FG’s Intervention Banning Illegal Mining Activities On OAU Land Commendable – Authorities

The authorities of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state have described the Federal Government’s intervention, banning mining activities on the institution’s land as commendable and timely.

The directive, banning both the legal and illegal mining activities on the University’s land and its environs was recently pronounced by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.

During a tour of the site with newsmen on Thursday, the institution’s Public Relations officer, Abiodun Olanrewaju noted that the intervention was effective as the illegal miners have all left the site in compliance with the Minister’s directive.

Olanrewaju said, “The minister, Chief Dele Alake has given instructions that no mining should take place again on the land of OAU and its environs. This is sequel to the fact that the honourable Minister, having painstakingly made investigations knew that what happened here was not too good, particularly in an academic environment like ours. So we are very much happy and we appreciate the minister and his team and we commend him for doing a very good job.”

The PRO decried the ecological damage that has been caused on the sites located in different parts of the university due to the activities of the illegal miners.

He urged security agencies to assist in ensuring that compliance is sustained to prevent environmental pollution and criminality at the expense of students’ health and welfare.

On the encroachment and land grabbing of some parts of the university’s land, Olanrewaju warned individuals who buy the land from grabbers to desist from wasting their money as the university is the rightful owner of the land.

The PRO said, “They claimed that the land belongs to the Ife community, and our point is this, if the land truly belongs to Ife community, why did it take them this long to take possession? Then, you claimed it belonged to Ife community and those who built houses on our land said they bought this land from different people.

“People grabbed the land, distributed it among themselves and they were selling it. We know that at the appropriate time, the federal government will do the needful. What happened to the University of Lagos land is still fresh in the mind of the people.”

However, the management of OAU has commenced the construction of perimeter fencing of the land to prevent further encroachment.