The Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Chief Olayinka Fasuyi, has disclosed that the establishment of the Ijesa Mineral Resources Development Forum (IMRDF) has significantly reduced illegal mining in Ijesaland, preventing what could have been a far more devastating crisis.
Speaking in Osogbo during the 45th edition of The Frontliners, an event organized by the League of Veteran Journalists in Osun State, Fasuyi emphasized that the IMRDF’s sustained advocacy and community engagement have been instrumental in curbing illegal mining activities over the past five years.
He stated, “Along the line, we notice that people started migrating from farming to mining and along this same line, we observed that the illegal mining activities have started popping up with devastating environmental implications.
“And that gave birth to the Ijesa Mineral Resources Development Forum, IMRDF, and in the past 5 years has been going around communities in Ijesha, and sensitizing people at our expense without taking a dime from any government all of this just to ensure that things are better.
“Things would have been worse today if not for the intervention of IMRDF, so we keep calling, we have made several visits to the state government, going around the communities and educating them.”
Addressing concerns over the reported presence of ISWAP terrorists in Ilesa, Fasuyi stressed the need for collective responsibility in ensuring security.
He highlighted ongoing efforts to engage local authorities and traditional rulers in developing a sustainable security framework.
He explained, “This is the role of every member of the community, we have a quite a number of good proposal but at the appropriate time we’ll share them with the local government authorities who has been mandated to fix this.
“Already we are talking to the traditional rulers on why they should improve security at their various communities in their own little way.
“We have a blue print on how to respond to this but being a security matter permit me to keep this under the rap for you.”
Asiwaju Fasuyi reaffirmed that strategic measures are being put in place to safeguard Ijesaland, with a focus on community-driven security initiatives.
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