The Osun-Osogbo grove, recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage site, risked being delisted due to land encroachment.
The grove located in Osogbo was listed as UNESCO heritage site in 2005 after the land was acquired and gazetted by the Federal Government but recent activities of land grabbers have seen residents encroaching into the the sites.
Visiting the site on Tuesday, it discovered that many residential buildings have been built along the buffer zone of the grove while virgin land were also said to have been sold to new developers.
Also, at the grove’s south entrance a hotel is presently being build with work reaching advance stage as at the time of visit to the grove.
Speaking on the development, a traditionalists in Osogbo, Ogundeji Elebuibon berated both the National Museum and Monument, as well as prominent indigenes of the town over their lackadaisical attitude to the unfortunate development.
Elebuibon said, “The situation at the grove is very unfortunate and one fears if 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, 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.
