The leaders of the Communities led by Chief Babatunde Olumide and Olaewe Sunday who are Baales of Ajibayo and Oluwo Kemta vilages respectively said the move became necessary because the FMC and Ogun State government had failed to fulfill their promises in spite of various steps and agreement between the parties.
The acquire villages are Ajibayo, Obele, Ijeun Amosun, Oba, Gbagura, Fonfon, Ogbagba, Akiode, Apena and Otunba Villages. Others are Ijeun Lemo Ikereku and Oluwo Kemta villages, all in Obafemi Owode local government areas of Ogun State.
The villagers had earlier written several letters to the Management of FMC and State government under the auspices of “Coalition of Heads of the affected villages” to get them compensated and resettled after the forceful taken over their lands and villages for the proposed Federal Medical Center Teaching Hospital and Syringe industry.
In a letter written earlier to the State Governor, Senator Amosun, the heads of the affected villages expressed worry for the sudden takeover of their means of livelihood without any form of compensation and resettlement.
The letter read, “Our anxiety has been what will be our fate as a result of the annihilation of the entire thirteen villages for the project development. How to cope with life after our imminent displacement has been our source of concern and sorrow to all of us”
“We are typical villagers who have no other place than our inherited village shelters and farm lands. How do we survive without our shelter and farm lands? This is the reason why we hereby exploit this opportunity to appeal to you and your government to be compassionate towards us, by relocating us to a place that would no more be acquired by any future government” the Village Heads said.
“Most of our youths are unemployed graduates who have left with no option other than farming. These youths have never been lucky to have benefited from any of the agriculture programme floated by either federal or state governments. Their farm lands either purchased or inherited for growing perennial crops. They had already cleared hectares of land in preparation for farming season, which was also affected by sudden takeover by government for the said project”.
Chief Babatunde Olumide and Olaewe Sunday revealed that after the letter and series of visits, the State government sent a delegation led by one Omobo O.O and Olatunde who came on behalf of Federal Medical Center and the State government and made unfulfilled promises that the villagers would be attended to on or before April, 2018, which was not fulfilled, and had to make another promise for the end of July.
"But some of us suspected that what these people were after was to get a hitch free fund raising ceremony that the FMC was about to do in July, but as we address you now, nothing has been done".
"Some of our people even thought that what government intended to do was to forcefully takeover these lands and eject us to nowhere without minding what happened to us".
The Leaders therefore vowed to use all legal means to ensure that "We get compensated and resettled properly before any meaningful things could be done on that land".
They said "Already none of us were able to farm or perform any legitimate things on that land again, Our lands and houses have been taken over, how did government want us to survive"?
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