In Edo State, the practice of land speculation and grabbing has become a significant challenge in many communities, leaving victims in its wake.
This phenomenon involves individuals or groups acquiring land through questionable means, often using deceit, coercion, or manipulation.
Edo South is predominantly a habitation for land manipulations where chief priests, or Ohen, and other traditional rulers carried negative subjections against citizens.
It is no longer news that many victims of land grabbing have lost their homes, livelihoods, and sense of security.
They often struggle to regain their property, facing legal battles and intimidation.
The experience can be traumatic, causing emotional distress, anxiety and even death for those affected.
Individuals like Ohen of OKhoromi, Kelvin Obvokhan Igbinovia who is supposed to be a shrine priest and pray for sanity of his community, only engage in land speculation and grabbing, using his negative influence, wealth, or connections to exploit vulnerable communities.
For over a decade, there has been one conflict between another, in Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba Okha, Ovia Uhunmwode and Orhionmwon, where individuals or groups have lost millions after buying land genuinely in these Communities affiliated to the councils.
Given this act, it has affected tens of settlers who may not have had the opportunity to cry to the public and the authorities to intervene.
Buyers in a sane society, should be people who have come to invest in property and help develop most communities in Edo South.
But with regular denial of their hard earned investment on landed property, it is difficult to move forward.
The Ohen of Okhoromi is not in isolation in these expansionist operations, but most prominent Enigie and Chiefs who have knowingly deviated from the norms and values of the Edo Society.
Disturbing as it has become, some of these Ohens, Chiefs and Enigie, have assumed to be too powerful in their positions, and sometimes challenge the authority of the Oba of Benin, the custodian of the culture and beliefs.
The lack of effective regulation and accountability enables these culprits to operate with impunity, perpetuating the cycle of exploitation.
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However, the cries of those victimized and chased out of their property, are appealing to the traditional institutions and the Benin Monarch to revisit how the Ohen of Okhoromi and others became and still serve on behalf of the custodian of the Benin Kingdom, considering the level of reported atrocities they have committed.
The ohen of Okhoromi’s action and others in the same category have brought shame to the revered Benin Culture and heritage where people now equate the race to land grabbers.
The government of Senator Monday Okpebholo of Edo State in collaboration with the traditional institutions, Security experts, must cut to size these criminal tendencies by curbing the intention of selling a portion of land twice to three different buyers, that have become the substance of crisis.
The likes of the Chief Priest of Okhorimi Community, Iyekogba in Oredo ward two, Kelvin Ovbokhan Igbinovia and others in the same pedestal must be told to relocate or behave through stiff sanctions by the authorities.
Let’s not forget that, Land grabbing can lead to social and community instability, as tensions rise between victims and perpetrators.
The practice can also have economic implications, deterring investment and hindering development in affected areas.
The issue of land speculation and grabbing requires urgent attention from authorities and stakeholders, just as victims deserve justice, and perpetrators must be held accountable.
By addressing this scourge, we can promote community stability, protect property rights, and foster economic growth.