It’s not a good time for farmers in Amechi Uwani whose farm plots are being converted into a car park for the burial of wife to former Senate president. CHUKS NWEZE reports.
Today, many farmers in Amechi-Uwani, Enugu South local government area of Enugu state are in mournful mood, Blueprint investigation reveals.
The reason being that farmers as well as the entire people of Amechi Awkunanaw are in that mood because their kinsman, Chief Ken Nnamani, the former Senate president, lost his dear wife, Jane Nnamani to the cold hands of death. She died at the age of 60 after a minor surgery at a hospital in Enugu.
But farmers in the area are in mournful mood because not only that the former Senate president’s wife died but that their farmers located near Amechi country Square would be demolished to accommodate the envisaged number of mourners and visitors that would throng the square where the burial ceremonies would take place.
As a result, it was gathered that Nnamani has ordered those that have farms near the Amechi Awkunanaw Square at Amechi Uwani to remove their crops from the area because bulldozers have been mobilised to demolish the farms.
It is rainy season when many farming activities take place; therefore the concerned are now agitated that they are going to lose their investment especially those who have just cultivated their farms and not yet due for harvest.
Nnamani is said to have promised to compensate the farmers who have cultivated many crops such as cassava, maize, ground nuts, vegetables and other arable farm products with some unstated amount of money but the farmers, who are predominantly old and middle aged women, prefer to retain their farms than to receive any compensation and have their farms demolished.
Resentments
Some women who have farms around the village square said they pleaded with the former lawmaker to defer the burial till January when most of them would have harvested their crops, but all to no avail as Nnamani was said to have insisted that he must bury his wife on June 16, 2023.
“We have been farming here over the years and we feed our children and our families from here. If they demolish our farms, what compensation are they going to give us. We have pleaded that they extend the burial to December of January because of our crops but they are not listening,” some of the women lament.
They wondered why the former Senate president would not look for somewhere else but prefers to displace them. “We have primary school at Eke Otu area, why don’t he go there to do the burial ceremony,” they lamented further.
“I borrowed money to buy seed yams this year and if the farm is destroyed, what shall I do,” a peasant farmer laments.
To the rescue
However, touched by the expected plight of the farmers, a popular politician in Amechi, Madu Arum, aka Mama, was said to have compensated about 10 old women whose farms are located in the area with the sum of N200,000.00.
At the time of filing this report, however, no one has been paid compensation by Nnamani.
Efforts to get the former Senate president has not yielded dividend at the time of filing this information but the speculation is rife that he is bent on demolishing the farms to have an elaborate burial ceremony where many vehicles could park for the burial.
At the same time, it was not easy to get another prominent indigene of Amechi, the former governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo to comment on the development as he was said not be around.
“Oga is not around,” a security man at Jim’s place simply said.
“Yes, it is true that Nnamani wants to destroy the farms. Many of them have started removing their crops already so that they will not be affected by the expected demolition,” an Amechi indigene disclosed, saying that they were not happy but that there is nothing they can do to stop the rich man from having his way.”
