“YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD AND YOU ” a program sponsored by sustainable design consult that is designed to educate you on all that you need to know regarding land matters and help to proffer solutions to any problems on land matters that you might have in your neighbourhood.
On this episode of “Your Neighbourhood and You”, the program hosted the chairman of NITP, Ondo State chapter, TPL Mrs Maryam Anne Ologun to discuss on the happenings in Aiyetoro Community. When asked on what’s going on in AIYETORO Community, TPL Mrs Maryam Anne Ologun said that the community is being slowly submerged by the Atlantic ocean and that it is due to sea incursion and this is leading to loss of lands, properties and displacement of residents, as they have lost over 1.8km of their land to this. She explained that Sea incursion is the gradual inversion of sea water into coastal areas leading to erosion and loss of lands, i.e. a gradual forced entry.
TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele pointed out that the Aiyetoro community are in a dire situation, one that requires all hands to be on deck so as to find a quick solution to the situation. He asked the guest, as she’s a retired director in the ministry of physical planning and urban development and that she must have persons on site, if there’s development control in the area and if it’s effective, to which she answered that the ministry of physical planning and urban development has area offices and they have officers that are there in those offices, as to if they are effective she said that they are effective but the ones in Aiyetoro are not, because of logistics reasons.
TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele Joseph pointed out that the reason for his question is because he understands that there should be a standard setback to the bank of the ocean and that he is not sure if that is being followed. He said that the belief that the town is being founded by apostles. Aiyetoro Community is a theocratic religious settlement founded in 1947 by the apostles. Initially the community was 15-20km landmass away from the sea, but since the year 2000, they have been experiencing turbulent and raging sea surge that has been destroying house and properties, as it stands now more than 500 houses and properties worth billions of naira have been lost. In 2004, NDDC awarded shoreline protection project to garlet Nigeria limited at the rate of 3 billion naira. However, this money was siphoned by those in power. Also in 2009, NDDC re-awarded it to Dredging Atlantic at the rate of 6.5 billion naira and till now the project has not been executed. Two-thirds of the community land mass has been washed away, the primary and secondary schools have been relocated several times.
TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele mentioned that the community members built their houses on a plank foundation and that it is expected that when a sea surge comes, it’ll be wiped away, as it is not a strong foundation, the host added that if the ministry of physical planning and urban development had been doing their jobs which included going to this community and vetting their buildings and once it is considered below standards, they break it down and ask the owners to rebuild with a proper foundation.
The guest, TPL Mrs Maryam Anne Ologun answered that Logistics is the number one issue they have, as it puts a hamper on their plans, i.e. before they get on land to request for a building permit. She said that she recollects the ministry of physical planning and urban development asking the town several times for a Master plan to control the development in the town, and they didn’t provide one.
When asked if NITP has made efforts to go to the town and what they have done to help the people of Aiyetoro Community, the guest answered that they have done a lot by engaging the government and so far they have gotten encouraging responses, as they met with the Commissioner of environment and they had meetings and discussed the plans for the town and that the government have done their best. However, TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele Joseph asked if it can really be affirmed that the government has done their best, and that the government should have planned ahead which would have prepared the members of a community for a situation like this.
When asked the solution to this Aiyetoro situation, the special guest said they are still clamouring for a Master plan to be able to control development in the area, and they also need a consistent monitoring of that town. She added in 2019, there was a report that was approved by the world bank and the report was initiated by the government, the governor of Ondo State wrote to the President Buhari and they have not gotten a result ban yet, she wishes they would review the world bank report again. Also, the ministry of finance or ministry of environment should include the funding for Aiyetoro in the federal government borrowing plan.
A caller on the program pointed out some issues that was his bone of contention. He stated that contractors are really not to be blamed as the project itself wasn’t one they could do, he mentioned that already, before the project was issued the NDDC knew there was no way they could fulfil the project. He said the NDDC were to blame and not the contractors. TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele added that the problem requires a permanent solution. He said the country should learn from advanced countries that have been in similar situations and their solutions to said situations. He said in Nigeria when funds is being dispensed for a project the people usually think of how to fill their pockets before thinking of the project.
The shoreline protection in Nigeria, OSOPADEC has asked the federal government to probe awarded projects that has been awarded earlier this year to some organisations and sea incursion resident crisis is yet to prompt intervention from the government as ocean surge destroys Ilaje community. A combined team of information, protocol environment and national resources unit of Ondo State Oil producing areas development commission (OSOPADEC), they led TVC crew through the mandate areas on 18th of April, 2023 for an assessment of damages caused by sea incursion in some communities in the Niger-Delta region of Ondo State. This was consequent upon the meeting of the chairman of the commission, Elder Sam Erejua, and his team with the permanent secretary Ecological project office, office of the secretary to the government of the federation, Mallam Shehu Ibrahim in Abuja. The commission has presented to the president in request for urgent intervention to prevent Aiyetoro and other communities on the coastline of Ondo state from going into extinction.
On who is to blame for the situation in Aiyetoro between the government, NDDC, townplanners or the residents of the community, the guest speaker TPL Mrs Maryam Anne Ologun answered that some of these certified personnel get these contracts allocated to them based on who they know. She added that the people who award the contracts are to blame, that they should not give hoax designs to contractors. When asked to name a personnel, if it’s townplanners or surveyors, she said she wouldn’t know who to blame, but if it was a master plan it would be awarded to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, where everyone there is a professional, who will monitor everything and make sure it’s executed perfectly.
TPL Ogunseyi Ayodele Joseph added that the residents of the community are to be blamed as he is not sure if they observe the standard setback from the land to the bank of the ocean. Also, the government are to be blamed as well, as they awarded the contract to people that are not competent enough to carry out the project.
The guest speaker, TPL Mrs Maryam Anne Ologun in her closing remarks urged the people of AIYETORO community to stay calm and that there is hope for them.