Yesterday I travelled with my cousin to Ajegunle, our maternal village in Ewekoro Local Govt. Ogun State. We took the Abeokuta Ilaro Road, which is longer than the Lagos Abeokuta route because the road is much better.
It took 1½ hours; Ajegunle has grown from a sleepy village to a busy little town. Moshood took me to my mother’s land, 2 plots she received as part of her inheritance from my granddad. captioned above
Sadly, the land has been encroached upon. Some locals resold part of the land, & the buyers started building on it. The matter became a big issue with police and courts involved. Those who sold the land were taken to the police station, and the building works have been halted.
The encroachment happened some years ago, and now the land is an overgrown bush attracting snakes, and the neighbour is complaining of thieves scaling the parry walls to steal from them, shielded by the abandoned construction.
Looking at the situation, rather than leaving the land vacant, it will be better to build a mini-complex of shops on the corner plot with 2 entrances.
Small lock-up shop rent in Ajegunle is N5k per month. A standard lockup shop in a non-highbrow part of Abeokuta is N25k per month. Other big cities are much more dependent on location.
Many first- & 2nd-generation diasporans have lots of property assets in Nigeria, rotting away or being mismanaged by friends & family.
Others have numerous shares & bank accounts that are likely dormant or suspended for lack of BVN & NIN linkage.
Lack of proper inheritance planning, lack of wills, and proper record-keeping often leaves many diaspora descendants cut off from their inheritance.
Some Duasporans look down on Nigerian assets due to the massive fall in the Niara, oblivious to the current valuation of some properties in choice areas in city centres like Yaba, Ikoyi, Ikeja, and Sonibare. Wuse, Maitama, Bodija, etc., which are worth tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars when converted.
Many of these properties documentation may be nowhere to be found. Many who look after these assets covert them for themselves, unscrupulously selling them to unwitting buyers. Often this leads to years of protracted court disputes.
This problem is not exclusive to diasporans but affects rural & urban Nigerians, having their inheritance stolen by greedy friends, family, & other co-conspirators.
Family disputes after the death of family patriarchs & matriarchs often turn acrimonious, especially when they don’t leave any wills. It is important to advise your senior loved ones to make a will and have it registered to avoid future wahala.
Generational inheritance can be protected by setting up a trust. It’s important to shop around and seek proper advice from a lawyer & accountant. Check out reviews of performance before engagement.
All the best. Do you have similar experiences? Please let me know. Please share, thanks.
Femi Oke
Betta9ja
