Upon the creation of Ekiti State in October 1996, Eda Oniyo was named (for reasons best known to the creators) as the headquarters of Ilejemeje Local Government Council. Subsequent to this, Ekiti State government (for reasons best known to the then Governor), unilaterally relocated the headquarters from Eda Oniyo to Iye-Ekiti, where people who knew about the political metamorphosis of the area felt it originally ought to have been located.
Eda Oniyo expectedly opposed and challenged the relocation in court. The Supreme Court finally ruled in favour of Eda Oniyo in 2019, and the headquarters was finally moved to Eda Oniyo. It is needless to mention the unnecessary enmity the action of the Ekiti State government generated between the two towns. The ‘snatching bug’ that infested Ekiti State since then
has eaten very deep into the foundation of the widely acclaimed homogeneous people.
On 10th February 2011, the Vanguard reported in its online edition that no fewer than six innocent lives were lost with numerous others wounded following violent protests that greeted the decision of the Federal Executive Council (for reasons best known to it), to relocate the newly established Federal University in Ikole-Ekiti to Oye-Ekiti.
It was reported that: ‘The Minister of State for Education, Mr Kenneth Gbagi, had led a team which included the officials of the National University Commission, NUC, to Ikole-Ekiti, the site of the University late last year where he had okayed the choice of Ikole-Ekiti as the site of the University’.
The Vanguard reported further: ‘But according to the NTA network news monitored in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday night, it was relayed that the FEC had finally decided to site the University in Oye-Ekiti which is about fifteen kilometres to Ikole-Ekiti’. This expectedly, but avoidably caused a lot of bad bloods between the two prominent towns in Ekiti.
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In 2021, news filtered out that the headquarters of Irede LCDA, which was proposed for Ipoti-Ekiti, had been moved to Ikoro-Ekiti. Despite the fact that Ikoro-Ekiti was not even one of the components of the proposed LCDA, the town accepted the news with both hands until sanity prevailed and the headquarters of the LCDA was restored back at Ipoti-Ekiti.
In 2022, there was furore over the establishment of the proposed campus of the Nigerian Law School in the South West geopolitical zone, and Ekiti State was chosen as the State where the School would be located.
The Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti reportedly spoke to the newsmen to the effect that a section of the media erroneously mentioned Ifaki-Ekiti as the Ekiti town where the facility would be located instead of Ilawe-Ekiti.
Meanwhile, the people of Ifaki-Ekiti maintained that its name was contained in the Bill passed in relation to the matter by the Senate but was allegedly hijacked by Ilawe-Ekiti. Tug of war expectedly ensued between the two Ekiti towns.
In 2023, it was reported that a Bill seeking the establishment of a Federal College of Education in Omuo-Ekiti was allegedly sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi and was passed by both chambers of the 9th Assembly. Later, it was reported that the Federal College of Education had been relocated from Omuo-Ekiti to Ilawe-Ekiti.
The Omuo-Ekiti people protested the alleged relocation, and the development led to the paralysis of economic and other social activities in the town. Bad bloods between Omuo-Ekiti and Ilawe-Ekiti expectedly followed!
In or around 2012, (or thereabout), the Federal Government approved the location of an Army Barracks in Ipoti-Ekiti, in Ijero Local Government Area of the State. The Nigerian Army had since maintained skeletal presence at the location, followed by staggered payment of compensation to the owners of the land. However, that is not the news!
The news is that late last week, a letter, dated 13th January 2025, allegedly from the Nigerian Army (said to be restricted) found its way on to the social media, flying ceaselessly without wings around the world!
In this era of unprecedented technological advancement, there’s no longer a hiding place for wrongdoing! The letter was conveying an approval for the relocation of the Army Barracks from Ipoti-Ekiti to Ikere-Ekiti. Ikere-Ekiti is the hometown of the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Olufemi Oluyede.
This was an appointment that was celebrated with jubilation by all Ekiti sons and daughters, home and abroad, irrespective of their towns of birth in Ekiti! I am not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting that the relocation must have been masterminded by the COAS. Far from it!
However, it is becoming increasingly worrisome that Ekiti that prides itself as a land of honour had descended into the abyss of engaging in dishonourable undertakings of recent by surreptitiously snatching federal facilities already located in other parts of Ekiti with the receiving towns rolling out drums to receive ‘stolen’ facilities without any iota of shame!
Where is the cord of homogeneity that binds us all together? We call our land a ‘Land of Honour’ and ourselves ‘Omoluwabis’! What is more dishonourable than doing everything under the sun, from the ridiculous to the sublime, to armtwist and take away what has already been alocated to our fellow Ekiti brothers and sisters?
When did we jettison those values that make other people to be envious of our accomplishments, most especially in the field of education?
The government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a lot of challenges (including but not limited to economic and security) to grapple with at the moment. No overzealous officers in the name of ‘eye-service’ should be allowed to add to the load.
The COAS, on his part, should not allow himself to be distracted from one of his primary responsibilities of executing the government’s resolve to dislodge the marauding bandits from our national territory through an undesirable relocation of army facility to his hometown!
If such an exercise becomes inevitable, in the form of an appeasement, there are so many other army facilities that can be located in Ikere-Ekiti, the hometown of the COAS. He is reputed as an accomplished officer and a gentleman. My admonition to him is that he should not allow any favour-seeking officer or officers to use this incident as an indelible stain on his flourishing military career!
It is hoped that the good people of Ikere-Ekiti and the COAS will reject this Greek gift and allow the Army Barracks to remain in Ipoti-Ekiti. The Army Barracks in Akure is less than an hour’s journey from Ikere-Ekiti. Ipoti-Ekiti is more strategically located and well suited for the location of Army Barracks. It is very close to Kwara and Kogi States via Otun-Ekiti.
It also has a boundary with Osun-State via Oke Ila Orangun. If the officers who want to be seen as working for the interest of the COAS are not trying to drag his name into any unnecessary controversies, why can’t they choose another Army facility, such as a military hospital to be located at Ikere-Ekiti, the hometown of the Chief of Army Staff?
First, it was Eda Oniyo/Iye-Ekiti. Later, Ikole/Oye-Ekiti, Ipoti/Ikoro-Ekiti, Ifaki/Ilawe-Ekiti, Omuo/Ilawe-Ekiti followed. Now, Ipoti-Ekiti/Ikere-Ekiti has been added to the dishonourable list! Meanwhile, we are said to be more forthright, honourable, reliable and dependable. Why should we continue to engage in activities that are patently antithetical to these great values?
Ekiti people, where art thy honour?
Caleb Arogundade
210125
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