Between 1977 when it was built and 2000 when litigations over the ownership of Durbar Hotel Plc commenced, the edifice housing the hotel stood as an aesthetic splendor.
Standing tall in the midst of humble structures, the height and the magnificence of the hotel, coupled with the lush garden and trees around it, made it a compulsive sight to behold.
Last week, the age-long awe-inspiring structure failed to live to its billing; it fell to the rap of bulldozers. The pillars that held it with strength could not save it, as they also fell and the entire premises became a pile of rubble.
It was unbelievable to many passersby that the structure which commanded such attention would go down in seconds.
A passerby who identified himself as Umar, captured the mood of the onlookers as the bulldozers tore through the innards and skeletons of the structure, ‘Durbar ta gama yawo,” he said, meaning that finally, the days of Durbar Hotel are over.
Since the structure was reduced to debris, many wondered what would have happened.
Our correspondents who were at the scene as the bulldozers roared, learnt from unofficial sources that the structure had to give way to provide space for the urban renewal progamme of the state government which aims at giving Kaduna Metropolis a new look.
Nuhu Garba, the Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA), which carried out the demolition, said the structure was legally demolished by KASUPDA following certain infractions.
He said, “The structure has been a nuisance and a hideout for criminals and it is against the laws regulating urban planning in Kaduna.
“The demolition followed an assessment the agency carried out which showed that the property did not meet the safety standards set by the Authority’s regulations. This is to protect the lives of citizens living around the area and also the road users.”
Investigations by our correspondents showed that the issue of what to do with the structure had lingered between the state government and the owners of the property identified as the family of late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
Our correspondents learnt that on June 26, 2015, barely a month after the Nasir El-Rufai administration was inaugurated, the then Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, wrote a letter to Alhaji Mohammed Abacha titled, ‘Need for urgent rehabilitation of the building of the defunct Durbar Hotel in Kaduna.”
In the letter, the Kaduna State Government drew the attention of Alhaji Abacha to the dilapidated state of the property, saying it remains an eyesore as well as security risk as “hoodlums and other miscreants have taken shelter in the place daily terrorizing innocent passersby.”
The government said the development was unacceptable and directed that as a matter of urgency, Abacha should mobilize and commence the rehabilitation of the property within two months from the date of the letter or “decide on what you intend to do with the property and inform the government of your decision within seven days.”
The state government our correspondents found out, also sent a reminder to the Abacha family head on the 13th of August 2015, saying it observed that few weeks to the expiration of the deadline it gave, that no activity was seen to be taking place at the site while “innocent passersby continue to be molested and harassed by hoodlums taking shelter in the dilapidated building.”
It said in the letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs, Ja’afaru Ibrahim Sani, that, “In view of the fact that it is a sacred constitutional responsibility of the state government to protect lives and property of its citizens, it is giving a final notice to rehabilitate the property within a period of one month or the government will be forced to take appropriate steps to take over in the overriding public interest.”
Durbar Hotel through its counsel, R.O. Atabo, wrote the Kaduna State government stating why it had not taken any action on the property.
The owners of the hotel said while they were saddened by the ugly state of affairs and the continued security threat posed by the structures of the hotel to innocent passersby, the property was however in the hands of the federal government having taken over same since 2001.
They reminded the Kaduna State Government that the aggrieved shareholders of the company filed an action against the federal government challenging the legality of its action by taking over the property.
It said between 2002 and 2003, meetings were held between the owners of the hotel and the Bureau for Public Enterprises, (BPE), to find ways of amicable settlement but the meeting was deadlocked and the parties went back to court and proceeded with the trial leading to series of other court actions.
The Kaduna State Government apparently in furtherance of its letter to the Abacha family on the 31st August 2015, caused to be advertised a bid on some properties in the state and listed among them a 30 hectare Plot at No. 28/30 Muhammadu Buhari from interested developers.
It said the state intended to maintain Kaduna’s role as a successful meeting destination and the hub of the country and that “building a new five star hotels in a new low risk way maximizes many other investments and helps to complete the three pillars that are vital for every citizen; employment, residential and tourism.”
The owners of the hotel seeing the name of the property listed among those to be disposed by the Kaduna State government became worried and ran to court on the 16th of February 2016, seeking a declaration that Durbar Hotel is the title holder of the property and that it is entitled to its lawful use and that any invitation to any member of the public or company to develop the property is “illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional” and that the advertisement be declared null and void.
By late last year, when the state government commenced its urban renewal programme, it was obvious that controversy over what to do with the property would arise as many of the structures along Muhammad Buhari way including trees and other monuments were ground to powder to accommodate the road expansion and construction of new and befitting structures in the programme.
The turn of Durbar Hotel came Wednesday, last week as residents woke up to the sound of the bulldozers, and later witnessed the pulling down of the age-long structure.
The owners of the hotel however went to court and secured a restraining order against Governor Nasir El-Rufai and agencies of the Kaduna State government from demolishing and taking over the hotel.
The order was consequent upon an exparte motion brought before the court by the management of the hotel in which it prayed the court for an order of interim injunction restraining El-Rufai and agencies of the state government from demolishing, taking over, or tampering with the property.
Justice Hannatu Balogun of the State High Court granted the order while the case has been adjourned to February 3, 2020 for the motion on notice.
While some commended the action of the state government in view of the security threat the premises of the hotel had become, some say Durbar Hotel considering its historical value as a hotel used for world famous Festival of Art and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977, should have been spared and preserved as a national monument.
The hotel was constructed by the General Olusegun Obasanjo-led military government and was handed over to Arewa Hotels, a conglomerate of New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) to manage.
However, the late Kano-based business mogul and airline operator, Alhaji Muhammadu Adamu Dankabo bought the hotel in 1992, when the federal government under the Gen Ibrahim Babangida-led military government offered it to the public for sale.
Dankabo Kabo Holdings Limited was said to have bought the hotel at the cost of N90 million but was later taken over by a firm, Nasimatume said to be owned by Alhaji Mohammed Abacha.
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