By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s UNESCO-recognised heritage site, the Osun-Osogbo grove, risked being delisted as a world heritage site due to the unchecked 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 encroaching on the sites.
When Vanguard visited the site on Tuesday, it discovered that many residential buildings had been built along the buffer zone of the grove, and virgin land had also been sold to new developers.
Also, at the grove’s south entrance, a hotel is presently being built, and work was reaching an advanced stage as of the time of my visit to the grove.
Efforts to get a worker at the site to speak about the location’s proprietary rights proved abortive, as a man who identified himself as the site engineer declined to comment.
Traditionalists in Osogbo Ogundeji Elebuibon, while speaking on the development, berated both the National Museum and Monument and prominent indigenes of the town over their lackadaisical attitude to the unfortunate development.
“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 have been encroached completely with residential buildings springing up in the areas. And on a daily basis more areas are being cleared for new structures to emerge. Yet, government at various levels, including local, state and the federal government are just watching without taking any action”, he lamented.
When contacted, the Curator and Site Manager of the National Museum and Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Mr Aworeni Joseph, disclosed that the situation is pathetic but stated that the agency is taking serious steps to check land grabbers’ activities in the area.
“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 personally there to inspect the development but we faced a lot of legal impediment to stop construction work ongoing at the areas”, he said.
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