A tale of ‘the good old days’ and the return of land grabbers in Edo
In the mid-2000s, in one of the communities at the hinterlands of Benin City, around the Ekenwan Road axis was a man in his early 70s, who lived alone, having been separated from his wife and children.
He was a peace-loving man who was somewhat of an introvert and lived harmoniously with other members of the community for years. He was loved by all for his kind nature and love for others. But his only sin as it later turned out was that he worked very hard and bought a sizeable piece of land within which he had built a portable bungalow.
A popular land grabber within his community had set his eyes on this piece of land and made several entreaties to the old man to sell same. But the man refused, insisting that it was the only legacy he had for his children, who had largely grown up with their mum in a faraway city without him.
Unfortunately and unknown to the Epa, the land grabber wasn’t going to take no for an answer. On one quiet hot afternoon, the land grabber went stealthily to the old man’s house with some of his goons, brutally murdered him, and celebrated their evil act by joyriding around the community. After the celebration, they buried the old man in a shallow grave in the nearby woods, and the land was subsequently cut into different sizes and sold to various willing buyers.
Words later got to the man’s children but justice was never served. It wasn’t until years later when some suspected cultists were caught and interrogated during a cult war by the police that one of the land grabber’s accomplices confessed to the police and led them to where the old man was buried.
Stories like this abound and are rife. Most of us were witnesses or at least heard of such heinous acts that became commonplace in Edo State between 1999 and about 2017 before Governor Obaseki became the state’s helmsman.
This dear #Edolites, was the Edo State Governor Obaseki inherited. There can be no gainsaying that we have come a long way since then. The crime rate in Edo has dropped significantly and the activities of land grabbers have been largely checked. The real estate sector has seen a boom that is now attracting investors from all parts of the globe and Edos in the Diaspora are once again buoyed to return home to invest in the sector.
But this is not the end of the story. As we speak, the evil ones who have been very displeased with Governor Obaseki for his positive reforms and who find themselves tottering at the brinks of bankruptcy, as they possess no other skill sets than a dexterity for malfeasance, are presently warming up to return to the corridors of power. With Tinubu’s unjust emergence as the winner of the just-concluded presidential elections and of their local godfather, Oshiomhole winning his Senatorial bid election, they find themselves waiting with bated breaths for a possible return to the streets of Benin City and this time, with renewed vengeance.
All that can stop them now is ‘WE, THE PEOPLE.’ We must stop them with our votes come Saturday, March 11, 2023, by voting for the PDP. A vote for any other party would tactically be a vote for the APC. APC must not be allowed to gain a foothold in the Edo State House of Assembly. As thieves, they come with no good intentions but to steal, kill, and destroy.
A word they say is enough for the wise. We have been sufficiently warned.