WHO OWNS AJAOKUTA “STEAL”?

WHO OWNS AJAOKUTA “STEAL”?

BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU.

IF NIGERIA'S ECONOMY BECOMES TRULY DIVERSIFIED,STEEL DEVELOPMENT MAY TAKE A CENTER STAGE AND BECOMES THE BEDROCK OF NIGERIA'S INDUSTRIALISATION

Except true justice is meted out over who truly owns Ajaokuta,the mineral rich zone between the Ebira’s and the Igala’s in kogi state ,central Nigeria  there may soon be a major bloodshed over the steel industry territory.

As at press time ,it was learnt that the paramount ruler, members of the state House of Assembly and even the Federal House of Representatives were from Igala land even as superior arguments eventually proved this to be wrong however ,God in his own wisdom used River Niger to divide the Ebira’s and the Igala’s but the latter which was invited to join Kogi state as against their own wish for Okura state now claim that they own Ajaokuta because of the steel complex.

Ebira land which is believed extends as far as Okpella in Edo state where limestone deposits are mined for cement production with royalties even paid to the Ohinoyi of Ebira Land,Alhaji Adogu Abdulrahaman Ibrahim has also come up for grabbing by the crafty Igala people from across the River Niger.

In an exclusive investigations  by the News Office Desk of Paedia Express Multimedia in Ihima,Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State ,it was discovered through a top civil servant in the state that a government white paper on demography viz-a-viz census  but which was set to have being destroyed by the Captain Idris Wada regime was now causing a lot of tension in the state.

The source explained to this reporter how expatriates were employed for the trial census conducted by the state government last year from Germany and against established norms revealed that Kogi central had more population than Kogi East.

The insider noted that the foreign experts who conducted the trial census  wondered why Kogi East could lay claim to the type of population they claimed  that they had when there was no evidence of any form of urban development unlike Kogi Central where there were lots of houses, basic Amenities and even infrastructures .

An Ebira legend says that the name Ajaokuta is from a local bird called “Aja”,which usually is seen on the rocky but mountainous ranges  which is the source of the Iron and Steel industry in Nigeria.

The Igala people on the other hand lay claim to Ajaokuta on account of the presence of their people in the area who are involved in paddy rice farming and fisheries ,two trades Ebiras are said not to be keen on from the ancient times.

In a related issue,the Ohi of Ihima ,His Royal Highness,Alhaji Ahmed Abdulraheem Ogido debunked the claims in some quarters that Igala people will soon take over Ajaokuta Steel.

He noted that top tribal chiefs like the Ohi of Ajaokuta ,Adogu of Eganyin,the Chairman of the local government ,Mr Okino were all Ebiras ,with the legislator  in the state house of Assembly  from Bassa  area which he insists was still part of Kogi Central.

 He accepted that due to the commercial nature of the Ajaokuta Area there were several non-natives in the area doing one form of business or the other but if anybody was to be blamed for anything at all in the unfolding drama over who owns Ajaokuta Steel then it would have to be the people selling their lands.