Kazeem Ibrahym writes on how sand dredging is posing serious environmental degradation to many communities in the Akwa Ibom State.
I am giving a one-week grace for owners of barges to remove all the dredgers they brought to destroy our environment. As we sit today, we cannot build a bridge at Ekpene Ukpa, we cannot build a bridge at Mkpok; because the entire surface that should hold the bridge has been taken out. Now if you remove the clay, you remove the entire sand that is supposed to hold the column. When you put the column, it floats. Some of these things are damaging our environment. If those things are allowed to continue, our generations, our children will not have where to call their own.”
These were the words from Ephraim Inyang-Eyen, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Works while lamenting his frustration following the devastation done to the environment from the activities of those involved in illegal sand dredging.
The activities of illegal sand mining otherwise known as sand dredging came under the attention of the Akwa Ibom State Government following public outcry over the devastating effects posed on the ecosystem.
Many communities in the state have suffered untold hardship following the activities of the sand dredgers. Their economic livelihood, farming and fishing is no more. Many have also left the communities for fear of environmental degradation as many of the dredging sites have been abandoned by the dredgers and left with mighty gully.
Worried by the unpleasant stories emanating from some of these communities, the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, dispatched his foot soldiers to the sites of these sand dredging. Commissioners in three different ministries went on a surveillance tour. Works Commissioner – Ephraim Inyang-Eyen, his counterpart in the Environment Ministry, Dr. Iniobong Essien and Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah.
The three commissioners saw that there was high level connivance between officials of the Akwa Ibom Water Company Limited and those involved in the business of illegal dredging of sand. The commissioners didn’t visit the site alone, they went with heavy armed security agents where some arrest were made.
At the dredging site, there were hallowed pipes of Akwa Ibom Water Company Limited used by the dredgers to dredge sand.
A visibly angry Umanah vowed that the State Governor would get to the root of the matter. Umanah, who expressed shock over the development, said there was high network of people sabotaging the interest of Akwa Ibom state and the government of the state.
He said: “I want to say that this revelation is shocking. We are shocked to our marrows because what this revealed is high level connivance. It has revealed a network of people sabotaging the interest of Akwa Ibom State and the government of the state.
“The sincerity of investment of government in providing public water is sabotaged by a group of people who moved hallowed pipes for public water to dredge sand for their private interest. I know that Governor Udom Emmanuel will get to the root of this to safe this state from this level of abuse and rape of public interest against private interest.
“What we have seen here through this exercise today is as devastating as the devastation we have seen here. We can see that this is only one or two communities in one local government. We understand this is going on in the totality of Akwa Ibom state. Some people have designed the destruction of this state and its ecosystem. We need to rise up against this.
“We have to urgently arrest this situation. Community leaders and village heads must rise up. We cannot mortgage our future for peanut for people who come to connive from different parts of Nigeria because they want to dredge sand and make money. Our people must understand the depth of this destruction so that we can keep the state safe.”
The Works Commissioner also said if urgent steps are not taken by the state government to ameliorate the situation, in another three months of heavy downpour, the state would have lost communities of Afaha Ikot Ossom and Ebieretu in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.
Hear him: “At the rate of what we are seeing here, we guarantee that in another three months of heavy downpour, we would have lost this community. It is not make-believe, it is a practical thing. So I think at this point in time the entire Akwa Ibom people will have to rise up together in unison, no division in order to arrest this devastation. We will lose our environment and generation after us will not forgive us for this.
“There is something I find very interesting here. In Lagos state or in other states of the federation, I understand the Nigerian Water ways are saying they are the ones to give mining licences. These licences are not given in other states because you can’t dredge sand in Lagos state, why is it dredged in Akwa Ibom?
“We are sounding it loud and clear that whoever goes outside to get a licence even from the Presidency, Akwa Ibom people will resist it because this is our land and nobody will destroy it for us because after this destruction they will go somewhere else but we have nowhere to go to. Akwa Ibom people will resist this because we cannot surrender our environment to anybody.”
The Commissioner for Environment said the activities of sand dredgers should be properly regulated in the state.
He said: “Our clarion call to all and sundry in the state is that whoever wants to mine sand should follow clear cut procedures. We have set up a body which even includes the association of miners or dredgers in the state.
“We have called on all of them to come forward because for whatever mining that is taking place in the state should be regulated. What you have seen here is total degradation of our environment and it is not sustainable because farming and fishing cannot take place in some of this areas. The source of livelihood for the people is totally gone. It is a call to all to come together and condemn this illegal act because that is the only way we can have sustainable development.”
Akwa Ibom people await the next line of action from the state government.
