Fresh crisis is brewing between alumni associations of some public schools and Osun State Government over alleged conversion of public school’s land to private use.
Investigation revealed that landed property of some public schools across the state are being converted to private use.
According to the spokesperson of alumni association of Osogbo Grammar School, Pa Joseph Aderemi Akinlade, the action of Osun State Government to take over landed property of the school for private purposes was condemnable, stressing that it was against the international standard in education.
Akinlade, who passed out of the school in 1957 and the second senior prefect in the school, told newsmen that land acquisition for the school was approved by the late Governor John Macphason while the land survey totalling 56.32 hectares was signed in 1954 by Surveyor General of the Federation.
He said that though the association has taken over some schools some years back, that was not enough reason to take over part of the school land for private use.
Akinlade explained that the government had initially slated to use the land for market but “We protested against it and the decision was changed. Now it is laid out into plots for private uses,” he said.
He accused the Surveyor General of the state of demarcating the wide expanse of land for another use, which was contrary to the purpose for which the land was acquired in the first instance from the original owners.
But when contacted, the State Surveyor General, Mr. Akintola, said that he could not comment on the matter being a civil servant.
But the state Commissioner for Lands and Physical Planning, Mr. Akintunde Akinade, said that government’s decision to use the land was in tandem with change of land use project, which could be public or commercial oriented.
He added that the project was not peculiar to Osun State, adding that other states such as Lagos and Oyo had put such left over lands to public use for the purpose of development.
Akinade also explained that Osogbo Grammar School was not only the institution, which left over lands was undergoing such development.
He disclosed that left over lands belonging to other public schools across the state were also being converted to use for different purposes aimed at development instead of leaving them fallow and constituting nuisance to the people of the area.
Government erected electric polls in the areas about your years ago, but no eyebrows were raised by the alumni association. Why are they now complaining now that government is trying to bring more measures of development to the place? So, the complaint doesn’t make sense at all,” he said.
Akinade explained further that the portions of the land being developed by the government did not affect the school premises nor the facilities.
He added that the developments did not affect nor disturb the school activities in any way, adding that the school had been demarcated from the lands with solid fences.
While also explaining the need to inspire infrastructural development by giving the public due opportunity to acquire and develop the lands, the commissioner also said that those who had got the approval to acquire the land would develop them as gated estates as a part of housing estate planning and to proffer solution to accommodation challenge.
He said that the approval took effect from June last year for the public to take advantage of the lands.
“People are free to acquire the lands to develop them as estates and I don’t think anything is wrong with that. It is a part of the infrastructural development that people are yearning for.”
He added that the lands had also been put to use for education purposes by the government when it built JAMB, WAEC and ICT offices in the areas.
He added that the government had been allocating portions of the lands to be used for offices of Federal Government’s parastatals in the state.
Source: Daily Independent