Indigenes of Ijesaland, in Osun State, have lamented their fate as a result of the rise in the sale of old houses to non-indigenes by their kinsmen.
It is now commonplace in communities in Ijeshaland for families to sell their family houses to non-indegenes, who pay high amounts to acquire the properties for commercial purposes.
Already, some members of the communities are raising concerns about the development which, according to them, now puts them in a tight corner and subjects them to losing hold of their patrimony to non-indigenes who, in turn, become house owners and landlords that collect rent from indegenes.
The indigenes, under the aegis of the Coalition of Societies and Clubs in Ijesa-Land (CSCI), while speaking with The Point during a press conference in Ilesa, recently, highlighted the implications of indiscriminate sale of their common patrimony and ancestral estates to non-indigenes.
Selling off such edifying historical and pristine homes in major quarters and villages is sacrilegious and a taboo; it amounts to erasing the history of one’s origin and destruction of lineages. We call for a stop to these negative practices and abuse of acceptable norms and traditions
According to the social group, the latest pattern of socio-economic activities taking place in Ijesha communities now calls for concern as it threatens the rights, growth and development of the Ijesa people.
To this end, the group expressed the need for the entire indigenes of Ijesa kingdom to employ critical measures to nip the trend in the bud before being locked out of their own land.
They called the attention of concerned elders and opinion moulders, across the communities in the land, to find a way of arresting the trend before the situation assumed an ugly dimension.
In attendance at the press conference, held at the Ijesa Sports Club, in Ilesa, were Police chiefs, officers of the Department of State Services, traditional rulers, concerned indigenes of Ijesaland, top echelon staff of tertiary institutions in Ijesaland and civil society groups.
A prominent personalty in Ijesaland, Dr. Adigun Adewoye, who addressed the gathering, noted that some undescerning indigenes had sold out their farmlands and historical homes to strangers under needless circumstances.
Adewoye said, “The problems are assuming multiple and dangerous dimensions. Our God-given resources are being plundered at will, right before our eyes. Our people are selling off family houses to strangers without let. Family houses are historical and are a kind of monuments that should be preserved. We have a situation in which a whole village and farmland are completely sold out.
“Selling off such edifying historical and pristine homes in major quarters and villages is sacrilegious and a taboo; it amounts to erasing the history of one’s origin and destruction of lineages. We call for a stop to these negative practices and abuse of acceptable norms and traditions. Let us adopt modern and creative ways of assets management. Instead of outright sale, we can lease out, while the ownership still belongs to us the natives.”
Also confirming the trend, an indigene, Mr. Afolabi Igbaroola, observed that the refusal by parents to convince their children to live and work in Ijesaland was partly responsible for the indiscriminate sale of their houses.
He drew the attention of the people to the influx of non-indigenes in the state, who allegedly plundered the wealth of the land, including illegal and indiscriminate mining of gold and other natural endowments in the area at the expense of the original dwellers.
Adewoye said both legal and illegal miners had flooded Ijesaland, adding that “the worst aspect is that there is no documentation or profiling of the people that come to the mining communities in Ile-Ijesa. It will be a disaster to happen in the nearest future if authorities fail to act now, by carrying out proper profiling of both legal and illegal miners and their foreign workforce, as some of these miners engage in acts capable of causing havoc to the inhabitants of the communities where they operate.”
He said, “It needs to be stated that the mining activities have led to destruction of farmlands, thereby creating food insecurity and loss of economic trees within our various villages. A look at the mining communities has resulted in the creation of slums and destitution of the local or indigenous people. The advantages of being mining communities have been turned to despair.
“No infrastructural developments in the local communities and the unwholesome activities of these miners have led to the degrading of their environment and worsening standard of living. Insecurity has equally worsened with cases of stealing, assault, attack, violence and other negative activities on the increase. Recently, a traditional ruler and (some) staff of Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke were kidnapped.”
Adewoye also observed that there were other reported cases of high profile kidnapping in which ransom were paid before the victims were released.
He noted, “The unwholesome acts are alien to us in our kingdom and must be condemned by all well-meaning people of the land; it is an abominable act that must not be allowed to occur again nor flourish. Ijesaland and her people have agelong reputation of being industrious with entrepreneurial skill and spirit, which earned us the appellate ‘Osomalo’, but regrettably, both the formal and informal business ventures are lacking now or not encouraging for investments, commerce and trade.
“It is sad to know that high tariffs and imposition of difficult levies to start off businesses and ventures by professional bodies and trade unions are hampering the young ones from starting off businesses of their choice within the kingdom. There is the general situation where local associations impose levies on goods and services at expensive costs in the name of association who have turned to kingpins with no authority to curb their excesses at all levels.
“The activities of these local associations and trade unions are anti-development. The ease of doing business in Ile-Ijesa has been made poorer and hugely unattractive.”
The indigenes also bemoaned the activities of those they described as bad elements in the land, like scammers, cultists, ritualists, and kidnappers, among others.
“The activities of these bad elements are now uncontrollable with the connivance of a few bad eggs within the security forces. Most youths and a few elderly ones are now involved because they now see it as a means of livelihood,” they said.
Another indigene, Mr. Sola Adewole, sought for a means to tackle the menace, saying that it had become worrisome and had been causing the land acute economic and social retrogression.
In his remarks, Mr. Wale Idowu, called for concerted efforts by stakeholders, especially traditional rulers and parents, toward ensuring that core values were inculcated in children and youths in the Ijesa communities.
In the word of Igbaroola, some royal fathers and traditional chiefs in Ijesaland are culpable of the activities of illegal miners. He alleged that some royal fathers indulged in collecting kickback from the illegal miners and called for urgent and practical ways to tackle the issues.
The social clubs in Ijesaland called the attention of royal fathers, religious leaders, notable and progress-driven societies and organisations to enlighten and educate the people on the menace.
Their statement partly read, “We call on security organisations to rise up to the challenge, by ensuring security of lives and property within Ijesa land. We also call on government at all levels to address these issues for peace and peaceful coexistence in Ile-Ijesa. All Ijesa people, home and abroad, are enjoined to be law abiding and continue to maintain those agelong positive virtues of hardwork, integrity, honour, excellence and pride, which we are known for.”
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olafimihan Adeoye, has said the Command will double its efforts at ensuring that there is peace in the land.
The CP, who was represented at the event by the B Divisional Police Officer, CSP Ade Ige, asked the indigenes to report any unlawful act to the police promptly, saying that the Command would not condone any act of illegality.
