THE recent disclosure by the Special Advisor to the Governor of Delta State on Peace Building and Conflict Resolution, Chief Edwin Uzor, on the government’s plan to put measures in place to regulate real estate activities , land grabbing and unregulated sales in a bid to forestall disputes and misunderstanding within communities is indeed a welcome development as the problems associated with the sales of landed property has become one of the major causes of communal crisis in the state.
Beforen now, communities had always resolved disputes amicably without resorting to the police or the courts. However, the rising cases of land matters in courts and land-related criminal cases handled by the police, are fallouts of the state’s development spate which has led to the influx of investors in the real estate sector. This has turned out to be bloody in some settings.Some of these investors, who seem to be well disposed to investing in the state due to the peaceful and hospitable nature of the people, and the favourable business environment provided by the state government, are now aiding and abetting land grabbing in the state. Thus, orchestrating intra- and inter-communal clashes , thereby frustrating the government’s peace-building efforts in the state through their unwholesome activities.
The investors are taking advantage of the community youths and misguided elders who now engage in land grabbing, and illegal sales of community-landed property as a quick means of acquiring wealth. Though the problem is more pronounced in Delta North, probably due to the rapid development in the state capital, which is spreading fast to other communities in the district, the entire state is not spared of the fast growing cankerworm, as the driving force is greed and selfishness among the people.
Presently, apart from the dispute between Isheagu and their neighbouring Umuoma clan of Ewulu in Aniocha North Local Government Area, there are other crisis-ridden communities including the one involving Ogbeozoma quarters, Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area and Akpoma quarters of Issele-Azagba in Aniocha North Local Government Area. The Akwukwu Igbo land crisis has also claimed some lives .These disputes have not only led to the wastage of time and resources that would have been used to invest in meaningful development, but the development has turned our hitherto peaceful communities upside down with many people already maimed as a result of protracted land disputes.We support the government’s move to regulate real estate activities in the state to curb the incidence of disputes among communities, occasioned by unregulated land sales. Such a measure will help to speed up development as no meaningful project can be executed in a crisis-ridden community. Appropriate rules and regulations will ease the work of the office of the Adviser to the Governor on Peace Building and Conflict Resolution and allow them to concentrate on peace-building efforts outside land matters.
In addressing the problem, it is instructive to consider the step taken by Oshimili North Local Government, which established, the “Public and Private Properties Protection Bye-law 2023”, to tackle the menace of land grabbing and unauthorized sales of communal land by speculators. This Bye-law has, to a large extent, reduced the spate of disputes among communities in the local government area, and if adopted by other local government authorities, would help mitigate disputes associated with land sales in the state.
While we urge the state government to expedite action on the planned sensitization workshop to enlighten the people on the implications of land grabbing and how to resolve disputes amicably, there is also need to encourage the people to explore Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods provided at the state Multi-Door Court in the handling of conflicts. We should all stand against land grabbing and illegal sales of land in our communities.
