A Benin-based Legal practitioner and former member of the Edo State House of Assembly, Dele Igbinedion, has alleged that government officials were number one culprits in landgrabbing.
He stated this while peaking as guest lecturer during the annual public lecture of Correspondents’ Chapel of NUJ, Edo Council with Theme: “Menace of Landgrabbing and the Threat to Public Peace.“
Government officials are number one culprits in landgrabbing, which they do through the law, including the Land Use Act of 1978, as they revoke innocent people’s lands on the pretext that they are needed in public interest.
Law-enforcement agencies, community leaders and the legal/justice system also contribute to the menace of landgrabbing, with land litigation lasting more than 14 years.
“Landgrabbers are doing more harm than good. When you grab people’s lands, you are stifling development of the communities and retarding progress. Nigeria belongs to all of us. Victims of landgrabbing should always go to court, rather than taking the law into their own hands. Do not take sides with evil. Be enthusiastic about creating an equitable, functional, fair and just society”, Igbenedion said. He, therefore, called for formal and informal education to end the menace of landgrabbing.
“I have travelled round the world. No country is perfect. The rate of depression in Europe is much higher than in Nigeria. We are all stakeholders in the Nigerian project, especially when it comes to land, the greatest resource that you can have, as it appreciates, thereby making people to always be interested in purchasing land”, he added.
Igbinedion, while stating that Nigeria is one of the best countries, in terms of opportunities, called on Nigerians to vote the right persons during elections, without collecting money from the politicians, in order not to mortgage their future and progress of their communities.
The outgoing Edo Chairman of NUJ, Sir Roland Osakue, in his remark, urged media professionals to continue to be courageous to expose the evil of landgrabbing and the perpetrators.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel of NUJ in Edo, Mrs. Nefishetu Yakubu, noted that the topic of the lecture afforded journalists the opportunity to brainstorm on crucial issues of national and state interest, and to set agenda for the government as part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) towards the people.
“Journalists are mirrors of the society, which brings out the truth, even in adverse circumstances in the discharge of their constitutional duties.
“Land-related conflicts are not uncommon in Nigeria and in Edo state. They are as old as the society and rooted in structural, historical and socio-economic dynamics and are often compelled by urbanisation.
“Though a national challenge, land-related crisis has become endemic in Edo State, a situation that led to the disbandment of the various Community Development Associations (CDAs) by the state government. Sadly, buying a piece of land and developing the property have become herculean task, even after the disbandment of the CDAs, due to poor implementation of the relevant laws.
“The question on the lips of every Nigerian and Edo citizens at the moment is what can be done to eradicate landgrabbing, which has continued to expose poor people to economic exploitation, untimely death, hunger, violence and the threat to investments and real estate development in the state”, she said.
Besides, she added that the role of the media was to continually interrogate the fundamental issues, with a view to drawing the attention of government, traditional institutions and other relevant stakeholders to eradicate the menace of landgrabbing in Edo State and Nigeria.
Credit: Daily Sun