You hail from Ibarapa political division of Oyo State and the state government has just acquired some plots of land in Ibarapa for agricultural purposes and by extension maybe for cattle ranching. What’s your stand on this?
I, Prince Ademola Ayoade, I’m against the acquisition of the land in Ibarapa. I’m against cattle ranching in Ibarapa and I stand on it and I will contribute or collaborate with anybody who supports this view of mine and will fight it with every constitutional means to make sure that Oyo State Government does not take our land for cattle ranching and they do not take our land for any agricultural purposes they are planning to do.
Before now, Oyo State Government has taken possession of about 5,000 hectares of land in all the 33 Local Government Councils for agricultural purposes, what have they done with it? Fashola farm settlement is there, what have they done with it? There’s farm settlement in Eruwa, what are they doing with it? There is a farm settlement between Ido and Ibadan, what have they done with it? They should stop deceiving us. We don’t want anybody to come and take our land. If anybody wants to do farming investment in Ibarapa now, such a person should come to the people and tell them he wants to do farming, he will tell us the size of the land he wants and if we agree, we will give it to him and we will use the land as our own share of the company, and we will be a shareholder of that company. The government should not acquire our land for anybody, we don’t want it and it’s not going to work. The people of Ibarapa has informed the Oyo State Government that they don’t want their land to be acquired and we stand on that and we will fight it constitutionally and make sure that our land is not acquired for any man or whatever they want to do.
Why are you coming out against acquisition of land in Ibarapa at this point in time?
Let me clear the air on that. Last month, the government placed an advertorial on page 33 of the Nigerian Tribune of Thursday June 21, 2018, through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey, dated June 6, 2018 and signed by the Commissioner, Isaac Ajiboye Omodewu. The advertorial, quoting Land use act Cap L5 volume eight, Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, Land for the service of Oyo State government, gave notice of acquistion of 462.415 hectares of land for establishment of farm settlement. Through the advertorial, the state government claimed to have revoked any existing Certificate of Occupancy in accordance with the state section of law.
And under the provision of law, which was also stated in the advertorial, the people of Ibarapa are saying no to government position over the land which is tantamount to our security and traditional rights.
Were you not consulted before the government went ahead to make the announcement on newspaper or gazette the acquisition?
The government did not consult anybody according to the owners of the land. They just paste papers in their farmlands and said the government is acquiring the land. Nobody was consulted.
The Kabiyesi, the political office holders were also not consulted?
It’s not the Kabiyesi that owns the land. Certain families and some people own the land. Kabiyesi has no power on their land. If a land belongs to my father or my family, the Kabiyesi doesn’t have a power over it. The governor can inform the Kabiyesi that he wants a particular place and the Kabiyesi will come to us as the owners.
Was there any evidence that the government never consulted the people,maybe through political office holders like chairmen of local government councils?
There was nothing like that. We don’t have chairmen of local governments, we have school prefects. It is the principal of a school that appoints a prefect. The prefect will not go against whatever the principal says. That is what we have in Oyo state. All the local government chairmen are prefects.
Now that the government has taken a step to ensure that the state does not live on federal allocation alone by trying to make the state economically viable by setting up farm settlement across the states. Are you representing the people of Ibarapa in going against the wish or the plan of the government to broaden the economy of the state?
I am representing the will of Ibarapa to go against the will of the government. I’m representing the Ibarapa Agenda Group. I’m representing Ibarapa Consultative Forum to go against it. Before now, there have been farm settlements, what did they do with it? I’ve mentioned to you the number of farm settlements we have in Oyo.
But the Government could be planning a PPP arrangement that will be benefical to all stakeholders?
We don’t want PPP in Ibarapa. Anybody that wants to invest in agriculture should come to the people. We don’t want the government to represent our interest. The Oyo state Government has not represented the interest of Ibarapa very well. Oyo state Government should come and tell the people of Ibarapa what they’ve done for us in the last seven years. The road from Ibadan to Eruwa is not motorable and they are not doing anything about it.
Are you rejecting the acquisition based on those grievances?
No. We are rejecting the acquisition because it is a booby trap. They want to give the land to the cattle rearers and we don’t want it.
How sure are you?
Oyo state is among the states that the Federal Government wants to establish cattle ranches.
Do you have anything to support that claim?
It was in the paper. I read it there. Anything read in the paper is gospel truth. Oyo state is among the state that the Federal Government is proposing for the cattle ranching. The whole of Yorubaland said they don’t want cattle ranching in Yorubaland and Ibarapa is part of Yoruba land and we are saying now that we don’t want cattle ranching in Ibarapa. If they want cattle ranching anywhere in Oyo state, they can take it there, but not in Ibarapa. They can take it to Lalupon, they can take it to Mamu, they can take it to Egbeda or Eleyele, but not Ibarapa.
The Government according to the public notice in the paper you stated earlier clearly states ‘farm settlement’, not ranching?
Anybody that wants to do farm settlement is a private organisation, and should be teated as a private investment. Why are they going to deprive poor farmers, peasants farmers what they inherit from their great grandfathers for whatever they want to call it. It’s not fair. We don’t want their development. They should carry their development to another place.
But are you aware that the Government has approved the construction of Ibadan-Eruwa road in 2018 budget?
Promises and promises, we don’t want promises again. They should go and do whatever they want to do, we don’t believe in what they are doing. This administration is going to eight years now, he’s now putting it in 2018 budget and we are in July, how many more months till the end of 2018? In three months time, we will be in election period and nobody will think about anything again.
Are you ready to negotiate with the state government on your terms if you’re invited?
We don’t want the farm settlement, we don’t want the cattle ranch, we don’t want it. He should take it to somewhere else. The people said they don’t want it, we don’t want it in Ibarapa. I’m not speaking for myself, I’m speaking for the people of the seven towns in Ibarapa; Lanlate, Eruwa, Igbo-ora, Idere, Ayete, Tapa-Igangan.
And you have a platform that you have all agreed on this?
Yes. We wanted to address a press conference last Thursday and where we wanted to do it was Tafo Arena in Ijokodo. I think the Government knew we wanted to have a press conference a day before. They put two lorry loads of policemen in that place. The following day, they went to seal off the place and locked it up because they knew we want to have a press conference. This is democracy. Majority have their way and minority have their stay. Why is it that they don’t want us to talk? Why is it that they don’t want the people of Ibarapa to address the press?
Your plan to address the press was under what platform?
Ibarapa consultative forum.
Don’t you think that your platform, the Ibarapa consultative forum on the intending farm settlement in Ibarapa, sounds like it has a political undertone that probably you don’t belong to the same party with current administration in the state?
I’m talking about Oyo state Government. The governor of the state, Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi is my friend, and a very close friend, so I don’t have anything against him. He’s my friend, but friendship is different from inheritance. I will not because someone is my friend jeopardise my inheritance. Oyo state Government is doing what I don’t like. Any day, anytime, Ajimobi is my friend and I stand by it, but I am against the decision of the Oyo state Government, by extension, the position of the governor who happens to be my friend of acquisition of lands in Ibarapa.
Being your friend, have you tried to get across to him on a friendly relationship?
On this issue, I cannot do that. If I go behind to say I’m talking to my friend, what will be the opinion of my people?
Has he talked to you as a friend about this issue?
He has not talked to me about this issue. We are friends and we talk, but not on this issue.
Is he aware of your position against the Government?
Well, I don’t know.
and then