Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu
Director Army Public Relations
Dear Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu,
The attention of Orolu People in Diaspora has been drawn to your response of 29/08/2023 on behalf of the Nigerian Army to the protest lodged by the Olufon Regent and the Eesa of Ifon-Orolu Kingdom, Chief Babatunde Oyetunji, in conjunction with the Orolu community through its apex body, the Ifon-Osun Progressive Union. That protest was against the perceived hidden agenda of the Nigerian Army when it traversed the land traditionally owned by the Orolu people, without first consulting with the owners, and without communicating with its representatives, even after that visit. As the Chairperson of Orolu People in Diaspora, and after consultation with our people, I write on behalf of our community in Orolu land to clarify some of the issues raised in your response. In doing so, I would like to draw your attention to a number of salient points. It is important, however, to show my appreciation on behalf of our people for your response. We appreciate the time you have taken to consider this matter and respond to it. Below is our rejoinder.
°I must express my disgust with your reference to the Olufon Regent and Eesa of Ifon-Osun as “one Chief Babatunde Oyetunji”. As a Linguist, I need to point your attention to the demeaning imputation carried by your use of the word “one” in the context of your response. You cannot, under any circumstance, refer to a revered High Chief of a traditional community as “one”, as if to say such a person is of no recognizable significance. Knowing the high quality of our officers, including yourself, and the value they place on our tradition, I have no doubt that you would be humble enough, therefore, to tender an unreserved apology to High Chief Oyetunji and the people of Orolu land for this unmistakable, but also probably unintended, insult.
°As the saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire. Your response only served to justify the suspicion that our people had when they saw military vehicles and uniformed service men on their land without first being consulted. Clearly, you did not deny that some military officers traversed the said community land. Indeed, you confirmed that one retired military officer had proposed the citing of a military hospital in the area. So, what would you have expected, if you found strangers accompanied by your neighbours in your backyard, and knowing that these neighbours are historically always in the act of fomenting land-related problems? For you to refer to the protest by our people, led by the Olufon Regent, High Chief Oyetunji, as “malicious allegations” is therefore very unfortunate and not carefully thought out. There was nothing malicious about their protest, and it is in line with the expected response from a peace-loving community who are not prepared to be walked over by anyone.
°As you rightly indicated, we too are aware that this proposal to site a development project in the area has not even gone before the COAS. However, we have to be proactive in a matter such as this, where we could be robbed of our rights, if we were to wait and watch. We are not naive, and we have a history of inter-communal disagreements with our neighbours who think that our ancestral land can be usurped.
°You wrote in your response and quipped as follows, “Apparently, the Army would not have in any way known which land belongs to who…”. With due respect, I think you are being very disingenuous. The Nigerian Army does not operate in a vacuum, and as a reputable organization, the Army is aware of the culture of the people of Nigeria in relation to land ownership. The Army did not just wake up and start going through Orolu land without being led there. That is the fact you need to please take onboard. Nobody is buying into the argument that the Army just came from nowhere and started going through people’s land.
°Your response pointed to some maliciouse efforts by vested interests to tarnish the good reputation of the Chief of Army Staff. This is another unfortunate claim that must be refuted as a figment of imagination. Apart from recognizing the Chief of Army Staff as one of us, Orolu people are very delighted with his appointment, and we are amongst the very first to congratulate him upon being appointed to that esteemed position. Some of his very good friends come from our community, and we do not have any ill-feelings towards him. To then suggest and try to look for “some vested interests” with ulterior motives in our community against the COAS, is akin to turning kins against each other in the name of official response to a genuine concern of our community. We reject that approach in its entirety. We have nothing against General Lagbaja and we would not like to be put in the corner of iconoclasts who want nothing good in their own household.
°For the avoidance of doubt, Orolu people are peace-loving, and they want to put that on record one more time. What we will not accept is any attempt to walk-over us, usurp our land, and pretend that we do not matter. We welcome development projects and wholeheartedly embrace any activity aimed at enhancing the lives of our people and our Neighbour’s. But we are also resolute in our expectation and demand that we should be consulted, and agreements must be reached with the rightful landowners prior to any project being sited on our land. The community protest led by High Chief Babatunde Oyetunji is therefore a valid expression of that desire in the face of perceived and obvious disregard for protocol in this matter.
°In closing, let me thank you again, and please be reassured that your anticipated response to this rejoinder will be discussed with the highest level of authority within the Orolu community. I am also hoping that this will clear the air and disabuse any misgivings anyone might have about the protest from our community leaders.
With my Best Regards,
Professor James Oladejo
Chairperson, Orolu People in Diaspora
Perth, Australia
My private email is james@agapeproperties.com.au
I can be reached on +61 413 687 796
