Hon. Benedicta Ebuehi Seeks Peaceful Resolution Of Land Disputes

By Suleiman Ugbokhe

Hon. (Mrs) Benedicta Ebuehi, Executive Chairman of Etsako East LGA flanked by HRM, Dr. George Oshiapi Egabor, Okumagbe of Uwanno Clan (left) and HRH, Moses Akpamuka Etsu, Ogie Eppa of Weppa Clan after the meeting

The Executive Chairman of Etsako East local government area, Hon. (Mrs) Benedicta Ebuehi has called on the people to embrace dialogue rather than taking up arms against one another in settling land disputes.

The Executive Chairman, who stated this in her office, Agenebode, in a meeting with the traditional rulers of Weppa and Uwanno Clans over a disputed area, noted that it was futile to engage in violence as a means of settling disputes over land matters, saying "We were borne to meet this land and we will die leaving the land behind."

Weppa and Uwanno Clans which were until a few yesrs ago, one clan as Weppa-Wanno Clan are presently locked in a contest of ownership of a stretch of land through which a river flows.

"The land matter between Weppa and Uwanno is why we decided that this meeting is very important for us to find a way forward. We may not be able to find a solution today but at least it is a step for us to begin to look at how we can resolve the matter amicably that everybody will be happy," the Executive Chairman said in her opening remarks.

The two Traditional Rulers in handshake as they discuss while the Executive Chairman watches with admiration

"Thank you very much for the honour. Sometimes, you invite people to a meeting, they don't show up.

"So, me as your daughter, as your small daughter that you have honoured, yes, you have given me the respect; may the good Lord honour you as well. Thank you so much for the honour and the recognition."

Speaking further, she noted that "There is something that is very, very clear to me because I don't need witnesses, I don't need anybody to say that this is documentary evidence.

"Something has jumped out at me. What I have noticed in this is that on one side we have somebody who is saying we don't need to demarcate or establish any boundary. On the other side we have a different view that we need to establish boundaries.

"I would love to say it is simple, but I know that it is not that simple because when you have two different views: One person says this place belongs to me, I want to have it and the other person says you know it might belong to you but we have used this thing together for long, we don't want the establishment of any boundary, let us continue to be brothers and enjoy what we have enjoyed before our ancestors."

Espousing bases for peaceful coexistence, Hon. Benedicta Ebuehi added: "I am still saying that the activities you have carried out in this disputed area is not in question; whether you have been renting it out for 50 years or 100 years is not the issue. The issue that I as a layman looking this objectively and dispassionately is that people from the two communities - from Weppa and Uwanno - they have enjoyed this place for donkey years.

"What is now the reason that we must now do physical demarcation and establish the ownership of this land? What has changed? I am still trying to tease out why it has become a topical issue now....

"When this Uzanu and Igiode matter was brought before the deputy governor, I know that he kept on hammering on something. And that thing he kept hitting on was the fact that it is always good when two communities have issues, especially boundary issues, to try to settle and have what we call natural boundaries. In that case, the two communities that are contesting a particular land would sit together and agree.

"He used his own community of Jattu and South Ibie as an example. He said to these two communities - Uzanu and Igiode - that there was a time that Jattu and South Ibie were warring over a piece of land. One day, the two communities got together and said what are we fighting over? Let us sit down and agree; let's concede to each other. They agreed and said ok, normally your land ends here but because we have lived together for a very, very long time, we should not now be killing each other over land. We die and leave land. We came to meet land; we will die and leave land. Let's now adjust. You take up to this point; our own now ends here. It was gazetted.

"And that is what brought peace to those two communities that today that land that they deliberately adjusted between themselves has now become a natural boundary. Government did not come in, a third party didn't come in.

That is the kind of thing I would have loved to see between the two traditional rulers and these two communities that were one originally before this political or administrative demarcation now came and made the communities to be two. But still, you are still one."

The Executive Chairman displays her dancing skill to the admiration of the two Traditional Rulers after the meeting 

Determined to nip in the bud the festering land dispute between Weppa and Uwanno Clans, the Executive Chairman decided to set up a five-man committee to work with representatives of the two Clans with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem, even as she admonished the two Clan Heads - HRM, George Oshiapi Egabor, the Okumagbe of Uwanno Clan and HRH, Moses Akpamuka Etsu, the Ogie Eppa of Weppa Clan - to ensure that peace is maintained in and between the two Clans.

She stated thus: "We cannot conclude this matter today. I called this meeting so that we begin to test the waters. I wanted to have a general feeling of what we are feeling as Weppa people, as Uwanno people.

"So, I think for us to make progress, what I am going to do is that I am going to set up a committee because I don't know all.

"A committee needs to visit the river, the area. They need to establish where this river is. And then, the committee needs to sit down with tbree, four people from each area.

"This (gathering) is too large. We cannot make any meaningful progress when we have 40, 50 people addressing one simple issue. What do we want? We want peace in the area.

"So, we are going to sent up a committee of five. And these five people will now be working with the concerned parties with smaller groups to really...possibly, I am not looking at say ok, the land is your own, you hand off. That could be a solution. I don't know what the committee will come up with. The committee can decide that no, the way we have seen this river, it will be difficult for us to say the river belongs to this people or to this people, we believe that we should still have that communial living around it. I don't know what the committee will say. But I think that is the best way to go....

"The committee will visit (the area). It will be part of their terms of reference. To view the area and see the layout of this river that we are talking about. Is it that the left side of the river is on Weppa side amd the right side is on Uwanno side? Or is it that the head is on Uwanno side and the lower part is on (Weppa side)? These are the things that I want the committee to look at. Therefore, we cannot conclude this matter right now.

"Like I said we have begun to have a feel and tease out some of the issues.

"The committee members: The Head of Service and Local Government Administration (HOS), J. O. Igeleke, as Chairman of the committee; HOD Works, Akanbi Margaret; HOD Legal, Barr Fatai Umoru; Supervisory Councillor for Works, Hon. Salim Afoso, and John Oghiadomhe, Principal Admin Officer, as Secretary of the committee. The committee will work with five representatives each from the two sides.

"Their work begins immediately and report back to me in six weeks' time.

"Since I came on this seat, these communities in Etsako East have not given me peace. I want to rest. If I am not dealing with Uzanu and Igiode, I am dealing with Three Ibie or Ivie zone or Okpella. Now it is Uwanno and Weppa. Your daughter needs rest, please.

"In the meantime, I want to plead with you - the two traditional rulers - that let there be peace at least in this six weeks. Let it not be heard that Uwanno and Weppa started trouble and something something happened.... Please, let us maintain peace and wait for this matter to be resolved."