BY FIDELIS EGUGBO
Peace and security is a sine-qua-non to development. It is widely agreed that no meaningful development can take place in any place that is in crisis. While this is true, one can add that no meaningful development can take place in areas where there is threat to peace.
There are several communities that are enjoying relative peace but can erupt as a result of protracted land disputes. It is difficult to take development projects to such areas that have a history of crises when there are no visible signs of a permanent settlement of their crises.
So, the importance of peace, especially in Delta State, was re-echoed on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 when the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme, FCA, made it clear that the success of the MORE Agenda of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration is hinged on the peace and security component of the agenda.
“This government believes that once you are able to enhance peace and security that any other desire, any other development, will follow suit.
“We will not sit down and watch our communities in crisis; if anything is hurting any community in Delta State, such a crisis is hurting the government. Government will not be partial to anybody but will work for the benefit of everybody.
“We should know that nothing is permanent: things have changed and the population of your community 100 years ago is not the same today. Nobody is going to chase anybody out of Delta State; we should treat ourselves as brothers and sisters,” Sir Onyeme said.
No doubt, Governor Oborevwori came prepared, using the MORE Agenda as a template and it is very good that he is already implementing it (template) for the benefit of the people.
In almost every part of the state, the government has achieved relative peace; the crime rate has greatly reduced and investors are moving into the state in their large numbers.
To consolidate on the peace and security in the state, Deputy Governor Onyeme has waded into inter-communal crisis to ensure that boundaries between communities are well defined.
Of course, he is the Chairman, Delta State Boundary Committee and he believes that boundary issues should not be prolonged by warring communities as a result of boundary disputes for the people to see themselves as brothers and sisters and live in unity with the proffering of a permanent solution to their misunderstanding.
With a clear definition of boundaries, communities will know their limits, especially when it comes to acquiring land for whatever purpose. This will also be in line with the state government’s law on ‘deve’. It would be recalled that, as the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, the Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, presided over the plenary where the Delta State Public and Private Properties Protection Bill 2018, which outlaws illegal collections and forceful entry by touts into development sites, was passed into law. Can an entire community flout this law?
The immediate past Governor of Delta State, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, while signing into law the bill which criminalizes the illegal and forceful collection of levies which is also known as ‘deve’ from public and private developers in the state, said that the law would put to an end the incessant harassment of developers, particularly by youths who,often times, chase away investors who are ready to do business in the state.
While one may not describe outrightly some inter-communal crisis arising as a result of land disputes as criminality, it is worthy to reiterate that the era where might is right is gone; it is archaic for one to believe, in this modern era, that an individual or a community could use its might to forcefully take the land belonging to another person or another community simply because he/it possesses more arms or efficient able-bodied men.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration believes in the rule of law and would not tolerate such barbaric action, especially when such can be done legally to encourage peaceful co-existence.
As someone who thinks alike with his boss, Deputy Governor Monday Onyeme made it clear that, “It is not easy to end a crisis; the best way is to avoid it-explore peaceful means of resolving disputes. We
should be accommodating and we should be fair in our dealings.”
It was really a busy Tuesday for the Deputy Governor as he led the State’s Boundary Committee to intervene in the land disputes involving Ugboba Kingdom and Obomkpa Kingdom in Aniocha North Local Government Area, and Issele-Azagba Community in Aniocha North Local Government Area and Okpanam Community in Oshimilli North Local Government Area.
For the deputy governor, “the cardinal point of the MORE Agenda of this administration is to enhance peace and security, because, when we achieve that, every other thing will follow; without peace, there cannot be development and without peace there cannot be opportunities. There cannot be reforms except there is peace and security and, as a government, we are very serious about achieving peace.”
He stated that the government will not rest of its oars until peace is achieved in every part of the state, saying, “We will bring in our technical team to look at what you are saying. A solution must be provided and that is what government is after. Every community wants peace, and, on the government’ s side, we want peace because that is the only way that we can move forward as a people.
“For the fact that all parties involved have been writing to government for intervention shows that we all want solution to the issues and solution we must provide because we are all part of Delta State and if there is problem in any part of the state, the state will not be settled.
“We did not come to governance just to sit down and watch our citizens suffer; we are here to provide solutions to the challenges of our people and we are here to be fair to everybody. I want us to approach things with fairness, and remain calm while we look for solutions to the issues at hand. We should be realistic about the existence of each other as a people.
“As a modern person, I cannot say a kingdom that was created in the 13th century must remain, as it was created forever, society evolves and the only thing that is constant is change,” Sir Onyeme said.
While the issue of proper boundary demarcation is very important, the communities involved should note that they inter-marry and have similar cultures and, no doubt, if the government sites projects in a nearby community, it will certainly rub off on them both.
As an individual, I have visited Ugboba and Obomkpa and, in a piece I wrote after one of my visits, I described the two communities as twins. Yes! the technical team that will visit Obomkpa and Ugboba will be surprised that there is literarily no “boundary” between the two communities as can be seen in the similar cases of Asaba and Okpanam, Warri and Effurun, among others.
Obomkpa and Ugboba are, however, quite lucky that they have two kings who have been recognized by the state government. Such a coincidence is rare, especially in the area I am from, that is Ndokwaland. The King of Ugboba could walk across from his kingdom to the Palace of the King of Obomkpa and vice versa. So, one wonders what the cause of the disagreement actually is. Is it land for farming? Could it be as a result of the large deposit of mature coal in the area? If it is the coal or any other mineral resource that God has blessed the area with, visitors who will be exploring such minerals may not know the difference between the two kingdoms and with unity between the two kingdoms, with the respective kings educating their subjects to appreciate that they are brothers and sisters as made possible by God, they will have greater benefits of enjoying what God has blessed them with. The two kingdoms can even have a joint quasi commission to manage their resources in peace.
That of Issele-Azagba and Okpanam may not be far from the fact that the state capital has expanded so much and the two communities are enjoying the benefits of being part of the capital territory. As Deputy Governor Onyeme warned, the communities should avoid anything that could lead to the break down of law and order, while the state government proffers lasting solution to their boundary disputes.
With what the Deputy Governor is doing in being proactive in nipping challenges in the bud, there is no doubt that all parts of the state would witness a lot of development. When all the communities in the state are peaceful, it means that the entire state is peaceful and with the reduction in the crime rate in the state, Delta State will become the safest place to live and do business in this part of the world.
Of course, some countries of the world are not as blessed as Delta State both in land mass and population. Some of these countries, too, are not so strategically located like Delta, a state that can be accessed by water with seaports begging to be put to international use in Koko, Warri, Burutu and Sapele and who said that the River Niger cannot be dredged for some ships to berth in Asaba?
Of course, some of these countries do not even have one airport but Delta has two, with one in Osubi and an international airport in Asaba. That the state can be accessed by land is also, an understatement; it is like the gateway to the South-East and the South-South.
Delta is too blessed to be poor and with a boom in economic activities in the state, idle hands with the inclination to engage in criminal activities will be reduced and will be easily identified.
Communities with inter-boundary issues should cooperate, explore peace and no political elite should muscle the boundary committee; if such disputes have existed for centuries, cooperate with Sir Onyeme-led Boundary Committee for such to be resolved, “Abi una no dey tire?” No doubt, there will be great beneficiaries from such disputes, those who collect the money, those who hire lawyers, those who go to court, and possibly, those who recruit those who will destroy other people’s property, but such should stop. Such monies are illegally acquired and even the gods of the land may not be happy with those who know the truth but prefer to cause havoc and destroy the livelihood of others and possibly, spill the blood of the innocent.
Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori means business with the MORE Agenda and his Deputy, Sir Monday Onyeme, is committed to ensuring peaceful communities for the services inherent in the MORE Agenda to be delivered to all Deltans without hitches.
Let us harness the spirit of give -and -take and obey the biblical injunction of ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’ for us to have and enjoy the Delta State of our dream.
Certainly, with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Sir Monday Onyeme, Delta is in safe hands.
God bless Delta State!
COMRADE FIDELIS EGUGBO IS THE SENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANT, MEDIA, TO GOVERNOR SHERIFF OBOREVWORI OF DELTA STATE
