By Peter Ejarogan

One major issue dogging public life in Nigeria is the lack of respect for the law of the country yet, the people continue to demand for fairplay and everything good from the country. A lot of people flout Court Orders at will hoping to circumvent the path of justice and moral rectitude in conducting public business. The observed lack of respect for Court injunctions and Orders with regards the lands around the DSC areas and other property of the company by members of the public is one unhealthy and despicable behavior by some persons in Udu Local Government Area that must stop in their own interest. The sheer lack of respect for the judiciary and laws of the land has been demonstrated by some investors and developers who are going ahead with construction works on Federal Government lands acquired for the expansion of the old DSC. This is one disturbing issue that must stop so that people do not lose their hard-earned money in such a fruitless war with government.  

Since the travails of the former steel giant, Delta Steel Company, Ovwian-Aladja, began resulting in the intervention of the Federal Government in privatization of the steel plant to multi-national investors, the host communities have continued to demonstrate unbearable hostilities because of quest to sell the landed property of the company. There had been various publications highlighting the importance of caution in dealing with those lands acquired by the Federal Government for the purpose of establishing the company. On both side of the roads leading to the Steel Plant, the landed property around the steel towns and in some other locations, there had been unprovoked encroachments which has triggered series of litigations over the propriety or otherwise of such endeavour.

Nigerian newspapers are replete with reports of host communities, particularly Ovwian community seriously encroaching into those lands earlier acquired by the Federal Government for purpose of establishing DSC and for further expansion efforts. The company as things stand has not operated optimally for reasons bordering on the current state of the economy and other reasons. However, activities are still going on at average rate to keep the company going at the main plant. The current investor, Premium Steel and Mines Limited, was put in possession and control of all assets of DSC by Federal Government of Nigeria through Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and this encompasses all the landed property and other sundry assets of the company including some of the housing estates.

The recent reports of encroachment into the landed property of the company particularly on both side of the expressway to the company have been worrisome. The company has, from available reports, taken legal steps to arrest the situation so as to save the unsuspecting investors and buyers from buying litigations/losing their money/investments. Inspite of the Company's efforts to prevent encroachments/trespasses to the land in question through the due process from the Courts, the Court judgments and injunctions thereof are being flouted with impunity by those unknown and known investors like PWAN Limited. The concern of this writer is what could become of those investments tomorrow if government decides to bring their bulldozers to execute the letter of the court rulings?

Government mills grind gradually but stealthily. What the company is facing is partly lack of Government will to do the needful and give the impetus to the investors to stimulate the expected benefits from the steel giant. However, that Government delays does not in any way suggest that the matter has been forgotten. Just one policy of Government can, in one month, bring life to the Company and trigger unquantifiable benefits for the host community in terms of jobs creation and escalated business activities. And that will come with multiplier effects on the areas covered in the expansion agenda of the company. Houses and other investment on those lands would be brought down in one fell swoop and those buying lands from those areas now will thereafter have government bulldozers to contend with and regrets.

In Abuja, houses as tall as ten storey buildings like ‘Bullet House’, whole estates and private property have been brought down with no compensation for the investors simply because they built on Government lands. It can take a year or even 20 years for Government to act but act they must because those lands were dully acquired by the Federal Government and Government has not at anytime announced abdication of those visions to expand the plant. The dream to bring the old DSC, now PSML to full glory is still alive. That is the secret of the country’s industrialization agenda. Anything short of steel production at the plant in Ovwian-Aladja is way out of the industrialization plan of Government. If Nigeria must get off the ground in terms of industrial revolution, Premium Steel and Mines Limited must be encouraged and the enabling environment created to enable  her take her place to produce quality steel for the country’s constructions works and fabrication of other industrial demands for Nigeria’s industrial and economic growth.

It is trite to note that Asset Management Company of Nigeria had earlier bought over all the assets and liabilities of the defunct Delta Steel Company, Ovwian-Aladja and thereafter sold the assets only to Premium Steel and Mines Limited, making AMCON/PSML to be the owners of the company, and her other ancillary assets including the lands in question. This writer is worried that considering the pains that were visited on people who encroached on government property in many cities of Nigeria, the DSC lands is certainly not going to be an exception. This is moreso when there are subsisting Court Injunctions barring trespassers from the said land. No Court in Nigeria entertains disobedience to her orders. Individuals and corporate entities have suffered pains over disobedience to court orders.

The observation of this writer is that the High Court sitting at Otor-Udu had granted a restraining order on buyers of those lands on both side of the road to the steel plant, barring them from any activity on the lands until the case is done with. Yet, in disobedience to the validly obtained Court Orders, one can observe that skeletal activities are taking place in the encroached areas. Does it mean the investors and buyers do not know the area was acquired by the Federal Government for expansion of the steel plant at a future date? If they know, are they ignorant of the fact that only the Federal Government can grant access to those lands to any individual or company outside PSML? From where do they derive the powers to flout Court Orders? At what point did the lands revert back to the host community that now gives them the impetus to behave the way they are currently behaving?

Everybody is worried at the current state of the Company. Whatever has befallen the Company is not the making of the current owners. The place ran into troubled waters for sundry reasons and it takes time for the elephant to rise to her feet again once it falls. PSML cannot bring back the old glory of DSC in a hurry. Selling off of the Company assets cannot be justified at any rate also. Those in the habit of selling off or building on DSC lands are simply building on nothing. To save them from further loss, it is better for them to stop forthwith because with the level of publicity being given to the issues concerning DSC lands, the Federal Government may take action anytime soon and those who acquired property in the said lands may have thrown their hard-earned money into a bottomless pit. The earlier they withdraw their money the better because, Government cannot fold its arm and allow some flippant investors seize Government property without due process.

It is the opinion of this writer that further works should stop on the encroached areas so that the issues are completely sorted out in Court before they can continue. Winning the matter against PSML is certainly out of the question. Government owns the land having acquired same from the people over 40 years ago. Time has not eroded Government title to the land. Government is still very interested in the Company, hence the sales agreement which grant serious roll to the Federal Government in the reactivation process. That there is a delay does not grant the host communities the privilege to encroach on the lands and take them over without recourse to Government. Buyers should beware. The other day, a friend went to the said land and ran away when he was properly educated on the import of buying and building on Government land. The greedy vendors too should exercise some restraint so as to address their minds to the legal implication of their excessive drive to dispose of Government lands close to them. Stop the sales of Government lands in and around DSC catchment areas today to avoid heartache tomorrow!

…Peter Ejarogan writes from DSC Township, Orhuwhorun, Delta state.

Wado Admin

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