The controversial wood processing factory.
By Anietie Akpan
A community based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Etara-Eyeyeng Forest Concern and some forest communities in Cross River state have raised the alarm over the activities of illegal loggers in the state.
The NGO with support from Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said the illegal logging activities by one Stanley Mba, the owner a controversial wood processing factory situated at the centre of the two forest communities is alarming.
In a chat with some newsmen, they said it was disappointing that the massive logging in the Etara-Eyeyeng community forest was not perpetrated by the owners of the forest but rather its being done by foreigners from other states and countries who paid what they described as peanuts to community leaders.
Condemning the act, the Project Coordinator and Adviser of Etara-Eyeyeng Forest Concern, Mr. Clement Omina disclosed that the state forestry law does not allow a non-indigene to enter into any community forest”.
“Even the indigenes don’t just go to the forest like that, we move with the forestry staff who go and ascertain that that wood has met its age and is capable of being sowed then they will now give you the permit to sow. The forest that is supposed to be protected has been so far destroyed because it was not properly managed.” Omina added.
Equally speaking, the Resource Person of the NGO, Mr. Owen Oyama, said, “based on what is on ground, the communities don’t understand the gravity of their action, they just collect the peanuts and go to sleep, we are not happy with what we are seeing.
“We have seen it now that the factory is real and trunk of logs in hundreds are kept at the factory to be sliced taken to wherever they are planning to take them to, I won’t be surprised if they take it outside the state. Now, we are going to partner with the communities, National Park, Forestry Commission and NCS to enforce and monitor without necessarily arresting anybody, to put a caution to the mode of evacuation and timber falling”.
He further said, “we are working with the Forestry Commission and the National Park to do a detailed engagement template to see how we can curtail the issue because if we allow what we saw in the factory to continue with the calibre of machines we saw there, in six months, we may be falling the whole of the reserve to feed the factory, which is not good for the communities”.
Meanwhile, the two forest communities of Etara and Eyeyeng both from same clan in the state are bickering over the alleged establishment of a wood factory by a non-indigene in their forest.
One of the Chiefs from Etara community, Ntufam Asam Egbe who spoke on behalf of the community said the community was not aware of any agreement to allow the establishment of a wood factory in the heart of the forest.
He claimed, “We appointed our youths to take care of the monitoring, they are the timber union and we expected them to monitor such activities and give us report but to our greatest surprise, we didn’t know how come a factory was built in our forest and when we asked chiefs from Eyeyeng community, they asked us what is wrong in allowing good things to come to them but some of them still claimed ignorance” saying, “we are not a party to the agreement, we have no hand in it but with the way some chiefs answered us, we are sure they know about it”.
On the contrary, one of the Chiefs from Eyeyeng, Obol Patrick Ogar Nada said the Chiefs and members of the clan are all aware of the establishment and agreement to build a wood factory in their forest that the only challenge was that the owner of the factory has not kept to the agreement of fixing the Etara/Eyeyeng road that is currently in a deplorable state.
He however claimed that Eyeyeng community has not collected any royalty after the negotiation with the factory.
He said, “the people cannot come without the consent of the communities or the clan because the people are the custodians of the land. So when the factory owners came, we told them what to do, especially the road issue, we are suffering from it and they agreed but they said we should allow them start their business but they have not done anything since.
“Our clan head and other village heads are involved in this, they know about their presence. And the Forestry commission is supposed to know about it too, apart from the negotiations they had with the communities, we are not getting any royalty.”
When contacted, the owner of the factory who hails from Ebonyi state, Stanley Mba said he had undergone all the necessary processes, claiming that his company bought the land from one of the community people but failed to mention names.
He added, “I paid for the land, I am a Nigerian, I have the right to set up a factory anywhere I wish to”.
