Confusion as military, Aviation workers disagree over land ownership in Kano

Yesterday, a land dispute in Kano infuriated the Nigerian Air Force and aviation personnel.

According to The Guardian, aviation workers near the Air Force Base along airport road in Kano have accused the military of infringing on their property.

Air Commodore Edward Gatwet, a spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force Base, denied the assertion, saying the military had paperwork showing they own the land.

On Saturday, aviation workers gathered peacefully to protest what they saw as an invasion of their property by the military. They were alarmed by reports that the Air Force had sent armed troops to the contentious area in question, presumably to intimidate the people there.

Workers from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) were among those who felt wronged.

Workers in the aviation industry were spotted in large numbers waving placards bearing a variety of inscriptions and singing songs of unity in protest of the military’s intervention.

Mr. Obadeki Muhammad Mustapha, a spokesman of the union’s leadership, told reporters that the Federal Airport Authority purchased the disputed land around 45 years ago.

Despite the clear truth of its ownership, Mustapha, secretary of the Aviation Quarters’ security committee, expressed concern that the Air Force might mobilise their contractor to develop the area ostensibly destined to become a pleasure complex.

It’s been around 45 years since FAAN bought this site for future development. Therefore, the encroachment of the Nigerian Air Force onto the plot of property came as a shock to the company’s management and employees.

The Nigerian Air Force has begun turning the property into a recreation area for its members out of pure selfishness, and its members are armed and ready to threaten the peace of any local residents. Mustapha remarked, “This is completely unacceptable.

Zakariyyau Dauda, chairman of the aircraft Quarters Welfare Association, added that the situation along airport road worsened on Friday when the military tried to barricade the area belonging to the aircraft residential quarters.

We were caught off guard yesterday when Air Force troops began building on our property and even closed our entrance gate, saying it was theirs. When one of our coworkers returned home with his family in tow, he was accosted and eventually denied entry.

The living quarters have been here for over 50 years, long before the Air Force moved in. Before the arrival of the Air Force, of course. By the way, the airport was kind enough to offer the air force some of its territory so that it could operate more efficiently. Dauda remarked, “I have never seen where a tenant now claimed to be the landlord.”

The military would rather seek an amicable resolution with the aviation authorities than engage in a propaganda war with the civilian neighbours, according to Air Commodore Gatwet.

There have been numerous organisations approaching the Nigerian Air Force with claims to Air Force land in Kano. We don’t want things to go nasty over these matters and would prefer a peaceful resolution.

If anyone else is laying claim to our land, we invite them to come forward with their proof, and we’ll do the same. Only then will we learn who the rightful owners are. We’ve had our paperwork for this territory for a long time,” said Air Commodore Gatwet.