Alleged Underdevelopment, Lack Of Govt. Presence: Nekede Community Wants Imo Govt. To Implement Zoo Land MUO, Others
Dan Opara
The people of Nekede Autonomous Community in Owerri West LGA of Imo State have collected through one of their prominent sons, High Chief Nkemakolam Christopher, aka Kemas, on last Wednesday 31st July, 2019, decried against the height of underdevelopment, abandonment, negligence by the government both in the State and at the Federal levels.
Chief Kemas, who is a native of Umuejechi Village and the second in command of the community in the absence of their Traditional Ruler who travelled to oversee for medical treatment, while speaking expressively called on the State Government and Zoo management to implement the early signed and agreed Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with the host community where the Imo Zoo is situated in Nekede-Owerri for the sake peace, development, and progress of the State and Nekede.
Nkemakolam, made this clarion call during an interactive section with some group of journalists in the state after some newspaper publications were made with the headlines “Nekede Community set to take over zoo”.
Speaking further, the seasoned politician, and a respected Community builder, who is also a Retired Air-Force Officer, a farmer and a politician, Chief Kemas, lamented bitterly against the way and manner in which so many past administrations in the state treated his community with disdain by forcefully collecting some part of their land housing the zoo allegedly allocating it to the immediate past Imo Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Hon. Engr. Kingsley Uju, who was also the Supervisory Commissioner for Lands in Imo State, under Chief Rochas Okorocha’s past administration.
According to Chief Kemas,” the zoo land has to be with the government for over ten years without considering the people of the land. There is no road to Nekede zoo, no benefits of given government land received from my community, we are no longer happy, all we want is negotiation and established MOU with the government”, he asserted.
“We as the principal landowners of the Zoo have gotten several Court Order on the said land, which directed the past government to pay some stipulated amount of money to the community but till now, the government has not to live up to the expectations”, he submitted.
He, therefore, seized the opportunity and appealed to the Governor of Imo State, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, to come to their rescue and disregard any information saying that Nekede wants to take over Imo Zoo.
“Yes, of course, we cannot fight or combat with the govt.in any way. But let the govt.do the right things. It is our land and we should benefit from the dividends of the land as principal landowners”, Chief Kemas, noted.
He disclosed that the Zoo land was acquired by govt. over 60-70 years, but regrettably; there is no single govt. presence in the area, even as he revealed that 90% of govt. lands and its activities, income generation and revenue in Imo State belong to Nekede land.
“My advice is that: let all our lands acquired by the govt.be used for the same purpose for which it was released. Let the govt. come into Nekede and Rebuild us. We need dualization of our road. Stop the unlawful and unwarranted dredging of sands, mostly at the Sungai area of Nekede”, he stated.
