An Abeokuta-based
legal practitioner and former member of the Ogun State House of
Assembly, Benjamin Ogunmodede raised alarm that some foreign investors
in the state are in the habit of dislodging rural dwellers under the
guise of bringing development projects to the communities.
“Our rural
inhabitants are being cheated and dislodged from their inheritance and
God-given gifts by Chinese and other foreign investors and their
Nigerian collaborators,” Mr Ogunmodede said.
He made the
revelation while delivering a lecture on the topic, ‘Environmental
Degradation in Some Rural Communities and Adverse Effect on The Rural
Inhabitants’ as part of the second session of the 12th Synod of Egba
Anglican Diocese, held at the Bishop’s Court, Abeokuta on Sunday.
Mr Ogunmodede
revealed that the foreign investors engaged in the act in collaboration
with some Nigerians serving as partners, commission agents,
facilitators or land speculators. He said the communities which were
affected included Osiele-Odere, Ilawo in Odeda local government area,
Oko-onigari, Obale, Kajola and Oloparun in the Obafemi Owode local
government area, all in Ogun State.
“They enter rural
dwellers land containing rocks, paying them a pittance or at times
intimidating them that government is the owner of the land and they can
only be paid little or nothing for their crops on the land and not
minerals on it, whereas the position of the law is that whatever
attaches to the land belongs to the owner,” Mr Ogunmodede stated.
He added that the
so-called projects had been causing serious damage to farmland, crops,
and led to the collapse of houses in different villages due to soil
earth vibration and splinster of rocks that fall on houses in the
villages where rocks and quarry sites are located by the crushing
companies.
“I am aware and can
confirm to you that some villages have been completely sacked or
rendered desolate and abandoned due to quarrying activities, whereas
there should be corporate social responsibility by the investing
companies to provide alternative,” Mr Ogunmodede said, adding that the
situation persisted because the affected communities do not have
knowledgeable people like relevant professionals to negotiate on their
behalf, thus the result is “serious and monumental cheating of our
rural inhabitants”.
