Ondo Community Ravaged by Leadership Crisis Amidst Sea Incursion

Fidelis David writes that there seems to be no end in sight to the eight-year-old leadership crisis rocking Aiyetoro Community, a costal community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State and the sea incursion which has claimed more than three-kilometre landscape of the community and rendered many homeless

The famous African proverb, “when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled”, meaning  that the weak gets hurt in conflicts between the powerful or when two leaders fight, it’s the followers that experience the fallout, can best describe  the series of crises confronting residents of the riverine Aiyetoro Community.

While the eight-year- old leadership dispute has led to the destruction of 84 houses and several other properties worth millions of Naira, sea incursion on the other hand, has become a constant occurrence, destroying buildings and property worth millions of Naira and renderings many of them homeless.

It is pertinent to state that Ilaje Local Government as a whole remains the only oil-producing community in Ondo State which contributes about 60,000 per barrel of crude oil per day to the country’s oil production and accounts for 13 per cent oil derivation fund accruing to the state.

Aside its oil wealth, Ilaje Local Government is famous for having the longest coastline in Nigeria estimated at 75km, bitumen, glass sand and quartz.

Meanwhile, the current crisis was birthed over the sharing of N150m paid to the community by Mobil Oil Unlimited Company as compensation for an oil spill that occurred in 1998.

Addressing journalists in Akure the state capital under the auspices of Ogeloyinbo- -in-council of Aiyetoro and the Board of Trustees of the Holy Apostles Church, the leaders, lamented that the destruction still persists.

Speaking on behalf of the community, the Asiwaju of Aiyetoro, Gani Ojagbohunmi, said while several persons have fled the community for fear of being attacked, while some warring youths have also asked some of the community leaders involved in sharing of the money to vacate the community.

Ojagbohunmi, who was a former Clerk of the House of Representatives was flanked by the chairman Board of Trustee, Rev JI Ajijo, Secretary of the BOT, Folajimi lretolu, Baba Ijo of the community, Bishop E Eretan and the Basorun of Aiyetoro, Tola Alabere.

He said the crises in the community erupted after the recognition of Oba Ajijo as the leader of the community and the sack of Oluwanbe Ojagbohunmi by the court.

According to him,  the current crisis started on March 4, when a group of violent supporters of Oluwanbe Ojagbohunmi again swooped on the Palace of Ogeloyinbo of Aiyetoro with all manner of dangerous weapons and allegedly threatened to kill and kidnap the Oba.

According to him, Oluwanbe, created a parallel leadership structure in the community to cause chaos and violent despite a peaceful settlement initiated by the state government.

He said: ” In the aftermath of the public violence, the gangsters destroyed two houses built very close to the palace. The houses belong to (1) Mr. Tokunbo Olaseile and (2) Most Rev. AP. Jesseri Iwasanm Ajijo. Although the persons have reported the cruel acts of destruction to the D.P.O, Igbokoda, the D.P.O had expressed his helplessness in effecting arrest of the suspects because of the riverine terrain of the community.

 The Okitipupa Area Commander; the Chairman, Ilaje Local Government and the O. C 19 Battalion, Army Barracks, Okitipupa were subsequently alerted on the above and they all visited and confirmed the aforesaid criminal activities on 05/03/2023.

“The passionate pleas of the aforesaid government and security officers to Mr. Oluwanbe Ojagbohunmi and his gangsters fell on deaf ears. As soon as the officers left around 7.00p.m on 05/03/2023, the gangsters again swooped on the Ogeloyinbo’s palace and started to destroy the Palace building with an attempt to kidnap the Oba from the palace. It took the subsequent effort from Naval Officers from a neighbouring Community to rescue the Oba from the palace and took him out of the community for safety.

“The destruction of the Oba’s Palace, looting of its properties and threats to lives and properties and other criminal activities being perpetrated by Mr. Oluwanbe Ojagbohunmi and his gangsters have now continued unabated and there is no end at sight.

“So far, the Ogeloyinbo of Aiyetoro Community (Oba Ajijo) has lost properties worth over Five Hundred Million Naira to the above criminal activities. It is rather unfortunate that no security whatsoever has been provided in Aiyetoro Community despite the assurance by some senior government officials and the police that security personnel would be immediately deployed to the Community to prevent further damages to properties and threat to lives”.

According to him, Oluwambe and his supporters are currently using alleged false narrative that the financial compensation N69 million paid to the community recently by Mobil Oil Unlimited Company for the oil spillage that affected the community as excuse or justification for the on-going violence.

 He noted that over 240 victims of the spillage have received compensations, stressing  that the N69m ( first tranche) compensation was an out of court arrangement by the community lawyers who had removed his 23 percent legal charge from the N90 million paid by the oil company.

He noted that as soon as the money was paid into the community account, the Oba set up a small committee of the leadership to oversee the distribution of the compensation to the people and groups that are entitled in line with the previously agreed arrangement and formula.

“We have records of people in is dissident group who already collected their entitlements. It is pertinent to note that the allegation of wrong doing concerning the compensation money is nothing new.

“The matter was earlier reported to the Ondo State Command, Akure. After some investigations, the police Command expressed satisfaction that the leadership of the community properly handled the administration of the compensation.

” Therefore, we cannot see any justification for the resort to violence, threat to life and destruction of valuable properties of the leader of the community and other indigenes of community. We thank the Ondo State government for promptly setting up a reconciliation committee on the crisis in our community”, he stressed.

While clarifying that disbursement of the compensation were done through banks and well documented, he alleged that Oluwanmbe, in a bid to struggle with the community leadership on the issue of legitimacy , instructed some people not to collect their entitlements but majority of the people entitled to the money in his group ignored his directive and went ahead to collect their money.

“In light of the above, we hereby call for urgent mobilisation of Mobile Police Force and other security agents to Aiyetoro Community to maintain law and order, commencement of thorough investigation of the above stated criminal activities of Mr. Oluwanbe Ojagbohunmi and his gangsters, with a view to make them face the wrath of a due process of law; urgent provision of security personnel to guard the palace of the Ogeloyinbo of Aiyetoro; and  establishment and fully equipped Police Station and Naval Base in Aiyetoro Community”.

Be as it may, the expectations of residents of Aiyetoro community include a total end to the leadership crisis in the community and reclamation of the land by building of embarkment, because the town had been shrunk by sea water incursion and more than three-kilometre landscape of the town has been lost to the sea incursion.

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While the eight-year- old leadership dispute has led to the destruction of 84 houses and several other properties worth millions of Naira, sea incursion on the other hand, has become a constant occurrence, destroying buildings and property worth millions of Naira and renderings many of them homeless