By Chris Njoku, Owerri
Elders and youths of Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) host communities of Obokwu, Obinze in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State have staged a peaceful protest, warning the management of the institution to desist from encroaching into their ancestral land.
The elders, consisting of men and women, first marched to the Senate Building of the university, and moved to the Aroche, Uzoegbelu and Obokwu Obinzei sites of the land.
The protesters, who were seen chanting war songs, carried different placards with different inscriptions like: “Mayor of Ihiagwa, our land will favour you, unscrupulous elements in the government of Imo, stay clear from Obokwu land,” among others.
Speaking, one of the elders of Obokwu, Sydney Igwe, lamented that FUTO forcefully encroached into their land without compensation.
He said that the university did not give the community slots when they were recruiting staff members.
Also Victor Ihezue from Obokwu stated that Chief Sam Anokam was the only attorney they have.
He dismissed other people, who were fronting themselves as attorneys to the land, adding that those attorneys were in the struggle for their selfish interest.
“Sam Anokam is our attorney. He is in this struggle not for self-aggrandizement but for the benefit of all. He is a real and qualified estate consultant, who knows his onions in estate business”.
He also said that the Memorandum of Understanding between FUTO and the host communities had been breached by the university, adding that what the federal government only paid was compensation for the economic trees at the time they were establishing the university.
In his speech, the Obokwu Youth Chairman, Wilson Ekeugbo stated that the land was for the settlement of their upcoming generation.
“That land FUTO has encroached into is the only land remaining for the entire community. If it eludes us today, we will not have any other place for our upcoming generation. In fact, we cannot afford to lose the large expanse of land that is up to thousands of hectares,” he said.
The Obokwu Community Chairman, Comrade Chukwudi Emegha, who read out a section of the MoU between Obinze and FUTO, said that FUTO had failed to return more than 1000 hectares of land along the Owerri- Port Harcourt road axis to the host communities in lieu of compensation.
Also, Charity Ekeada stated that the women were not happy with the development, adding that this was why they joined in the demonstration.
She said, “This land is for the future generation of our sons. We are touched because anything that touches our husbands touches us”.
Reacting, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Francis Eze, maintained that the dispute “is almost solved with the intervention of the Federal Government,” adding that the excised land would only be returned to the state government who in turn would reach out to the host communities.
