•Land grabbers seize, sell site buffer zone
By Shina Abubakar
OSOGBO — THE Osun-Osogbo grove may be delisted as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, over the activities of land grabbers.
The Osun-Osogbo grove located in Osogbo was listed as a UNESCO heritage site in 2005 after the land was acquired and gazetted by the Federal Government.
However, recent activities of land grabbers have seen residents encroach on the site.
When Vanguard visited the site, yesterday, it observed that many residential buildings have been built along the buffer zone of the grove while virgin lands were also said to have been sold to new developers.
Also at the grove’s south entrance, a hotel is presently being built with work reaching the advanced stage at the time of the visit to the grove.
Efforts to get workers at the site to speak proved abortive as a man, who identified himself as the site engineer, declined to comment.
A traditionalist in Osogbo, Mr Ogundeji Elebuibon, who spoke on the development, berated both the National Museum and Monument over their lackadaisical attitude to the unfortunate development.
Elebuibon said: “The situation at the grove is very unfortunate and one fears that the development, if not checked would not lead to the delisting of the grove as a UNESCO heritage site.
“The South entrance has been encroached completely with residential buildings springing up in the areas. More areas are being cleared for new structures to emerge. Yet, government at various levels, including local, state and federal government are just watching without taking any action.”
When contacted, the Curator and Site Manager of the National Museum and Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Mr Aworeni Joseph said: “We are not lackadaisical about it. We are aware of the development, especially in the buffer zones around the grove; steps are being taken to bring those involved to book. I was there to inspect the development but we faced a lot of legal impediments to stop construction work ongoing at the areas.”
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