Trouble Brews in Isiuzo LG, Enugu State, Over Public Interest and   Alleged Land Grabbing

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Conflict between public interest and private development is tearing Ikem, the peaceful agrarian headquarters of Isiuzo Local Government Area, Enugu State, apart as the indigenes on Monday, August 11, protested a unilateral conversion of land donated by the community for public infrastructure to a private commercial estate for profit.

The indigenes of the town suspended their farming activities and took to the roads as early as 6.00am to protest the Local Government Chairman, Obiora Obeagu’s advertised conversion of substantial parts of the local government council land into a housing estate for profit, without consultation with the host community.

Igwe Okey Ogbodo, the traditional ruler of Ikem-Uno Autonomous Community and the chairman of Isiuzo Traditional Rulers Council, explained that the host community donated the land for the local government secretariat and accompanying public infrastructure, not for a private commercial housing estate.

The protesters, which included different age brackets of the host community – men, women and youths – said that Ikem gave out the land to Isi-Uzo County Council in 1972 for the purpose clause of local government administration and not for private residences. However, without consultation, they woke up one day to see a signboard advertising the sale of plots of the land for various sums ranging from ₦2.4m to ₦8m. The land has been fragmented to sizes of 350, 500, 700 and 1,000 square metres to subscribers without any engineering infrastructure.

According to the community, Obeagu snubbed several attempts to dialogue with the Igwe and leaders of the town, leaving them with no other alternative than public protest.

Isiuzo is a traditional power base of the state’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the protesters made it clear they were not protesting against the state government but abuse of stated land use and what they saw as land grabbing by the Chairman.

However, Obeagu, the Council Chairman, told newsmen that the land no longer belonged to the community since it was given out to the government.  But he admitted he had not exhausted engagement with the community on the matter.

The peaceful protesters who swooped on the council headquarters, went to the affected site chanting songs and put stay-away native marks on the proposed estate premises.

The placards bore various inscriptions such as: “Develop our land for public interest not private interest”; “Bring more development, not selling of our land”; “This land belongs to our people,” and many more.

Igwe Ogbodo told newsmen that he had tried to engage the  Chairman severally on the matter but he was evasive until the community got information that he had started selling the land to people they do not know.

“My people are seeking for their right; it’s not a violent or aggressive protest. It was not a riot. The thing is that there was condition with which the land was given and now we understand that the Council Chairman cleared the remaining portion of that land for housing estate and he did notify the community. I went and met him and he said he will call us and we waited.

“What we now learned is that the land has been advertised for sale, and he is not the first local government chairman. If the previous chairmen had sold that portion that he cleared, he wouldn’t have met any other portion of the Council Secretariat. We went for a peaceful protest to show our disapproval. Our community said they want development and not selling of the land.

“The community has a designated land for housing estate along Ikem-Nkwo Road, which was given to the Federal Government and it’s still there. There were pilot houses there, so if local government wants, it can go there, they can use it for a housing estate.”

Youths and women leaders of the community who took part in the protest made similar statements and urged the local government council not to continue with the project because they will resist it since it was not meant for such purpose clause.

Responding to newsmen, the council chairman, Obeagu, said: “I told the traditional ruler that we are going to meet but right now we are busy with crucial assignments. They told me that the council encroached on community land, and I told them that we have a survey plan dated 1972 and they said there was another one. But we discovered that the community has encroached on the local government land. I asked them to bring their own documents.

“Yes, we made advertisements that we are developing the land. I told them that they are looking for trouble because the land in question was given to the local government. So which community land are we selling, or do you come and tell us what to do with local government land? If they had given land to the state or federal government to do an estate, how does it concern us at the local government?

“Why should they come into the local government land now and say it’s their community land and that we are selling it? If we encroached on the community land let them come and we will correct the encroachment but we traced the beacons of the local government land and that was where our clearing stopped.”

There are fears that if Obeagu continues with his perceived high handedness, the conflict may degenerate to bloodshed as the community insisted they do not want an estate in that location.  

Governor Peter Mba’s policy is that any project a community does not want will not be forced on them. Ikem people say they want basic infrastructure, not for-profit housing estate.

Obeagu has less than 18 months to finish his second term as Council Chairman. From his record so far, it’s highly unlikely he can deliver an estate infrastructure within that period.

Even more worrisome is the fact that the subscribers are requested to pay into the Council’s revenue account. There is no designated developer and no separate designated Project account that can be held responsible for the engineering infrastructure by the subscribers.

The danger in this is that the next chairman may not meet any money to continue the project, which could lead to abandonment of the project.