The youths of Ekit Itam II, Itu Local Government Area, on Saturday, held a peaceful demonstration over an alleged seizure of their ancestral lands by the State Government for an uninformed reason.
The dissatisfied youths of the area were led by the Youths President, Otuekong Nseobong Ekong, on a peaceful demonstration to the said land located opposite the AKTC terminus, Ekit Itam II.
Ekong while acknowledging the positive impact of the government’s presence in the area, pleaded with the government to swiftly intervene in the encroachment of the said land, which he described as the only land for the community.
He noted that the seizure was unacceptable, expressing concerns about the undisclosed and dialogued reasons for the encroachment by the government.
Addressing newsmen, the immediate past Youth President of the community, Ubon Ebong, said the host community does not understand what happened because they were supposed to have been consulted and dialogued with before anything took place.
“Two Mondays ago, we woke up to have our land seized by the government and they started building on it.
“It would have been proper for whoever did this to have informed the community. But till now, no one has given us any explanation on the goings-on on our land. And we have held down whatever activity going on here”, he said.
“Ekit Itam II is a very small community and our landscape has been acquired by the government, left only with this,” he decried.
He stated that the Water Board, West Itam Secondary School, Timber market, Ibom Specialist Hospital, Dangote depot, UAC, and some parts of AKTC, as land lots willfully donated to the government by the community.
He stressed that the only parcel of land left for succeeding generations is the said land.
On whether the people were compensated for the acquired property, Ebong said they have written a series of letters to the appropriate government quarters, but to no avail.
He called on the government to duly compensate concerned persons whose landed properties have been taken over by the government.
While expressing sadness on the shortage of farmlands for agro activities, which is the area’s mainstay, the Deputy Youth President, Comrade Emmanuel Robert, expressed fear that generations yet unborn might not have where to build their homes or have a space to call their own.
Robert wondered if the customer encroachment was done by the State’s Ministry of Lands and Town Planning and thus called on the concerned quarter to stay off their land.
The Deputy Youth President, who spoke vibrantly at press time, said was the only land set aside by the community to build a civic center.
The youths, who trooped out in their numbers as early as 7.30 a.m along the AKTC terminus road, vowed their resolve to halt subsequent activities on the land, adding that they will continue to guide the place to ward off further encroachment attempts.
The protest, which was peaceful till the end, was joined by the Youth President, his vice, Youth President emeritus, Chief Security of the area, and members of the village council and community leaders.

By: Christopher Tom, Uyo