The Oyo State Government has issued a seven-day ultimatum for the removal of illegal structures and shanties blamed for causing security breaches in the Ojoo area of Akinyele Local Government Area.
The Chairman of the Hausa Community in Ojoo, Ibadan, Abubakar Musa, disclosed this after a peace meeting with the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Bayo Lawal, in Ibadan on Wednesday.
The meeting, attended by representatives of both ethnic communities, was convened by the Deputy Governor alongside the Chairman of Akinyele Local Government Area to address the escalating tension in the area.
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Musa said the government had expressed dissatisfaction with the violence and directed that all illegal structures and persons linked to the crisis should be removed within seven days.
“The documents are there. We, Hausa and Yoruba people, are one family. We do not fight, and we do not want any conflict. Peace must continue to exist.
“The purpose of my coming here is because of the escalation that happened in Ojoo this morning. The Deputy Governor, alongside the Chairman of Akinyele Local Government Area, called us together.
“We are all here with some security agents. He addressed us on the situation and expressed the government’s displeasure with what is happening,” Musa said.
According to him, the Deputy Governor instructed the local government chairman to ensure the area was cleared within the stipulated period, while anyone claiming ownership of any land should present valid documents to support such claims.
“He directed the chairman that all those places and people involved should be removed within seven days. Anyone who claims ownership of the land should come forward with documents proving that the land belongs to them.He wants the place cleared within seven days, and if anything happens, the matter should be reported to him,” he said.
The Hausa community leader also rejected attempts to give the incident an ethnic dimension, insisting that those allegedly involved in the crisis were not representatives of either community.
“The people involved are not indigenous residents of Ojoo. Some of them came from other areas,” he said.
Musa said the Hausa community had established channels for resolving disputes and had submitted relevant documents to the state government to promote peaceful coexistence.
“We have a union, and we have a lawyer. We signed a memorandum that whenever anything happens involving Hausa people, it should be reported to Hausa leaders, and if it involves Yoruba people, it should be reported to Yoruba leaders. We have submitted the document to the government,” Musa added.He further expressed concern over what he described as the tendency of some people to mobilise youths before establishing the facts surrounding incidents.
“You see, we Hausa people, if anything happens to us, we leave it in God’s hands. But the problem in this area is that if something happens to one of their own, they explain the situation without first finding out what actually happened. Instead, some people mobilise others from different places and call in area boys, which is not right,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Yoruba Community in Sabo, Ojoo, Chief Solagbade Azeez, said both Hausa and Yoruba leaders had agreed to cooperate with the government’s directive aimed at restoring peace in the area.
Azeez said the communities were united in their decision to ensure that individuals and structures allegedly linked to insecurity were removed.
“We came here this afternoon to meet the DeputyGovernor and we all agreed together, both the Hausa and Yoruba communities.
“The meeting we held together, we cooperated and agreed with everything that was said here. The Hausa Community chairman is here, the Yoruba Community is here, and we are all ready to cooperate with the Deputy Governor,” he stated.
The Yoruba leader specifically called for the removal of shanties allegedly occupied by scavengers, whom he accused of posing security threats to residents.
“All we want is for these people to leave the area along with their shanties, and they promised us that they would remove them. That is what we want,” Azeez said.
He alleged that some of the people occupying the area were dangerous and had access to firearms, adding that the issue had become a major concern for residents.Because the scavengers are dangerous people, and they have firearms there. Even the Chairman of the Hausa Community was there to confirm the ammunition.
“We do not want them there again, and they promised us that they would remove both them and their shanties from the area,” he said.
The development followed a violent clash in Ojoo, which prompted the deployment of security personnel and appeals from government officials and community leaders for calm.
Cc: Nigerian Tribune