THE feud between the Olu of Arepo, Oba Solomon Oyebi, and residents of Journalists’ Estate Phase 1 may be resolved soon, following the intervention of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) Director General, Otunba Segun Runsewe, and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Runsewe and NUJ President Chris Isiguzo, in a whistle-stop visit to the monarch and the leadership of the Journalists’ Estate Residents Development Association (JERDA) Phase 1, on Wednesday, said it was in the community’s interest that there should be peace.
They urged Oyebi to see himself as a father to all.
Speaking at the Oba’s palace, Runsewe, who described himself as a stakeholder on the estate, said he was in the forefront of the team that bought the land in 2003 when Arepo was still a thick forest that nobody gave it a chance of becoming developed in so short a time.
He said the erection of the arch bearing the name JERDA 1 was for the purpose of identity and not to deprive commuters, motorists and others of the use of the road passing through the place.
‘’Establishing Journalists’ Estate Phases 1 & 11 here in Arepo and identifying them with an arch should be seen as a positive brand identity that can help boost the development of Arepo. We will want to report back to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and the authorities in Abuja that sanctioned this peace initiative that Kabiyesi has acceded to the re-erection of the demolished JERDA 1 arch, as approved by the government,’’ Runsewe said.
He recalled that the government in 2008 reconstructed and named the community’s major road as Journalists’ Estate Road and upgraded Oyebi, who was then Baale to Oba.
The culture chief implored the monarch to broker peace among his subjects and ensure the withdrawal of court cases on the right of passage on the Journalists’ Estate Road, to sustain the ongoing development of Arepo.
‘’Kabiyesi, with the ongoing road construction, you are about to experience more development in your domain and you need journalists to identify and project you rightly. You really do not need bad publicity, which the authorities can frown at,’’ Runsewe said, promising to build a mini-museum at the palace once the matter is resolved.
Isiguzo implored Oyebi to invite all the parties, especially journalists, for talks in the interest of peace in his domain.
He described journalists as essential professionals, who are courted worldwide.
“Across the world, brand identities exist. So, the security of journalists’ lives has become non-negotiable because of the nature of their work. We know that every life matters; as such, we will appeal that you support moves to reconcile all the parties and secure lives, particularly those of journalists in your domain,’’ Isiguzo said.
He said the Arepo crisis might affect plans to have other journalists’ estates in Nasarawa, Bauchi and Oyo, among other states, if not quickly resolved.
Oyebi pledged to work on resolving the crisis soon by convening, first, a meeting of his chiefs, and then, of the feuding parties.
He said he was aware of the power of the press, noting that in the past few weeks, his attention had been drawn to reports on the matter, in the print, broadcast and social media.
Earlier, JERDA 1 Chairperson Mrs. Funke Fadugba, who received the Runsewe delegation at the estate’s civic centre, gave a rundown of how the crisis began. She said the estate got the government’s approval to re-erect the arch, which was pulled down during the ongoing road construction.
The estate, she said, believed in communal living and as such, would never do anything to ‘’deprive others of their right to use the road, while they too should recognise our right to secure our estate.’’
