The women and youths of Bendeghe Ekiem community in Etung local government area in Cross River state have given the Commissioner for Agriculture, Johnson Ebokpo, a 14-day ultimatum to reverse the planned privatisation of government-controlled cocoa estates or be ready to see the women go naked to dance around the cocoa plantation.
This decision was reached on Saturday during a protest organised by the community youths and women to express their displeasure over the issue.
Community women leader, Ntunkai Obi, and the women’s chief, Helen Ogar, urged the commissioner to reach out to the leaders of their community to dialogue on the issue to enable them to know the next line of action on the issue.
Ogar said, “Starting from today, we have given a two-week ultimatum to the Commissioner for Agriculture to get back to us after this protest for us to dialogue; otherwise, we will continue with the protest after two weeks.
“If the commissioner fails to get back to us, we will do as our culture demands.
“In our culture, nobody comes to us, we will go to the estate naked, and walk round the estate before leaving it for the government to occupy,” he remarked.
Also speaking, Town Council chairman, Etta Atu-Ojua, in company of the community youth leader, Tandu Kingsley, expressed their displeasure over the planned privatisation of the estate, urging the Agric Commissioner Johnson Ebokpo, to make a u-turn on the decision to privatise the estate, so that he won’t plunge the entire community into criminality.
Atu-Ojua said, “The land is ours, Cocoa is theirs. We are ready to allow the commissioner to pull off their cocoa trees and take them away so that we can have access to our land to re-plant our own stems.
“Cocoa is our oil. Cocoa is our goal. Nobody can take it away from us.
“We have instances where our youths took to crime, committing all manner of crimes, until God decided to touch their hearts as a result of the functional estate.
“We knew what our community went through in the hands of youths. Unless the commissioner wants to tell us that he is seeking an avenue to send our youths to prison.
“Like the saying goes, an idle man’s heart is a workshop for the devil.
“The plantation is like an industry that engages our young men. Can’t you see how energetic they are?”
The community youths vowed to continue with the protest should the commissioner fail to give a listening ear to their cry.
They warned that the decision would plunge the community into criminality and urged the commissioner to reconsider that decision.
The community demands that the government rescind the decision to privatise the cocoa estate, engage in dialogue with the community stakeholders, and allow the community to take back their land if the government is no longer interested in managing the estate.
The community youths vowed to continue the protest if their demands were not met, emphasising that the land belonged to them.
Credit: www.punchng.com
