Ouagadougou: In Pô, capital of the Nahouri province, members of the Gomgnimbou family are at loggerheads, amid accusations of illegal sale of land. Despite the mediations of the former President of the special delegation (PDS), the traditional chief and the head of community radio Goulou de Pô, the misunderstandings remain, as do the accusations.The Gomgnimbou family includes the 'Kolo', the 'Kanzono' and the 'Mora'. The patriarch of the 'Kanzono' component, Michel Adoubé Gomgnimbou of the large Gomgnimbou family of Pô and his two nephews, Marc Salazar and Claude Gomgnimbou are in conflict. And for good reason, the patriarch and his two nephews accuse each other of the illegal sale of family land.For Marc Salazar Gomgnimbou, the problem with his uncle (his father's younger brother) dates back five or six years with the demarcation of land on their land in sectors 6 and 7 of the city, as well as in the village of Katchéli. He indicated that he made the sale of land his business. 'We told him to stop the la nd sale, to no avail. Whenever he gets an opportunity, he doesn't hesitate to do it. Being the eldest in the family, we believed that he would put an end to the sales, until the subdivision affair was the straw that broke the camel's back,' underlined Marc Salazar Gomgnimbou. For his part, uncle Michel Adoubé Gomgnimbou, indicated that the objective of the subdivision operations is to prevent his two nephews from implementing their strategy of conservation and sale of land to individuals.'We understood that if we let them do it, in the long run, we will no longer have land,' insisted Michel Gomgnimbou. On this subject, Marc Salazar Gomgnimbou declared that among them, we do not sell the land, but we can lend it for agricultural exploitation or to build housing, respecting the tradition which consists of taking with the person concerned 4 chickens, tobacco and a daba . Based on this principle, he says he ceded land in his capacity as land chief to several people. As for his brother Claude Gomgnimbou, he also admitted having ceded the land to several people taking into account tradition. 'I gave 4 hectares in sector 7 to someone for the realization of an agro-sylvo-pastoral project. The latter defined the area and had all the documents drawn up. I took care to inform the family. I would like to point out that I did not take any money from the person,' he said. For his part, their uncle admitted to having 'installed' around twenty people while respecting tradition. 'In return, when the person installed is satisfied, they just give me fuel worth 10,000 CFA francs to cover my travel costs,' explained Michel Adoubé Gomgnimbou.Demonstrate maturityIt is in this commotion of discontent and reciprocal accusations that the nephews feel a correspondence to the former President of the special delegation (PDS) of Pô, with amplification to the high commissioner of Nahouri, to regional director in charge of town planning for the Center-Sud and the real estate agencies concerned, to request an end to subdivision operations o n this land. The prefect and PDS of Pô at the time, Valérie Bama, affirmed that when he was contacted, he tried to mediate. He indicated that his mission consisted of inviting the protagonists to demonstrate maturity and to avoid other conflicts in the country which could undermine peace and social cohesion in Pô and particularly within the Gomgnimbou family.'Each party must demonstrate maturity and agree to dialogue to find a solution to the problem. With discussions, they will be able to agree on the minimum. We are convinced of this approach and we encourage them to move in this direction,' said the former PDS of Pô. Throughout his mediation, Mr. Bama said he reported to his superiors. He said he also decided to suspend all development activities on the land by real estate developers, while the problem was resolved in order to be able to continue with peace of mind.'No coup d'état in our customs'Marc Salazar and Claude Gomgnimbou also asked the traditional chief of Pô, the Pôpê, to question their unc le. According to them, their efforts were unsuccessful. For his part, the traditional chief of Pô, the Pôpê, said he invited the two nephews to respect tradition by putting an end to their dispute with the patriarch who, according to him, is the authorized person as the oldest in the family, to have the final say on decisions regarding family land. He said he also invited all members of the Gomgnimbou family residing in Pô and elsewhere to respect each other and the family by remaining disciplined and respecting the hierarchy. 'Let them just respect each other because here, there is no coup d'état. In our country, we do not replace a notable during his lifetime. It is after his death that he is replaced. As long as he is alive, he is at his post. Let the members of the Gomgnimbou family know this. There is no coup d'état in our traditional families,' warned the traditional chief of Pô.The Pôpê also noted that the land chief is not 'just anyone', because he takes care of a common good. 'Land is a common asse t for the entire village. The land does not belong to a family, much less to an individual,' he added. The traditional leader says he intervened in the dispute, not as part of the challenge from Marc Salazar and Claude Gomgnimbou, but rather in the dynamic of ensuring respect for the traditional and customary hierarchy. 'I intervened to make them understand that even in custom, we need discipline and respect. Michel Gomgnimbou is land chief today because his father died and he succeeded him. (…). When he comes to consult me to get my opinion on subjects, if there is nothing to complain about, I say ok,' described the Pôpê.The media man, nephew and cousin mediatorIn addition to the PDS and Popê, the director of the community radio Goulou de Pô, Donald Tagnabou also played a role as facilitator in this land conflict. Mr. Tagnabou is the cousin of Claude Gomgnimbou and the nephew of Michel Adoubé Gomgnimbou. The latter, explained Mr. Tagnabou, was the first to come and broadcast a press release on the radio on behalf of the real estate company ZOTIMSON of which he is the representative in Pô.Donald Tagnabou says he took advantage of his uncle's appearance on the radio to give him advice, especially inviting him to ease the tension with his nephews. A few days later, indicates Donald Tagnabou, it was his cousin Claude Gomgnimbou who came on the radio with a 'belligerent' press release for broadcast. 'He was very angry and angry with his uncle Michel Aboubé Gomgnimbou,' he said. Mr. Tagnabou suggested that he keep calm, dispassionate things and review the content of his press release.After a week of waiting, Claude Gomgnimbou returned with another 'less bellicose' press release which was finally released. In his capacity as a media man, nephew and cousin, Donald Tagnabou opted for facilitation between the protagonists in order to avoid escalating the situation. He clarified that radio is a very powerful communication tool so he cannot use it to promote one party and denigrate the other.The successive mediati ons of the administration, the customary chiefdom and the Goulou de Pô radio did not put an end to the misunderstandings and accusations between each side. Worse, this problem of land sales showed the divergences of the three components which are the 'Kolo', the 'Kanzono' and the 'Mora' on the social organization of their large Gomgnimbou family: each component accuses the others of not playing the role assigned to them by tradition.It would be desirable for the members of the large Gomgnimbou family to agree on the essentials in order to preserve family cohesion.Information Agency of BurkinaSouaibou [email protected]: Burkina Information Agency