Emeka Eze

Land is a precious gift, freely given to mankind by God. Besides life, which is more precious than anything, land likely assumes the second position as one of the most precious gifts in life. In Africa, particularly in Nigeria, land ownership is something so cherished that people are willing to die defending it.

Among the Igbo, land is a cherished asset. It sometimes confers a certain status on a person, therefore, no sane Igboman toys with land. If you narrow the narrative down to Enugu, the same argument holds sway. So, those who fight over their lands, either ancestral or otherwise, have the legitimate right to do so.

Despite the existence of the moribund Land Use Act, imposed on Nigerians by the military, government still recognises the right of communities to own ancestral lands. And Enugu State is not an exception.

For sometime now, two communities, Amechi and Obeagu Awkunanaw, in Enugu South Local Government of Enugu State, have been battling to recover their ancestral land, nicodemusly taken from them by the government and gifted to some capitalists.

The history of the ownership of the disputed land dates back to almost four decades ago, when then governor of the old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo, acquired 318 hectares of land for the purpose of building the state university.

The administration of Sullivan Chime ridiculously increased it to 1,097 hectares without the consent of the two communities, the legitimate owners of the land. No compensation was paid to them.

The acquired hectares were renamed Centenary City, developed by Private Estate International West Africa. Incidentally, the the company’s chairman is Pat Utomi. He has been active of late defending the acquisition of the land and why the status quo should be maintained.

At the height of the tension, the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration, in November last year, revoked the certificate of occupancy (C of O) of the Centenary City. This action was taken in the interest of peace and justice.

The action of the governor, who by law was perfectly in order, was applauded by leaders of the two communities. In a statement signed by Richard Nnamani and Chief Andy Egbo, on behalf of the two communities, they said: “We are here today to thank the Government of Enugu State for taking the bold step to revoke the fraudulent certificate of occupancy of the trespassers on our land. We, however, want to demand that the process be finalised quickly enough so that we can begin the process of healing and recovery from the over a decade of harassment, intimidation and oppression.

To further give credence to the demands of Amechi and Obeagu Awkunanaw communities, Nwobodo, who originally allocated the lands, said when he acquired the land, the size was 318 hectares, but expressed surprise that subsequent administrations illegally expanded the size of the land to 1,097 hectares.

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The elder statesman added that he tried during his time but could not complete the process of acquisition and development of the permanent site of ASUTECH before the change of government in October of 1983.

“Some years later, Governor Chimaroke Nnamani fulfilled that dream by relocating the university, which is now Enugu State University of Science Technology, ESUTH, to Agbani. It is indeed painful to realise that the land initially meant for that project is the subject of this protest.

“Any acquisition, title, action, agreement, and or certificate of occupancy over the land made and or predicated on the Anambra State of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 12. II of 27th March, 1986, and the purported 1985 Enugu State University of Science and Technology (PLAN EN (A) 594) when Enugu State was not in existence, is invalid, null and void.

“This land thing is a very serious matter that should not be joked about. It is not politics. There are people whose parents, grandparents are buried in this land and you come and take their land without telling them in the guise of building a centenary city.”

For the purpose of emphasis, let me buttress on this fact further. The land in question was acquired before the creation of Enugu State.

Without much ado, the allocation should be null and void. Old Anambra State is history. Any acquisition made then that wasn’t utilised must not hold sway now. It is common sense. These back and forth arguments are unnecessary.

Those who should know better have spoken. The land was acquired for a purpose and that has been overtaken by events. The right thing to do is to return the hectares of land to the rightful owners without any further delay.

People have died fighting for the recovery of that land. Families have suffered and the two communities have been subjected to all manner of ridicule because of their insistence on doing the right thing.

The wonderful Governor of Enugu State, who has been extremely professional in handling this land debacle, should waste no further time. He should cede the ownership of the land to the two communities without further delay. This is the right thing to do. It will bring back the long forgotten peace to the restive area.

 

•Eze, a public affairs analyst, writes from Enugu