Estate Developer Warns Land Grabbers Against Consequences

By Polycarp Ifeanyi, Onitsha

Estate development expert and Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Garden Estate Limited, Ambassador Simeon Kevin Chukwu, has advised individuals involved in land grabbing to desist from the practice.

He warned that anyone who persists in taking land that does not belong to them should be prepared to face the consequences, whether now or in the future.

Ambassador Chukwu, whose company is one of the leading estate firms in the South-East, gave the warning while speaking with journalists in Onitsha, Anambra State.

According to him, greed and impatience are the major causes of land grabbing. “People who are not content with what they have are the reason cases of land grabbing are everywhere,”

“If you are going to grab somebody’s land, there are a lot of consequences. My advice to people is that you don’t have to take land that doesn’t belong to you. I don’t know why people fight and kill themselves over land. Even if it is just an inch, someone is ready to die or kill because of it. I don’t really understand why. We should not attach ourselves to pain, especially when we know that the land is not genuinely ours,” Chukwu stated.

He further advised that even when land truly belongs to someone, violence should never be an option, stressing that Nigeria has established procedures for asserting ownership.

“You have the right to go to court and say, ‘This land belongs to me.’ Provide proof that it is yours and the law will take its course. Instead of grabbing land, fighting, and killing over it, follow due process. It doesn’t make sense that many people think the easiest way to make money is by selling land or grabbing people’s land to sell,” he added.

He also urged fellow developers to avoid unethical practices and to ensure they do not engage in land grabbing if they wish to survive and remain reputable in the estate industry.

Ambassador Chukwu,an erudite scholar and philanthropist,emphasised that estate developers bring value to communities by transforming empty land into developed estates.

He noted that the estate sector has, in recent years, become a serious industry, yet many newcomers wrongly assume that selling land is an easy route to wealth.