The military, with whom they both share a border, has been charged by the aviation workers in Kano with invading their property close to the Air Force Base.
However, Air Commodore Edward Gatwet, the spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force Base, rejected the assertion and insisted that the military had documentary evidence to support its claim to possession of the site.
The aviation workers voiced concerns about the deployment of armed soldiers from the Air Force to the contentious area apparently to scare the innocent civilian residents on Saturday in a peaceful protest against the military's alleged invasion of the property.
Employees from the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) made up the list of resentful personnel.
The aviation workers could be seen in large groups flying banners bearing various messages in opposition to the military's operation.
According to Mr. Obadeki Muhammad Mustapha, a representative of the aviation workers' leadership, the Federal Airport Authority bought the controversial property roughly 45 years ago.
Despite the clear ownership of the site, Mustapha, secretary of the Aviation Quarters security committee, expressed concern that the Air Force may send in their contractor to build the purportedly intended leisure center on a piece of the land.
This site was purchased by FAAN for future development roughly 45 years ago. The rapid encroachment of the Nigerian Air Force on the plot of land has so astonished the management and employees.
The Nigerian Air Force soldiers have begun to develop the site as a recreation area out of personal desire. They are also prepared to frighten any civilian by stationing their men there armed to the teeth. This is unacceptable," declared Mustapha.
The military's Friday attempt to blockade the aviation residential quarters land along the airport road, according to Zakariyyau Dauda, chairman of the Aviation Quarters Welfare Association, made the situation worse.
We were shocked to discover yesterday that Air Force troops had begun building on our property and had even barred our entrance gate, claiming ownership of the area. When returning home, one of our colleagues experienced harassment that included attempts to prevent them from entering his accommodations in front of his wife and children.
"The living quarters have been here for more than 50 years; we were here before the Air Force. That was before to the arrival of the Air Force. In any case, the airport was gracious enough to grant the air force a portion of its territory in order to accommodate them. Dauda remarked, "I have never witnessed where a tenant now claimed to be the landlord.
According to Air Commodore Gatwet, a peaceful resolution with the aviation authority would be preferred by the military than resuming the media campaign started by the civilian neighbors.
"The Nigerian Air Force has observed numerous agencies arriving to stake claims to Air Force land in Kano for a very long period. But rather than taking a dictatorial stance on these matters, we prefer to ensure a peaceful resolution.
We would advise anyone claiming ownership of our property to just come forward with their documentation, and we would also give ours to the appropriate authorities so that we could determine who actually owns the property. Air Commodore Gatwet stated, "We already have our documentation on this land from a long time ago.