By Chimaobi Nwaiwu – Nnewi

The Ezenwelike Community in Eziora Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, Wednesday warned that Ozubulu Community is not a place where people from outside of the town will come and intimidate the indigenes with the name of government to take their land or thing.

They, therefore, appealed to Governor Willie Obiano to intervene without further delay in the disagreement that may lead to break down of law and order between the Ezenwelike Eziora Ozubulu community and a private company that allegedly claimed to have been given the power to build on Ezenwelike-Anaocha Land.

The appeal was made by three elders of Ezenwelike Eziora Ozubulu Community, namely Hon Alex Asomba, Hon Michael Uba and Chief Udo Obasi, who separately spoke with newsmen Wednesday at the community town hall.

It will be recalled that the community had on Tuesday held a protest, where they displayed various placards with inscriptions as, “Forty-one years after promise of industry a private company is building on our land.” “Destroying our cassava farm without notice, is unlawful” “Governor Obiano are you aware of a private company taking over our land” “Governor Obiano come to our rescue our land is being forcefully taken” “We have waited in vain for 41 years on our land only to have a private company building on our land.” including others.

However, addressing newsmen on Wednesday during another protest meeting at Ezenwelike Community Town Hall, Ozubulu, Chairman of Ezenwelike community, Hon Alex Asomba, said that the Ezenwelike-Anaocha land was acquired by the then Old Anambra State Government of Chief Jim Nwobodo in 1980 for building a metallurgical industry that did not materialize.

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He also said that when old Anambra State was divided into Enugu and Anambra States, Dr Chinweoke Mbadiniluju administration in Anambra State, promised to build a Foundry and Machines Tools Factory, FUMTOP, on the land and his people accepted it without any objection, yet nothing came up there.

He said that after 41 years of not doing anything on the land by both government and the community, during the former Gocernor Peter Obi’s administration, they approached him and the land was returned to them for farming Cassava, which is their staple food, but alleged that recently a private company entered into the land, cleared and destroyed all their cassava farms and stores they built in front of the land, claiming to have been given the land by the government of Chief Obiano.

Hon Asomba wondered why after 41 years of the state government holding the land and not doing any thing on it, and it was returned to them by another government, the present administration will come back to take the land not for general public interest, but for a private company to build on it, saying that the community will not accept such arrangement.

Also speaking with newsmen at the Ezenwelike Community Town Hall, an elder of the community, 78 years old Hon Michael Uba, said that the land is the only land he know since he was born, Ezenwelike people have in Ozubulu.

According to him, “Successive government from Jim Nwobodo to Peter Obi, have come and gone, tried to do one thing or the other on land that did not work, and Obi gave it back to us why is the present government bringing a private company to take the land.”

“We are very angry that our cassava farm were destroyed by a company claiming to have been given the land by the government, when nothing has been told us about government taking the land for the second time.

“If Governor Obiano has actually given the land to any company, we want him to come and tell our community, otherwise we will not allow that company to built anything there, this Ozubulu, is not a town you can come and intimidate the people and take their thing just like than.”

Also speaking another elder of the community, 80 years old, Chief Udo Obasi, said that “if actually the government wants to take back the land, they should come and discuss with the community and not sending a private company to come and start clearing a whole community land.”

“You don’t just take a community land with a wave of hand, they should know they are dealing with people not animals”

Vanguard News Nigeria