"Please Intervene": Alleged Land-Grabbing, Ajiran Indigenes Cry Out to Lagos Govt, Warn Monarch
- Ojomu youths have appealed to the Lagos state government over the lack of basic amenities in their community
- The youths also called on the government to caution their monarch’s excess on issues of land sales, among other concerns
- They described the death of one of the community’s active youths Sheriff Ishola Salami as deeply tragic and demanded a probe
The Ojomu Youths Forum, the youth body of Ajiran Community in Eti-Osa Local Council of Lagos state, said it supported the call to investigate the murder of one of the community’s proactive youths, Sheriff Ishola Salami.
The group made this known in a press statement sighted by LEGIT.ng, which its secretary, Wasiu Yekini Akinshemoyin, signed.
Source: UGC
OYF said that as a vital member of the Ojomu family, the death of Salami came as a shock, and nobody should be allowed, including the community monarch, the Ojomu of Ajiran land, Oba Tijani Akinloye to play a political card with it because “we’re still grieving.”
“Tagging his death and making unnecessary popularity is what we would not accept. We plead with the governor of Lagos state and the general public to plead with Oba Tijani and Alhaji Yekini Bakare to address all issues raised rather than resulting in cheap blackmailing from their irrelevant sponsored groups,” he said.
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Akinshemoyin also described as “laughable and farcical” the land-grabbing allegation leveled against the forum’s youth leader, Hameed Tajudeen, by the “monarch and his allies led by one Alex Omotehinse.”
Debunking the allegation, Akinshemoyin said the monarch has failed in his duty to facilitate the development and progress of the community despite being on the throne for more than 30 years.
“There is no way someone who is a true member of a community will start grabbing land. This allegation is a distraction, a falsehood flying in the face of facts. If our calling for the progress of our community is now a crime, we’re pleading to the Lagos state government to please intervene,” he said.
We’re bonafide sons of the soil
Akinshemoyin recalled that on Monday, April 24, indigenes of the community, under the auspice of Concerned Ajiran Indigenes, staged a protest against the total lack of development in the community.
He said the youths lamented the activities of land sellers being protected by the reigning monarch. They also bemoaned the community's lack of school, hospital, or market, despite letters written to the state government and pleas for the monarch Oba Akinloye.
“By October 23, 2023, our king will be 30 years on the throne, but no single developmental stride to show for it. We don’t have good roads, schools, no hospitals, and no markets in the community, and no empowerment for our youths.
“The administrative headquarters of Chevron in West Africa is in our community, but we don’t have anything to show for it; no indigene of this community has been employed by Chevron,” Akinshemoyin said.
Government should come to our rescue
He added that the monarch and his allies are trying to defame them and snub their calls for progress checks in the community.
Akinshemoyin also laughed off the claim that he was not from Ajiran. He further stated that the author of the propaganda, Mr Alex, and his sponsors, Oba Akinloye and Alhaji Bakare, are the ones who should state their roots as regards Ajiran town.
“The protest we had was a peaceful one. We didn’t fight anybody or abuse anyone. We only called on the Lagos state government agencies to come to our aides because we’ve been on this matter for more than 10 years.
"How can a community be stagnant when others are moving? There is no tangible progress in our community. The Lagos government should hold our leaders accountable.
“I, Wasiu Yekini Akinsemoyin, am a bona-fide indigent of Ajiran town from the Semo chieftaincy family, one of the seven families that make Ojomu royal chieftaincy. Calling me a non-indigene is a short imagination of those who are not indigenes of the community but are siphoning the resources of the Ajiran community,” he submitted.
Southeast community where people carry dead bodies on their backs to mortuary
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that for over 52 years, the people of Obinetiti Nzerem autonomous community in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo state have remained the victims of negligence and abandonment.
The community is ranked as one of the state's food baskets as one of the largest producers of garri, palm oil, yam and cassava in the state, The Nation discloses.
The absence of infrastructure can not be overlooked by a community that has produced two secretaries to the state government.
Source: Legit.ng
Rahaman Abiola (Editor-in-Chief) Rahaman Abiola is an award-winning journalist and Editor-in-Chief with over 8-year experience. He holds a degree in English & Literature from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria (2015). He's a recipient of the Mile Media Award, Kwame Karikari Fellowship. His works have appeared in Punch, The Nation, Tribune, The Cable, Sahara Reporters and others. rahaman.abiola@corp.legit.ng
Basit Jamiu (Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.
