….Osemawe, Protesters beg Aiyedatiwa to intervene.
….”We are Dying,’ ‘Help our Children’, ‘Chinese Want to Kill Us, ‘Aiyedatiwa, Jeki Aye Datiwa, Save our Souls”.
Farmers from over 44 communities, villages and farm settlements in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State on Tuesday grounded business activities in parts of the area to protest against the decision of the state government to take over their farmlands for a lease to a Chinese company.
The farmers, who trooped out in a large number from their different farm settlements on tuesday to the palace of the Osemawe of Ondo Kingdom, said they had sighted many bulldozers in their areas to clear away their cash crops especially cocoa farms, pleading with Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to reverse the leasing decision.
The farmers said the agrarian communities, which include Laosho, Laje, Eruwa, Ulugba, Adejori, Kabiyesi, Lafa, Oloruntedo, Obadore Yinka, Keseomi, Lomofe, Gbekelu, Langbodo, , Abuja, Lopaun , Sahara , Aba Cocoa, Topeu, Bolorunduro , Iyolope and Yemisi, were known for production of cocoa, palm oil, cashew and other cash crops.
The protesters were armed placards with different inscriptions: “We are Dying,’ ‘Help our Children’, ‘Chinese Want to Kill Us, ‘Aiyedatiwa, Jeki Aye Datiwa, Save our Souls”, among others.
Chanting solidarity songs, appealed to the state government to allow them to be paying a special due if desired to enable them retain the farms
They appealed to urgently the Ondo State government to stop the invasion to avert destruction of the means of their likelihood.
The Oloja of Eruwa, one of the communities in Ondo west local government area, Chief Olalani Ibitoye, appealed to the state government to allow them continue their farming considering the currently economic hardship in the country.
Ibitoye said, “We confirm that our farm lands had been sold to China by the immediate past administration of Akeredolu, we saw that they have bring in bulldozers to clear some parts in which we have witnessed.
“We feel we have been left alone to farm when we protested last year, and we had written petitions because this land belong to our forefathers, but recently we saw them (Chinese investors) around again; we are appealing to all authorities involved that we have no other place to go, we do not want to be out there as hoodlums, thieves.”
One of the youth leaders, Bola Olabanji also lamented that the invasion of the farm lands would lead many of them to criminalities and food crisis in the state.
Olabanji said “We heard that China are around our farms, this is the livelihood of our parents, if there is no food definitely there would be hunger in town, we are being fed from these farms, we march down to the Osemawe’s palace of Ondo kingdom because we knew he would come to our rescue and speak to the Governor to leave us to our farming.
“It was a surprise to us that we are witnessing this, because we had begged the Government to free us, we had written letters to the Government, our forefathers have been here for over 200years with over 70,000 people, we have schools, health centers, Solar power, most people have made the farms their permanent residence, we have no other place to go.
“Before they started clearing other places, we want the Government to stop them, this farms feed the communities, taking us away would bring famine, we are typically dependant on farming, no work, no industry, we have graduates that have venture into farming, we have created work for ourselves, chasing us out would not be a good thing”.
Corroborating their agitations, Alhaji Oluwole Bashiru, one of the Farmers leaders said the protest was to appeal to the present administration of Governor Aiyedatiwa to right the wrong of the immediate past administration led by late Akeredolu.
“This is an appeal protest to right the wrong, we are appealing to Hon Orimisan Lucky Ayiedatiwa, the governor of Ondo State to please pity us, the past Government sold out land to a company, this environment has been existing for over 200 years, we have government presence there, we have polling units there.
“We have hall built for us by the state government, we have our children there, our great grandfather have been there, we appeal to the present Government to right the wrong of the past Government, let the present Government take our lands back for us.
“We do not have issue with the Government before now, sometimes they ask us to pay for the lands and we have been paying, we have been living peacefully there, we sold and feed our children with our farm produce.
“We appeal to Mr Governor to see us as his own and rescue our community, Laoso. Our appeal is that he should leave us here to farm. All these farm settlements have been existing for over 200 years. Therefore, where are they going to send us to? See all these children; see all these old women and men. If it’s money, we will pay,” he pleaded .
In his remarks, the Baale of Adejori Community, Chief Olorunyomi Adegunloye, pleaded for mercy, asking the state government to leave the settlers on their farmlands.
The Baale said the farm settlements had been in existence since 1918, pleading that ejecting the settlers, who were fully engaged with farming activities, from the land would engender the society and the state.
“We have been here for many years and I cannot go anywhere with my children . I’m old. We are just asking the government to tender mercy and leave us alone here,” the community leader appealed.
While addressing the protesters, the king of Ondo kingdom, Oba Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo, advised the community leaders to put their agitations on paper with signature of all their leaders in other to table to the Ondo State Government.
“We would take actions on this matter, we would get to the Government on it, I charged the chiefs In this communities to put their agitation on paper.
“Anything the community is going to do, we do not have to insult the Government, we would channel our agitation wisely and we are optimistic that the government would find something to do with”, he added.
In a reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan said the government would look into the agitation.
He said, “the state government will not deliberately take the people’s means of livelihood away from them even while we strive to enhance the economy of the State by encouraging investments.
“The government has taken note of the agitations of the communities and will look into finding an acceptable solution to the issue,” Adeniyan said.
