Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, says there is need to adopt amicable resolution of conflicts to avoid economic breakdown, as those living in the border towns will continue to suffer development deficit, if there is no resolve to boundary issues.
Prince Abiodun who stated this at a two-day interactive session of the National Boundary Commission with Boundary Committees of States in the South West in Abeokuta, said it was important to work on peaceful co-existence, noting that no investor would be interested in troubled environment.
"We can hardly talk about production or boundary without consideration for land. Recently, there are lots of communal issues between farmers and herders. All these have to do with utilisation of the available land. It is therefore important that all of us should continue to adopt peaceful means of resolving boundary issues.
"The fact remains that if we do not resolve boundary issues peacefully, the people of the border communities will suffer from both ends. There will be no development in such a place and even investors will not be attracted to such locations", he said.
The Governor attributed the unity of the Yoruba ethnic group to the low level of boundary infractions in the South-West Zone, adding that border issues could be linked to land being a major factor of production and means of wealth generation.
Governor Abiodun disclosed that the establishment of the Lagos-Ogun Joint Development Commission was at an advanced stage, while the State was also working with Ondo State to activate the Deep-sea port project, in the mutual interest of the two States and the country’s economic development.
While acknowledging the strategic role of the Commission to peaceful resolution of boundary disputes in Nigeria, Abiodun informed that the State was facing a challenge with Benin on the oil-rich Tongeji Island, which he said though located close to Port Novo in Benin Republic, was actually situated in Ipokia Local Government Area of the State.
He hinted that the State was determined to make life meaningful for the citizens living within the Island, to ensure that the Republic of Benin which shares boundary with the State, does not take advantage of its proximity, calling on the Federal Government to join hands with the State in giving the residents of the island a sense of belonging, by providing access road, bridge, among other needs.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director General, National Boundary Commission; Surv. Adamu Adaji, said the interactive session was a way of sensitising stakeholders on the activities of boundary managers at various levels, and means to providing opportunity for them in the zone to interface with the Commission, on ways to strategise and fast track resolutions on issues of internal boundaries.
Adaji noted that the National Boundary Commission was established as a specialised border problem solving institution, to address the shortcomings of the previous adhoc commission, adding that the creation of more States have brought about many boundary issues in the country.
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