The Undemocratic Airport In Abia State

By Ezenwa Uche

Democracy is defined broadly as government by and for the people. As a result, democracy does not support or condone shaving people’s hair while they are away. The Abia State International Airport has created a great deal of confusion and problems in Nsulu land.

It is documented that some people posing as agents of the Abia State government go from house to house convincing residents to accept the airport and hand over their land plots to them.

To facilitate this deception, some people are going around the villages offering the residents N5,000, which they claim the government of Abia State has given them to distribute to the people in the villages. Is that money a palliative or compensation for land taken, or does it replace the MOU that the government has yet to sign with the Nsulu people?

We have information that Nsulu indigenes are being lured to stand in front of a plot of land and take photographs that will allegedly be submitted to the government. When the government takes over the airport plots of land, they are promised compensation. Many people struggle to understand the logic behind this promise.

An expert on land matters who is also an experienced lawyer believes that this approach is completely wrong. He believes that for enumeration to be effective, the government must bring their surveyor and lawyers, while the villages must bring their own surveyors and lawyers. What is happening now has resulted in the following:-

Panic among the villagers.

Jobbers work hard to seize other people’s lands.

Those who have sold their land are returning to claim the plots of land that are now owned by others, causing a great deal of conflict between the sellers and buyers.

The constant presence of Army and Police Hilux trucks in the villages causes widespread panic and tension.

In recent days, the issues have been tracing and serialisation, which the villagers do not understand because there has been no genuine engagement from the villagers.

The lack of an impact assessment suggests that the government either does not care about indigenes’ welfare or is not prepared for the project to benefit them.

In a democracy, any development project should include indigenous peoples; the benefits of such projects should be for them, and they are expected to participate in the project. So far, all three ingredients are lacking. The government representatives appear to be only interested in acquiring the people’s land. The Governor must hear this.

Finally, I have just received information that enumeration has been completed, but some key components of the project are still missing:

A high court ruling states that the status quo should be maintained until the main suit is resolved. Lawyers have explained to me that this means that work on the project should stop until the court issues an order for it to resume. It is, therefore, undemocratic for the government to proceed with the project despite the court order.

Landowners do not yet know how many of their plots of land the government will take. The government has begun clearing the bush for the runway, but no landowner knows how many plots of land will be taken.

This is the land that the landowner relies on for farming, house construction, and future development. This is also undemocratic because the government does not consider the interests of landowners.

It is unclear whether the government is prepared to account for each plot of land taken from landowners. The landowners must be provided with a baseline map as well as details on how each plot will be used in the project. This is the only way the landowners can be certain that they are being carried along. If this is not done, the process becomes undemocratic.

The government has not declared how much compensation will be paid per plot of land. How can a landowner who is about to lose his or her property know how much to plan for? This is also undemocratic.

It is also undemocratic to want to build an international airport where people already live without first conducting an Impact Analysis. Without a doubt, aircraft takeoff and landing make a lot of noise. The danger of noise pollution is real, and it can be disastrous if not addressed. The gas emitted by the aircraft’s exhaust system can also pollute the environment and pose health risks.

A project for the people must be governed by a well-written memorandum of understanding signed by all parties before it begins. Again, what is happening is undemocratic.

Government agents and representatives have taken over people who were asked to explain their actions to landowners, resulting in them speaking for the government. They have not received answers to the questions they were asking, so they are now avoiding those questions while explaining to the people what will not help them. This is also undemocratic.