February 02, (THEWILL) — Residents of five communities in Ago-Iwoye, particularly older people, have protested the alleged land-grabbing activities involving over 500 acres of farmland by the Ebumawe of Ago-Iwoye, Oba Abdulrasaq Adesina Adenuga.
The residents, drawn from five communities: Isamuro, Imosun, Igan, Awori, and Idode, took to the road along the palace, at the weekend, accompanied by security personnel from the police and the Department of State Services (DSS), protesting Oba Adenuga’s acquisition of their land under the guise of government consent.
The protesters were armed with placards with inscriptions: ‘Stop threatening us with Juju, DSS and thugs’; ‘We are tired of Ebumawe land grabbing activities’; ‘Stop land grabs of our land, our lives!’ ‘OBA Rasak has turned Ago-Iwoye to a slave camp’, to mention a few, unanimously calling for the removal of the traditional ruler.
They accused the traditional ruler of robbing them of their ancestral land, mostly used for farming, where crops like cocoa, rubber, palm trees, and kola are planted to sustain their livelihood.
Speaking, the Baale of Isamuro, Tirimisiyu Ogunkoya, lamented that Oba Adenuga was fond of encroaching on people’s farmland in the communities and destroying their crops before selling it out to buyers under the guise of government acquisition of the land for companies.
Ogunkoya said that the monarch had taken over 500 acres of farmland of the people without regard for their consent and selling them off, stressing that the landowners had written several petitions to the state government, the police and DSS on the matter, but all to no avail.
He said, “We are here protesting against the Ebumawe of Ago-Iwe who have encroached into over 500 acres of land belonging to five towns in Ago-Iwoye to sell them. So that is why people from these towns like Isamuro, Imposing, Igan, Awori, Idode are protesting because he had sold some portion of the land and he is planning to sell more. He will be telling lies that the government wants to use the land for an airport, planning rubber and taking Michelin to Ago-Iwoye to manufacture tyres for us.
“We know he is telling lies because we have gone to the government, and the government did not own up to the fact that they wanted our land. If the government wants the land, it is the agent of the government that will come to the land owners and negotiate before it is sold off. We have written several letters to the government, to DSS, to the police, and there has been no response, and that is why we’re saying enough is enough. And we don’t want him as our king again”, he noted.
Another resident, Mr Emmanuel Olukayode, accused the traditional ruler of allegedly encroaching on his father’s 10 hectares farmland, which he borrowed money from somebody to cultivate cocoa, kola and other crops.
“We are tired of our traditional ruler, the Ebumawe of Ago-Iwe, who intentionally went into my 10 hectares of land, which is my father’s farm land. I plant cocoa, kola, and palm trees. I borrowed money from somebody to cultivate this land. We want the state government to stop him from going to our land”, he stated.
Also, a Professor from Tai Solarin University of Education, Adeniyi Adefela, appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to prevail on the monarch to stop encroaching on their farmland, saying that if the the governor fails to do so, he would advise the protesters to challenge the monarch’s land-grabbing activities at the court of law.
“We are protesting the land-grabbing activities of Oba Abdulrasaq Adesina Adenuga, the Ebumawe of Ago-Iwe. For sure, nobody will watch his land being grabbed and keep quiet, at least by now, he should have been summoned by the government to question him on his land-grabbing activities and stop. Some of my colleagues in Isamuro are already in court. I will implore my fellow protesters to also head to court if the government fails to respond”, he noted.
The Acting Village Head of Lagan, Dr Segun Onasote, who lamented that the people of Ago-Iwoye are tired of the land grabbing activities of the monarch in the land, narrated how to Oba Adenuga came to Idode and asked the Village Head to give up some portion of land, appealing to Gov. Abiodun to take decisive steps in removing the king before the matter gets out of hands.
“The Ebumawe came to our village in Idode, saying that the Baale of that village should see him in the palace, asking him to give up some portion of the land because he had sought permission on the land. He is a serial liar and land grabber. Governor Dapo Abiodun should remove him, and he should leave our land. We have a lawyer, we will head to court if he does not leave our land”, he added.
Seun Shotunde, THEWILL
