Save our ancestral lands, Ogun communities beg Abiodun

Residents of Fere and Oniporogun communities in Orile-Mo, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, have appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to intervene in an alleged land allocation to Chinese investors, noting that the development could render hundreds of families homeless and destroy their ancestral heritage.

The residents made the appeal during a protest on Saturday at the disputed site, alleging that bulldozers and security personnel had been deployed to commence operations on land where homes and other properties had already been developed.

They urged the state government to halt further activities on the land and convene an urgent meeting with community leaders and other stakeholders to resolve the dispute, insisting that industrial development should not come at the expense of residents’ homes, investments and livelihoods.

The Baale of Fere, Chief Okesola Alani, said residents had been engaging the government since 2017 over the need for an extension of the village, lamenting that the matter remained unresolved.

He explained that residents had made collective efforts to develop the area, including providing electricity through communal contributions, while many had invested their savings in acquiring land and building houses.

Alani said, “We are not fighting the government for development. We want the community to be developed; we want industries. But the industry we are bringing should not be at the expense of the community. We don’t have any place to go.”

The traditional ruler alleged that community leaders were not consulted before the disputed land allocation, claiming that security operatives and heavy-duty equipment were brought to the area without prior engagement with the residents.

“Before any government can allocate, they have to contact the leader of the village, the Baale. None of us was contacted. They just came with police, caterpillars and other equipment and started bulldozing our land,” he alleged.

He maintained that sufficient land was available for industrial development without encroaching on existing homes, appealing to Abiodun to protect the residents and ensure that they could coexist peacefully with investors.

“We are begging Governor Dapo Abiodun. I know he is an achiever and he is making progress, but please, Dapo and your government, remember us. We are human beings,” Alani said.

The Baale also said he had obtained traditional recognition from the Olu of Orile-Mo, the Ologbon of Imo and the Alake of Egbaland, describing himself as the recognised traditional head of the community.

Similarly, the Acting Chairman of the Community Development Association of Oniporogun and Fere communities, Salau Hamid, appealed to the government to consider the plight of residents who had struggled to build homes despite the prevailing economic hardship.

“It is saddening that we are trying, even though the economy is bad, to make sure that we have our buildings, and we found out that the Chinese are taking over. We don’t know how it came to play,” Hamid said.

He claimed that more than 300 residents had houses either completed or under construction in the affected communities, urging the government to consider the financial and emotional consequences of displacing them.

We want development, yes, but this is not the kind of development we are looking at. We want to exist and co-exist with the Chinese, but they can always get properties elsewhere,” he added.

Hamid urged the government to suspend any demolition of residents’ properties pending consultations, noting that many affected landlords had obtained documents relating to their land and buildings.

Another resident and landlord, Mr Ipadeola Afeez, appealed to the state and Federal Governments to intervene before residents lost their properties, alleging that some individuals were exploiting the proposed Chinese investment to take over land belonging to community members.

Afeez said several landlords had complied with government requirements by obtaining survey plans, ratification documents and assessments, while some had also secured Certificates of Occupancy.

“We don’t understand what has happened. We have done all the necessary documents that government said we should do,” he said.

He called on the state government to rescue residents from what he described as the activities of land grabbers.

“Please and please, we are Nigerians. We have nowhere to go. We are appealing to the state government to come and rescue us from all these land grabbers,” Afeez said.

He further alleged that the proposed development covered parts of the communities where some residents had buried their ancestors, describing the situation as a threat to both their homes and ancestral heritage.

A resident and businesswoman, Mrs Komaya Racheal, also appealed to the state government to protect the residents and their properties.

“Please consider us, government. Please, we are seeking mercy. Nothing much. We are appealing to Governor Dapo Abiodun to help us secure our land,” she said.

The residents urged the Ogun State Government to urgently convene a meeting involving traditional leaders, landlords, the Community Development Association and other relevant stakeholders to resolve the dispute.

They maintained that industrial development could proceed without destroying existing homes or displacing families, calling on the government to ensure that the rights and interests of affected residents were considered in any decision concerning the disputed land.