PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
The people of Ekuri Community in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State have protested over what they called illegal logging by official of the state government.
Chief Edwin Ogar, the village head of Obiofom and New Ekuri told National Accord in a telephone interview that the demonstration was as result of the illegal exploitation of the Ekuri road, as well as the destruction of the roads, that has impeded movement of goods and services to Ekuri.
The village head explained that since they are community dwellers who are practicing farming, “we cannot bring our products, because the loggers have gone ahead and destroyed the roads that we built by our own selves and then ‘better-off’, by Governor Liyel Imok. They have defaced the roads, so the road is not easily passable, and that is why we’ve laid series of complaints to the government, to stop this illegality, unfortunately, government is not listening to our cries”.
“And so, the best option for us, is to demonstrate so that government will know the effects of the destruction of forests, as well as the deplorable road that leads to Ekuri. And not just the government, it is also so that the public and the International community will be aware because we are marginalized people. We are voiceless, we don’t have anybody that can speak for us. And more so, we are a minority group that cannot stand and speak by ourselves, and in terms of literacy, the educational level of the Ekuri people along this road; that is talking of Edondon, Okokori, Old and New Ekuri, we are very backward in terms of education, and politically, we are not there. Socially, the only option that was available to us, was to carry out a demonstration like this, so that the public will know what we are suffering”
On the alledged working in concert with some of the natives, Chief Edwin said: “Yes, a few natives, who are selling the birth right of their community. We do have constituent authorities in this community, it’s not as if the chiefs asked them. Only a few, woke up and began to bring loggers to Ekuri forest, without the consent of the chiefs of this community, because the chiefs have the customary rights, they are the chief custodians of our land, and in the normal way, they are supposed to approve any ongoing activity going on in Ekuri. But unfortunately, this is not done and that is why we have tried severally, to stop this encroachment into our land, and it’s like the few natives involved, are not accepting what is the general opinion of the community. Take for instance in Ekuri community (new and old Ekuri community) we are at the forefront of conservation in Nigeria and unfortunately, these few, because they are backed by government, decided to log. And we have laid series of complaints even to Governor Ben Ayade, as well as the forestry commission, and no help has come from that direction and so we felt that the best way is to demonstrate like this, so that they will understand that we are taking this issue seriously”.
From these demonstrations, have you been able to punish or call to book, any of these natives, to let them know that what they are doing is not proper? If yes, what has been the result?
We have tried on our own because we have our own local mechanism of settling disputes like this. We’ve had series of meetings, the one between old and new Ekuri, the one between the four villages here, the one between the five villages that we speak the same language with, one is Ekuri…… We’ve had these meetings severally, and that option has failed completely. And then, we also went to the police and the police decided to punish us.
Why so?
They took bribes, and didn’t even try to listen to us. They said we should go settle our community matters, and we went to court, and one of them said ‘’since you have included my name, this case will not work’’ and they kept on delaying until the court processes elapsed; particularly, when during the COVID-19 pandemic era.
How old is this forest? And can you tell us the extent of destruction so far?
Well, this forest is as old as when the destruction of the world by the flood happened, during the bible days. The forest has been here for years. I met that forest here and my great grandparents told me that they met the forest here. The size of the forest, particularly in Ekuri, as we have taken the ground survey is 33,600 hectare of forest land, but by virtue of this logging, from our estimation, we found that 10,000 hectare has gone down the drain. So, what is left now is about 23,000 hectare. And then, there is pressure, the same group logging here, went and brought another company, to come and log the other axis of New Ekuri. New Ekuri is the last bus stop along this road. And then there is also a forest part to Iymittet in Obubra, the Ekuri, are in Akamkpa, but there is a forest part to Iyamittet, so they went and arranged with the forestry commission, and approved an illegal logging concession of Ekuri forest, and we protested. It appeared in an online news publication and we decided to write a protest letter, and submitted it physically to the forestry commission. They said they will study it, and when they do, they are not going to do that in isolation of the community, and after the study, went ahead and approved the other people’s illegal concession
Are these people ever armed? Reports have been heard about forestry bandits. Do they arm themselves and threaten the lives of members of the community?
“Well, that is an excuse by forestry commission; that they are forestry bandits. Because if really forestry commission did not approve that they should come then there would have been no loggers, because we see them hanging together with the loggers and they are not armed”
“You know, we are in the era of climate change that is bringing devastation to the entire world, the Ekuri Forest, helped to stabilize the climate, unfortunately, this logging has aggravated climate change and that is why last year, and this year, my Ekuri people suffered a lot, we could not farm on our lands because of the weather change. When it’s supposed to be season for rain, it wouldn’t come on time, and when the crops were planted, the yield was not fruitful, because the crops were planted around this period and the crops never matured enough to be harvested. That is one of the things that affects us. And not just that, the forest products that we have in the community, are not yielding the right dividend for us. They are been eroded, in terms of productivity and because of that, we suffer due to financial difficulty. For instance, bush mango is no longer yielding, and these are the kind of things we depend on. We are a forest dwelling community, we depend mostly on farm products and forest products. Last year, for instance, bush mango did not yield and that also affected our income and livelihood. And it is making the people very poor”
” We are specifically directing this protest to the governor of Cross River state. He is in charge of forestry in Cross River State; the forestry falls under sub-national jurisdiction. The only thing is that the national body comes up with policies that the state will adapt to. But, the management of forests, are in the hands of the state government and the state government has not been living up to expectation”
” And we are the pride to Nigeria, in terms of conservation in Cross River and Nigeria at large. We have been named as the —–community forestry in Nigeria, the largest, most well managed forestry in the whole of West Africa, and therefore, and for the government to have turned it’s back against the Ekuri, is a real abomination, a taboo. Because, this forest has helped both Cross River state government and the national government be at the forehand in terms of environmental multi-lateral agreements entered by the government of Nigeria. And then, all of a sudden they are no longer taking care of the forest. And on our own, we have tried our best to keep the forest, because we know that it is for the good of the present and future generation. We are in poverty, there is no road. And for us, the marginalized and few persons in the community, decided to keep this forest, because it is our inheritance. We inherited it from our forefathers and therefore, it is crucial for us to keep that forest alive, so that the future generation will benefit from it, “
” I am Imoh Nicodemus Dennis, the youth leader of this community. As it is, that road blocked there, is for security purposes. January this very year, on the 4th precisely, we had a communal conflict with the nearby community, that is why we tried to see how we can protect our community. And again, it was meant to see how we can stop most of these situations of the bringing out the woods. We want to see how that activity can stop, because we are actually annoyed. We frown against what is happening, because if that activity is not stopped, it could be a way of destroying our environment and community. That is one of the reasons why that checkpoint is built there. To see how we can stop most of these activities that people are engaging in, in our Forest”
Chief. When you say stop, have you made some arrests? Have you been able to confiscate some locked wood?. Please expatiate on that.
No, we have not made an arrest. But we have been talking to most of these persons, to stop this illegal exportation of wood. Like for instance, today we can see, for two weeks now, through the efforts of the youths, we say because of the roads, those activities should be stopped. And that is why for now, you have not been seeing vehicles coming out, because we seriously frown at what is happening. So we are still standing on that; that they should stop whatever they are doing, because our roads are getting bad because of this exploitation
You said for two weeks, those activities have stopped, but report says that even as at yesterday night, they were still taking out wood from this area. Can you clarify this?
No, for two weeks now they have not. From the road there, we have banned them from doing any activity. So, if they came at night yesterday, then I’m not aware. I will find out whether that actually took place, so that we can caution that.
What toll do they pay, to the security before they allow them, because that checkpoint has been there for weeks, if not months. So, how much do they pay to the community or to the youths for them to be able to pass the checkpoint?
Those who are working there, for instance, from my finding, they pay them a small token before they can pass. I told them that I want to stop that, so that if actually they want to come out with the woods, a reasonable amount should be charged from them, so that that can also help to stop the activities.
The woods are all by the roadside, is there anything you have done to impound those goods?
I have tried my best as a youth leader, and said that for now, if they cannot work the roads, they should not carry the woods, and that is why the woods are there. If they cannot meet up with the demands, then automatically, we will stop them from carrying the woods.
What demands are you making?
We are saying they should repair the road before they can carry the woods
What mechanism have u adopted in stoping them? If they come with their trucks to start loading, or use your own youths to load, how will you stop them?
I will mobilize my community youths to stop them.
But your community youths are the ones assisting them…?
No, the people who are operating here are not my community youths. They are all foreigners, like we have Ibo who are coming out. They are equipped, our youths cannot use equipment, those woods are heavy
But how can you not stop a foreigner who comes into your community?
We have been trying our best, it’s just that, since we are in front, most of the woods, come out from the inner villages. So, we here, are trying to see how we can use our power to stop them. And whenever we make efforts, they tell us they are not sawing the woods from our houses, but rather the inner community
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