By God’spower Ede, Lafia
Communities across Nasarawa State are going through difficult moments over recent upsurge in alleged land‑grabbing incidents, leading to violent attacks and killings of innocent citizens.
These unfortunate developments can be attributed to the indiscriminate sales of ancestral lands to strangers by community stakeholders for immediate financial gains and other fringe benefits.
Mostly affected in recent times by this development are some farming communities in the southern Senatorial District of the state, with reported killings of farmers and other local residents.
Among such communities are Sarkin Noma, Kadarko, Kwara, and Giza in Keana Local Government; Doka and Agbashi in Doma Local Government; Dudugulu in Obi Local Government; as well as several other communities in Lafia and Awe Local Government Areas, which have become the epicentres of daily attacks, kidnappings and killings of innocent citizens.
These incidents of land grabbing in Nasarawa State range from the allocation of ancestral farmlands to foreigners, who now claim ownership, thereby attacking and killing anyone found around such lands.
Another dimension to this ugly development is the acquisition of such lands by private investors for large‑scale farming activities, mining, and fishing, depriving the original inhabitants of land spaces for agricultural practices, among other ventures.
These unwholesome practices could serve as a harbinger of criminal activities because such places usually provide a refuge for criminal elements, from where they occasionally launch attacks on the people.
They have also served as kidnappers’ dens where victims of kidnapping incidents are taking for ransom negotiation or even execution.
Such places have also been used to harbor dangerous weapons with which they attack peaceful citizens.
Therefore, these trends, if left to continue, could lead to an unbearable catastrophe as the population continues to soar amid shrinking land availability for future generations.
For this reason, there is a need for the state government to intervene quickly in order to halt the ongoing killings from escalating into reprisals.
Equally, security agencies must remain vigilant and mobilize into the affected areas to restore normalcy and prevent further attacks.
Accordingly, landowners should look beyond immediate benefits and avoid indiscriminate sales of their ancestral lands, as there will be none left in the future.
Correspondingly, Community leaders and stakeholders who are in the habit of illegally selling ancestral lands should be cautioned against exposing their own communities to future dangers.
According to an African adage, “If you sell your father’s land, to buy trumpet, on whose land will you stand to blow the trumpet?”
Therefore, as a symbol of identity, security, and legacy, there is a compelling need for the indigenous people of Nasarawa State to safeguard their inheritance, as it may leave them without a place to call home or a sense of belonging.
God’spower Ede is a senior News Editor with the Nasarawa Broadcasting Service (NBS).