Hausa community in Imo: Evicting us from our homes is injustice
The Hausa community in Owerri is up in arms against Governor Rochas Okorocha for daring to relocate them from the area they have been occupying for the past 150 years. To them, it means uprooting them from a place they have known throughout their lives.
In 2017, after demolishing the Ekeukwu market in Owerri as part of his urban renewal project, Okorocha had told the Hausa community of his intention to relocate them from their present abode.
Situated along the famous Douglas Road in the ancient Owerri town, Ama Hausa, literarily meaning ‘the abode of the Hausa,’ has been in existence for a very long time. Inhabitants of this shanty settlement claimed that the land was given to them by the Njemanze ruling house.
When Daily Trust on Sunday visited the settlement penultimate Thursday, the leader of the community, Baba Auwal Suleiman, was said to be away to Abuja, but his younger brother, who is also the youth leader, Iliyasu Suleiman, said that it was an act of injustice to have asked them to leave Ama Hausa.
“We cannot leave here for any where because this is where I have known all my life. I am now 42 years old and was only four years old when my father brought me here from Sokoto. It is only Ama Hausa that I can remember in living memory. I don’t know of any other place. It is like I was born here because I did not know when my father brought me here. I was only told that I was four years old when I was brought to Ama Hausa. Moreover, I have grown to like this place and appreciate Owerri people. My father told me that this land was bought by the Hausa community from the Njemanze family, not the present Eze, but his great grandfather. So you can see that this land is our place.’’
Iliyasu said that when Okorocha initially dangled the offer of relocation and asked them their preferred place, they chose a place along Port Harcourt road, but the negotiation was yet to be completed before he demolished their shops and houses.
“The governor came here and discussed with us and asked us where we would like to be relocated because, according to him, he wanted to renew the city of Owerri. We told him no problem, we would like a place along Port Harcourt road, but before we knew it, the governor came one day and gave us only 15 minutes to pack. We were dumbfounded because we never expected it. We lost a lot - property and money. Personally, I lost over N27 million. Now we are doing nothing because our sources of livelihood have been demolished. The governor came and gave us N2 million to compensate us. Imagine that amount to be distributed to Hausa people here: if you get N50 you are lucky.”
Asked why they did not want to relocate to Naze, where more than 300 lock-up shops have been built for them by the governor, Iliyasu said the place was small and with no space for future expansion.
“It is not easy to uproot you from a place you have known all your life. For instance, the place earmarked for residential accommodation is too small and is bordered by the Alaba market. We are boxed in between Naze cluster market and Alaba. If you knew Ama Hausa before it was demolished, you would know that that place at Naze would not accommodate the Hausa community in Owerri, not to talk of those that would like to come in later from other places,’’ he said.
Iliyasu’s story was corroborated by his secretary, 37-year-old Abubakar Sanda, who said he was born at Ama Hausa. He said, “In Kano, for instance, Sabon Gari, where non-natives live, is about three local government areas joined together. As I am talking to you now, I cannot stay more than two weeks in Kano because all my life, I’ve known Ama Hausa.’’
But the Special Assistant to Governor Okorocha on Northern Affairs, Faisal Lawal, disagrees. He said that Naze was the most ideal place for the Hausa community in Owerri. According to Lawal, “You see, this is a case of resistance to change. The governor has been magnanimous enough to provide about 300 lock-up shops and spaces for building residential accommodation. We also have a big mosque, which they don’t have in Ama Hausa. And again, Ama Hausa is in dispute between us and the people they claimed sold the land to them, but here the governor was ready to give us free with certificate of occupancy. Believe me, if they move in here, they will blame themselves for resisting to relocate all these while.”
On their preferred place at Port Harcourt road, Lawal said, “Let them accept the one they were given first, and after, you demand for another one. I am sure the governor will listen to them when they move first.
However, an Igbo trader along Douglas Road provided a plausible reason why members of the Hausa community have refused to relocate. Ikechukwu Mbachu, who deals in foreign exchange, said that majority of the Hausa businessmen in Ama Hausa are dealers in forex and Naze has no banks and adequate security.
He said, “It will be difficult for the Hausa community to relocate. More than 95 per cent of Hausa people at Douglas Road deal in forex. Douglas Road is surrounded by banks. Naze is far from town, and you don’t do this kind of business where there are no banks and adequate security. The greatest fear is insecurity. If you relocate the forex market to Naze, you are at a great risk of robbery because before you get to town from Naze, anything can happen. Wherever they deal in forex, it must be near banks and with tight security. There is no single bank in Naze and no police station. So how do you expect them to move there?’’
For now, it is a ding-dong affair between Governor Okorocha and the occupants of Ama Hausa. While the governor continues with his urban renewal programme, what he will do with Ama Hausa and its inhabitants has become his albatross.