers State Government
Executive Order 6, which banned the operation of hotels across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Shortly after the demolition, the social media was abuzz with pictures of the demolished hotels just as angry reactions erupted.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana pointed out that any offender regardless of the crime committed should be charged before a court and tried in line with the law.
While Falana was against the demolition of the hotels, a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association NBA, Chief Onueze Okocha (SAN), declared that the Executive Orders where the governor derived his power to demolish the hotel are appropriate.
Okocha advised anyone who is uncomfortable with the Executive Orders to approach the courts.