from Tony Icheku, Owerri
The women of Mgbara Community of Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State has taken to the streets in protest against what they described as lack of open, transparent and inclusive consultation with the community in the appropriation of land for the siting of African Development Bank (AfDB) office complex within their community. They alleged that a clique of individuals have hijacked the negotiation of acquisition of community land for the project
The women, in their hundreds stormed the streets of Mmahu-Egbema, the LG headquarters with placards, chanting songs that the project caanot proceed until the community is properly consulted and carried along
The immediate past Youth President of the community, Mr Modrich Ajunwa who addressed newsmen on behalf of the Women said the women have the backing of the entire community as the future, ancestral heritage and common interests of an entire community cannot legitimately be decided behind closed doors by two individuals or a small group of persons.
According to him: “We, the people of Mgbara Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria, are protesting today to formally communicate our strong objection to, and rejection of, any proposed project or development initiative associated with the AfDB within our community, where the project has not received the genuine and collective acceptance of the people.
“We respectfully urge AfDB to exercise caution and suspend any engagement or implementation of the proposed project in Mgbara Egbema, until concerns of the wider community have been properly addressed through an open, transparent and inclusive consultation process.
“We further appeal to the bank not to rely solely on representations made by individual political leaders, traditional authorities, community representatives or any other persons claiming to speak on behalf of Mgbara Egbema without verifiable evidence of broad community consent.
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“The proposed project has already become a source of serious disagreement, tension and division within the community. Rather than promoting development and unity, the circumstances surrounding the project are contributing to breach of peace and growing distrust among members of the community.
“We, therefore, believe that proceeding with the project under the present circumstances could further aggravate the situation and create consequences that would be contrary to the principles of sustainable development, community participation, peacebuilding and responsible development”
He added that the women are not against development, and welcomed genuine development that respected the people, their land, their rights, their culture and their collective interests.
.”To build a project, land is needed. Almost of us here are farmers. When they take the land, they take our means of livelihood, and so must deal with members of the community directly.
“No development project should be imposed on a community or advanced through individuals whose positions do not reflect the freely expressed will of majority of the people,” he maintained
He said that for the project to be accepted, the bank must take their protest seriously as a formal notice of the community’s objection to the proposed project.
“AfDB must refrain from treating the endorsement of any individual or small group as the consent of the entire Mgbara Egbema community.
“The bank must conduct proper, transparent and inclusive consultations with the wider community before considering any further action, due to the growing tension and division that the proposed project is causing within the community.”
He further said the AfDB must ensure that no project proceeded without meaningful consultation and demonstrable community acceptance.
“The African Development Bank should listen directly to the people of Mgbara Egbema rather than relying exclusively on representations made behind closed doors. The future of Mgbara Egbema belongs to its people. It cannot be negotiated, surrendered or decided by two men on behalf of an entire community.
“We remain committed to peace and lawful dialogue but we will continue to stand firmly for the protection of our community, our ancestral heritage and the collective interests of our people.
“We do not want to see our sons and husbands engage in fist fights that may even result in avoidable tragedy,” he added.