The Ekiti State Government, has appealed to traditional rulers to intensify their arbitration efforts to resolve some of the raging intra and inter town land disputes in their domains.
The Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, spoke in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday, while mediating in a land brawl between Iye and Ikun Ekiti, from Ilejemeje/Moba Local Government areas, respectively.
The mediation was sequel to a petition written by Oniye of Iye Ekiti, Oba Jonathan Agbola Oni, raising eyebrows over encroachment on their lands by Ikun Ekiti farmers, which he feared could stoke violence and bloodshed, if not tackled swiftly.
Speaking at the parley, Mrs Afuye, in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje, said the traditional rulers as custodians of culture, customs and traditions must get involved in land dispute resolution to abate the burdens of government.
She asserted that government can’t solely resolve some of these issues, hence, the imperative of the traditional rulers holding regular meetings to straighten rough edges before snowballing into full scale war.
“I want to appeal to our traditional rulers to try and create unity and love among themselves. It is whatever you do among yourselves that will go deep down to your people.
“Some of these land crises can be resolved amicably by our traditional rulers, because they are the authorities at the grassroots. They can do this through regular interactions on some of the pending issues, so that they can find ways to resolve them. But if they can’t agree, government can now intervene”.
On the Iye/Ikun land dispute, Mrs Afuye, assured that the Ekiti State Boundary Dispute Technical Committee will visit the encumbered land to ascertain true ownership, in partnership with the monarchs and farmers involved.
“Go and meet and straighten things out between yourselves. The Technical committee will visit the place and the two parties will make representations, so that nobody will accuse anybody of bias.
“After the visit, the final report will be released by the government. This is the best way to handle this matter in the interest of peace”, she stated.
Speaking to his petition, the Oniye of Iye Ekiti, Oba Jonathan Agboola Oni, claimed that the disputed land, had long belonged to his town, which was being given to Ikun farmers upon payment of royalties.
The monarch stated that attempt by his neighbours to claim the land may trigger insurrection and violence that could threaten the longstanding relationship between the two towns.
“We agree with the government’s position that we can resolve on our own. But it has to be on the truth. Ikun farmers had been paying royalty on this land from time immemorial. They can’t turn around and claim ownership now”.
Also, the Onikun of Ikun Ekiti, Oba Olatunde David Olusola, keyed into the peace move suggested by the deputy governor , adding that the cord of relationship between the two communities predated three centuries and had been adjudged strong and invincible.
Oba Olusola said the land was allegedly being infiltrated by Iye Ekiti people to be able to meet demands for land operations for Fadama farming, saying this could have been resolved through discussion, since it was a matter of development that could benefit the state.
Based on issue raised by Iye farmers, the monarch countered that the insignia like pillars erected during the colonial era were not for permanent delineation between communities, but to indicate boundaries between Southern and Northern protectorates.
A former commissioner in Ekiti State, Hon. Segun Akinwumi, appealed to the two communities to allow unity, love and peace reign between them, saying the matter can only be tackled through truthfulness and not by sectionalism and armtwisting .
Akinwumi, a town planning expert , revealed that the land had for long been demarcated during the Colonial Era with pillars that are still visible, revealing that these physical elements were still there and practically erasable.