Tension is rising in Bendeghe Ekiem community, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, as women and youths have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Johnson Ebokpo, demanding a reversal of the planned privatisation of a government-run cocoa estate.
During a peaceful protest held on Saturday, community members voiced their frustration, warning that if the government fails to address their concerns, they would resort to a symbolic cultural protest marching around the cocoa plantation unclothed.
Community women leader, Ntunkai Obi, and the women’s chief, Helen Ogar, urged the Commissioner to open dialogue with their local leaders. “We want to talk and know the government’s plans. If we don’t hear from them within two weeks, we will act according to our tradition,” Ogar stated.
She further emphasized that the protest would escalate if the Commissioner remained silent, saying, “We’ll go to the estate naked and walk through it before handing it back to the government.”
Echoing the women’s sentiments, Town Council Chairman, Mr. Etta Atu-Ojua, and the community youth leader, Comrade Tandu Kingsley, also called on the Commissioner to halt the privatisation move. They expressed concern that the estate had kept many young people meaningfully engaged, and losing it could force many into criminal activities.
“The land belongs to us; they can uproot their cocoa trees if they like, but we will replant ours. This plantation is our oil, our livelihood. Taking it away will only drive our youths back into crime,” Atu-Ojua warned.
He recalled how youth restiveness had reduced significantly due to the estate’s impact and cautioned that removing this economic lifeline could reverse the progress made.
The protesting youths reaffirmed their determination to continue their agitation if the government refuses to listen. They are demanding that the state government reconsider the privatisation plan, enter meaningful dialogue with the community, or allow the people to reclaim their ancestral land.
According to them, if the government no longer wishes to manage the estate, the right thing would be to return the land to its original custodians, the people of Bendeghe Ekiem.
