Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that the burning of his 17,000 mango tree plantation in Benue state would not deter his investment in the state.
Obasanjo boasted that despite the incident, he would bounce back and increase the direct workforce from meagre 150 to 1,000 plus.
The former president stated this on Friday, while playing host to the delegation from Benue State at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The 140-hectare farm located in Howe, Gwer Local Government Area of Benue State, was gutted by fire on 31st of January, 2022 by arsonists.
The incident occurred following probable disagreements with the locals over compensation for the piece of land that originally belonged to the state government.
The delegation led by the Chairman of the Gwer East Traditional Council, Dominic Akpe, was accompanied by the House of Assembly member representing Gwer East Constituency, Geoffrey Agbatse; Chairman Gwer East Local Government, Ortserga Emmanuel; among others, empathised with the former presidenton the burning of his mango plantation in the state.
Obasanjo, who lamented that the dastardly act, had only delayed the vision he had for the project, said that what had happened was not the best for the state and the community.
The former president in a statement signed by his Media assistant, Kehinde Akinyemi, said the world should not judge Benue by the actions of those he described as a few miscreants, who burnt his farm .
He said, “This action by these few misdirected miscreants should not be judged by the world. It is not the true reflection of the people of Benue. The action should not scare away investors, because Benue people are very accommodating and friendly.
“The land was acquired long ago and payment was made for the lease of the land. If the government has not paid any compensation to any family or that they have not been adequately compensated, burning the farm was not the best thing to do.
“You have said it yourself that the farm employed about 150 workers before it was burnt. Our plan was for the project to provide at least 1,000 persons directly, both on the farm and when the processing factory takes off.”
Stating that he wasn’t deterred by the action, the former president added, “Let me assure you that we are not going to leave the area. We are looking at what we can do when the rain starts. The project will only be delayed but we shall improve on what we have on ground.
“The government had promised us the possibility of giving us more land and this will give us the opportunity for a bigger plantation.”
