Mr Terve Akase, an aspirant to the office of governor in Benue State, has kicked against the provision of the amended constitution that stipulates that anyone who lives in a place for five years becomes an automatic indigene of such a place.
This is as the controversial provision continues to raise concerns. Few days ago, a group known as the Gravitas alleged that it is an attempt at land grab by some individuals in the country.
Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere had also kicked against the provision, asking the National Assembly to reject same.
In a statement in Makurdi, Benue State capital on Tuesday, Akase, who was the chief press secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom, called on State Houses of Assembly to reject the provision of the constitution amendment whenever it is sent to them.
Akase who is in the Peoples Democratic Party also described the indigeneship clause as another plot to grab lands from Nigerians.
“The only way to escape this is for the State Houses of Assembly to vote a resounding no against the controversial provision,” he said.
He warned that if allowed, Nigerians would in no distant time lose their land to foreigners.
“Do you know that the constitutional amendment recently carried out by the National Assembly has a provision which stipulates that anyone who lives in a place for about five years automatically becomes an indigene of such a place?
“This means that someone will come to settle on your father’s land and when he stays there for five years, he can claim the land for himself, having by law become an indigene.
“The plot to grab lands from Nigerians is not going away any time soon. This time, it is clothed with the robe of addressing the indigeneship question. But the hidden motive is different. Ruga it is,” he submitted.
Recall that Afenifere had on Sunday, urged the National Assembly to go beyond the surface in its desire to reconsider the proposed Amendment on Indigeneship status for people living in particular locations in Nigeria.
Afenifere, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jare Ajayi, urged the lawmakers to ensure that in the amendment concerning Indigeneship, a provison is not inserted in the Constitution that would surreptitiously make non-natives to supplant the indigenes of a particular space in the country.
The statement reads: ”We are saying this against the background of the move by some people who are agitating that anyone who is born in a particular area or has lived in the area for ten years be granted the indigeneship of the area in question. We agree, and indeed believe, that every Nigerian has a right to live in any part of the country. But, we are also realistic enough to acknowledge the fact that every group anywhere in the world normally has a place that could be regarded as its native-land. The process or right to make such a claim derives from the linkage the group has with the ancestors who first settled in the given area.
“Attachment to one’s community and, through it, to the soil of the ancestors or the homeland, is a fundamental dimension of the notion of citizenship in Africa’ as widely acknowledged by participants at a conference on ‘Citizenship and Indigeneity Conflicts in Nigeria’ which held in Abuja, Nigeria from February 8th -9th 2011.
“Afenifere is not against peaceful and harmonious co-habitation by any tribe in any part of the country, but is calling attention to the danger inherent in legally conferring indigeneship status on non-natives simply because they have lived for many years in the said area adding that such a notion is at the root of several communal clashes in the country. It is also very likely to create more problems, especially in a situation where herders settle on farmlands, raise families and rear livestock. Unless carefully handled, in a few years’ time, there may be conflicts with original inhabitants of the area as has been happening in Southern Kaduna, Benue state and some other places.
“What is desirable is residency right as is the case in countries we look up to such as the United States of America, Europe and the like. If you have lived in those countries for certain number of years and you satisfy certain conditions, you are given residency status with rights and privileges that are almost akin to that of an indigene. That is what we should emulate here.
“Afenifere does not believe in discrimination in any form. Rather, what it is advocating is that while settlers deserve protection, the rights of the indigenes should also be respected within the ambit of the law that is fair and just.
“Inter-ethnic cohabitation is an agelong thing among our people without many hassles. Problems being experienced now were as a result of fueling by political elites and territorial expansionists.”