ALUMNI Association of the Federal College of Agriculture Akure (FECA) has decried the incessant encroachment on the land of the institution by some individuals, saying it poises a great threat to the survival of the college.
The National President, Prof. Samuel Ogunrinde, who led a delegation of the association and management to the palace of the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, yesterday, said the activities of the landgrabbers are undermining the progress of FECA.
According to him, the alumni is making efforts to position the college at the international level to have similar standard with their foreign counterparts.
Ogunrinde, who graduated from the college 50 years ago, said “We are moving ahead with the foreign frontiers but back home, there are no support from home as the institution is faced with constant landgrabbing and destruction of crops.”
The association presented a life crocodile from the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management to the palace as artefacte and monument.
The Provost, Dr. Samuel Odedina, who led the management team, lamented that some top officials in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Federal and state ministries of land and the police collided to pilfer the college land and properties.
This, which the Provost who is also an alumnus, had reduced the 1,000 hectares of land at inception to 350 hectares at the moment, while a particular individual had taken possession of more than half of the 350 hectares left for the college.
“We have secured NBTE approval for visitation for seven new courses including Forestry and Wildlife Management, the forest and other land resources listed for accreditation are daily being destroyed,” he said.
Aside the poor budgetary allocation, which he noted had caused infrastructural decay, the Provost added that accreditation and reaccreditation of courses are in jeopardy as farm resources like the coffee and cocoa farms were destroyed by grabbers.
Odedina identified members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and a traditional ruler in the community, the Olugele of Igele, as the perpetrators of the crime, who failed to await court decision on the land.
He said their activities in recent times had led to six cases of armed robbery and rape against female students, whose hostels are near FECA properties bulldozed and occupied now by the aforementioned.
The management and association expressed dissatisfaction over the stance of the police, who told them that they could not stop the landgrabbers from destroying government properties.
“We have a serious matter at hand that can erode our presence as an institution and send us packing. They are in our midst trying to destroy our future and the future of our children,” they said.
Oba Aladetoyinbo condemned the actions of the landgrabbers, especially the Olugele of Igele, a traditional ruler under Akure Kingdom, emphasizing that he would institute a legal action against him.
The Monarch, Deji of Akure, noted that it was Akure Kingdom that allocated land to FECA and Olugele as his subject, affirming that a fight to claim the land by the subordinate is an insult on the stool of the Deji.
“We have to do everything in our capacity to ensure the growth and development of the college. I will forever support FECA,” he said, urging the management to report any further encroachment to the palace for the prosecution of the culprits.
