By Junaid Abdullahi
The people of Obbo Aiyegunle in Kwara State have expressed bitterness that their neighbouring Eda Oniyo community in Ekiti State is laying claim to the land they gave Eda people to farm.
Obbo Aiyegunle people, under the aegis of Obbo Aiyegunle Descendants Union, accused the monarch of Eda Oniyo, the Eleda of Eda, Oba Julius Awolola, of being an aggressor and “the initiator of the crisis as always and fomenting near mob action between the youths of both communities”.
OADU National President, Enoch Ade Ogun, in a rejoinder titled, ‘Re-Hoodlums attacked Ekiti community,” described as untrue the narration of the Eda monarch about ownership of the land in contention.
Ogun said, “Obbo-Aiyegunle is full of elite and should not be portrayed as hoodlums or agitators. His Royal Majesty, Owa l’obbo of Obbo Aiyegunle, Dr Samuel Oluleye Adelodun, is a refined and retired Federal Director General. Despite provocations from Eda Oniyo people, the Owa l’obbo and his high chiefs appealed and have continued to appeal to Obbo youths not to retaliate.”
The Eleda of Eda had earlier in the month alleged that youths from Obbo Ayegunle attacked and vandalised the Ilejemeje Local Government Secretariat at Eda Oniyo.
The monarch alleged that Obbo Ayegunle youths attacked some residents on their farms, adding that one of the injured farmers was rushed to hospital for medical attention.
Oba Awolola had said, “People from Obbo-Ayegunle, a Kwara State community, have been farming on our land, but the government of Ekiti State wants to use the land for youth empowerment and deploy equipment there preparatory to beginning work. That was what provoked them to attack us.
“They came on bikes. I was even at my farm at that time; they went to vandalise our (Ilejemeje) local government secretariat and then attacked some of our people who were already on their farms. The cars parked by the roadside were vandalised, three motorbikes were set ablaze. One of the farmers was beaten and has been hospitalised.”
But Ogun disagreed, saying some Eda people, who were scattered about “approached our forefathers and requested to be allowed to settle on Obbo land. They were joyfully welcomed and treated as brothers. This group eventually relocated and settled between Obbo and Iludun Ekiti in 1957 and changed their name to Eda Oniyo.
“The distance between Obbo Aiyegunle is seven kilometres. Severally, the Eleda of Eda Oniyo will leave his domain and come to start a project at the edge of Obbo Aiyegunle, thereby creating tension among the Obbo people.”
Ogun said Kwara and Ekiti state governments had intervened several times and later developed a Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by the two communities to jointly live in harmony on the farms.
He stated, “Obbo has resumed living in peace with the Eda people after the MOU until 9th/10th April 2024 when a bulldozer was noticed parked in front of Eleda’s Palace and information got to Owa L’obbo (Obbo king) that the bulldozer was meant to start clearing from Obbo’s end which is seven kilometres away from Eda Oniyo.
“On April 11, 2024, the bulldozer started to bulldoze the cashew trees at the edge of Obbo town. This annoyed Obbo youths and the scene would have turned into a serious mob reaction if not for the intervention of Owa l’obbo and some Obbo leaders. The bulldozer was eventually removed.
“Following the same pattern as in the past during the reign of this Eleda, Eda youths invaded Obbo farmlands and destroyed hundreds of hectares of cashew trees, all executed at night and on Sunday. At the time of writing this report, they are still cutting down cashew trees, destroying cassava and yam farms unabated. The Owa l’obbo and his high chiefs appealed and have continued to appeal to Obbo youths not to retaliate.
“Obbo youths have been restless because of the problem of kidnappers in one section of their land and in another part, a series of attacks on farmlands by our brothers whom we accommodated in 1957.
“Obbo’s position is not only about the location or shifting of the border between the two states. It is to allow the two communities to maintain River Olosoro as the traditional border. If the state border is at the river, it is fine with us, Kwara State can bring development.
“If the state border is on the edge of Obbo Aiyegunle township, it is also fine, the land between Obbo and River Olosoro will be our land in Ekiti State. The Ekiti State Government is free to bring development to the land in the name of Obbo in Ekiti State, but not Eda Oniyo. That stretch of land is our most fertile for agriculture. We are entitled to survival in Kwara and Ekiti states and Nigeria.”
