By Jelili Gbadamosi
Indigenes of Ogbomoso in Oyo State have urged Governor Seyi Makinde to preserve and revitalise the Ogbomoso Farm Settlement rather than allocate the land to private developers.
The call was made by Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo in a petition to the governor over an alleged plan by the state government to hand over the farm settlement to investors and property developers.
The petition was signed by the association’s Chairman, Prince Aderemi Olude, and Secretary, Johnson Adekunle.
Copies were also sent to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Federal Ministry of Lands and Urban Development, Inspector-General of Police, Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Police Area Commander, Ogbomoso, and the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Afolabi Olaoye.
The group said the land was established as a farm settlement in the early 1960s and had supported generations of residents through agricultural activities.
It described the settlement as a “commonwealth” and a major source of livelihood for the people, arguing that converting it to property development would undermine its original purpose and historical significance.
The association said its concerns were based on information from settlers allegedly affected by the proposed development, as well as reports that government surveyors had visited parts of the land.
According to the group, many of the settlers had spent more than 60 years on the land and were strongly opposed to any move that could threaten their livelihoods.
The indigenes also argued that the alleged plan would undermine the agricultural legacy associated with the former Western Region premiers, Obafemi Awolowo and Samuel Ladoke Akintola.
They therefore called on Makinde to intervene by protecting the farm settlement and directing efforts towards its rehabilitation and development.
The association said the alleged allocation of the land to investors was unacceptable to the Ogbomoso community and urged the state government to reconsider the reported plan.
