Adebayo Adenrele
A group of landowning families in Iyin-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has protested the alleged forceful acquisition of 240 hectares of land for the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin-Ekiti.
The families, comprising the Odofin, Ibewu, Awolu, Ajana and Elemo lineages staged a peaceful protest on Wednesday within the premises of the University, alleging that the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti, Oba Adeola Ajakaiye, had earlier acquired 230 hectares for the establishment of the university without offering any compensation to the original owners.
Speaking with journalists, the protest leader, Sunday Oyeyemi commended the Senate Leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, for facilitating the establishment of the university, but lamented that the latest move to annex an extra 10 hectares constitutes an encroachment on the remaining land critical to their livelihoods.
The protesters held placards which read “Kabiyesi Oluyin wants to acquire out land illegally and sell it later”, “Say no to dictatorship, enough is enough”, “NUC said 230 Hectares of land is enough”, “Kabiyesi and MOB want to acquire our land for seed money”, “Overhead bridge linking University classroom and Senate Building, what a lie!”, “Okelawe People are now IDDP internally displaced and deprived people”, “Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB), stop using FG power to suppress us”, “Enough of trade by barter”, “Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB), is this University meant to kill us?”.
Oyeyemi cited a prior position by the National Universities Commission (NUC), which reportedly affirmed that 230 hectares were sufficient for the institution’s operations.
He expressed concern that the fresh acquisition effort could plunge many families into hardship, calling on the Monarch and other critical stakeholders to respect the community’s ancestral rights and vacate their land.
His words, “We are not against development or the presence of the university but after the initial 230 hectares were taken without compensation, we expected that our remaining land which sustains orphans, widows and vulnerable families would be spared unfortunately, that is no longer the case.
“NUC came and said it’s enough but along the line, Kabiyesi and MOB, have moved to the next land of the University and hijack another 10 hectares of land for seed money.
“We want the FG and people to save our souls, the land is not meant for the University, they want to buid classroom, hostels, overhead bridge, how?
“We are appealing to the government to leave the left land for our survival. We are pleading passionately. Even the 230 hectareas of land taken from us, there was no compensation, all our crops were destroyed”.
Also, Babatunde Adeyeye alleged that many of their crops were destroyed during the clearing of the initial 230 hectares of land, adding that security personnel were stationed at various points to prevent them from accessing their farmland or taking any action.
“We don’t have any other thing here except the land, the University didn’t tell us they want to take the land away from us. Some of the owners are orphans, widows, they are using it for farming. They want to use it the land for their selfish interest”.
However, when visited, the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti declined comments even after his Personal Assistant briefed him about the purpose of the visitation.
