Obasanjo moves to end 15-year-old communal crisis between two Ogun communities
A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has intervened in a 15-year-old crisis involving two communities in Ado-Odo/Ota local government, Ogun State.
The two communities, Itele and Ayetorobudo, have been locked up in crisis, which snowballed into loss of lives in 2004.
A statement made available to our correspondent yesterday by Obasanjo’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, said that the former President’s peace move yielded a positive result last Friday when he brought the leaders of the warring communities together at a roundtable.
According to the statement, Obasanjo told leaders of the communities to put the crisis behind them in the interest of peace and development.
At the peace meeting which took place at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, the former President was quoted to have re-echoed memories of the Nigeria Civil War, saying all parties buried the hatchet after the war.
“Despite the war, those of us pointing guns at each other at the war front sat down to reconcile. That is the beauty of disagreement; coming together again to settle and move on in the interest of peace, progress and future generations. It is time to come together in your areas. I want to appeal to you all to sheathe your swords.
“Only a bastard does not get angry when provoked. And it is only a bastard that will be begged and will remain recalcitrant,” Obasanjo was quoted as saying.
The traditional ruler of Ayetoro, the Onibudo of Ayetoro-budo, Oba Adewunmi Adeniji Odutala, in his address, assured all parties that peace and progress would return to the town.
Speaking on behalf of the Itele community, Alhaji Kazeem Ajiboye (alias Oluomo), also assured that the “war is over.”
The statement added that an ad-hoc team, comprising five representatives each from both camps, was instituted to work on how compensation for and rehabilitation of aggrieved persons would be achieved before the end of August 2019.
The ad-hoc team, which will include security personnel, is to submit its report on Thursday August 22, 2019 for final vetting and ratification by the two communities.