The Nation Newspaper

Tag: erosion

  • Erosion agony in Anambra

    Erosion agony in Anambra

    The pain is not just that their soil is breaking up and giving way. Or that the residents are losing property. The torment of Ekwusigo Local Government Area in Anambra State is that nobody has come to their aid. Now, erosion is claiming lives, reports NWANOSIKE ONU

    It is not a pretty pastime, yet every resident counts their losses. Their houses collapse into the depths of red earth. So do  farmlands. Many buildings could follow suit. Now they are counting their human losses, too.

    Communities in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State epitomise the horrors of much of the Southeast, but in this council, the people say they have a reason to feel doubly hurt. Why? No one is listening to them even though they started crying out well over a decade ago.

    Two brothers of the Igwemadu family in Urumabiam community in Ozubulu have died of a heart attack, the latest victims, the people said, of their horrible present and an uncertain future.

    Their appeals spanning over 10  years to the federal and state governments have done nothing to address their pain.

    The people recall that only the Peter Obi administration made an attempt to look their way but even then, it was in the twilight of his second term: too little, too late.

    The House of Assembly member representing the people, Hon Pauly Onyeka has been in tears over what his people are going through.

    Onyeka said his people believe that Governor Willie Obiano will one day visit the suffering people and begin palliative work on the sites since they know that the situation is beyond the state government.

    One of the elders in Ihembosi community, 74-year-old Ichie Ezekwem Ezeana, told The Nation that the community alone has about 14 erosion sites, and that  the residents have been living in fear.

    When The Nation visited the area, the sites were horrible to behold. The agony of the people is immense.

    The old man, in tears, said, “I cannot say that our government is a listening one, otherwise it would have noticed the devastation in these areas”

    “We do not want to lose more lives before they come to help us. To tell you the truth, what we are doing in Ekwusigo is suffering and smiling.”

    “Our major concern is every time election comes, all of them including the governor will come and promise heaven and earth, but after voting them in, they will abandon those that voted them to die slowly; it is unfortunate”.

    Also, the building belonging to 76 year old Pa Onyejiaka Anazodo is at the verge of being swept away by the same menace and the septuagenarian is in his knees begging Obiano and other governments for help.

    The fence of the building is already gone. Should the house cave in, the man and his family have nowhere to go.

    Furthermore, The Nation was told that the traditional ruler of the area, Igwe Dr. Daniel Udoji has made appeals and representatives to the government, all to no avail.

    Chukwulobe Ifeanyi said the erosion problem in the area began in 1996 and then escalated because of the activities of the construction firm, Consolidated Construction Company (CCC) when it began reconstructing Onitsha- Owerri  Road, a federal way.

    He said, “the construction company failed to direct the erosion to Ekulo River, so all the water from Ichi, Ifite, Oraifite were all channelled to this place”

    “And if the thing is allowed to continue, by next rainy season, this area will be swallowed and many lives will be lost, while uncountable numbers of buildings will equally go.”

    It was discovered that the erosion problem has cut off some communities from others, two of them being Awo and Ifite.

    A student of Saint Paul University Ufondu Emenike told The Nation that Awo Road linking Ifite was passable up till 2012 until the rains came and swept off the place.

    The erosion menace has equally consumed the house of one Gabriel Asuzu. The site of the erosion is believed to be the longest in West Africa, measuring about four kilometers.

    It is also said that the building belonging to one Ikechukwu Asuzu is on the verge of being swallowed up by the erosion.

    Speaking with The Nation, one of the rural women, Mrs. Catherine Mbonu said the problem began about 15 years ago and has attracted no form of help from anybody or government.

    Following the rapid surge of the erosion, one of the residents of Ozubulu community, Anaeto Echezona said that many people in the area have started what he called movement of Jah people (Exodus) to other communities.

    “We are almost dead in these areas, we need somebody to rescue us from this problem of erosion; the people of the different communities do not feel comfortable any more in their own land.”

    However, The Nation discovered that some of the erosion sites were man-made, caused by land excavation especially at Egbema Ozubulu which had gone five feet deep, while others are caused by natural disasters.

    Chief Goddy Ulasi, the Vice president General of Ozubulu Development Union (ODU), told The Nation that the Urumabiam erosion site had been there for the past 20 years.

    He claims that some of the people have relocated to other areas where they would be safe, while the government at any level allowed people to be consumed.

    “This erosion has cut off brothers, sisters, relations and neighbours from their people, this village is no more, we have suffered in this place, we can no longer communicate with our people”

    The lawmaker, while lamenting in tears, told The Nation that it is unfortunate that villages and communities that used to live in harmony had been separated by erosion, yet the governments are still adamant.

    “Before now, our former Governor, Mr. Peter Obi sent a delegation for palliative measure before he left office and I know that our Governor now, Chief Willie Obiano (Akpokuedike) is an environment friendly Governor and will not allow his subjects to perish”.

    “We cannot continue in this manner nobody knows what the future holds for these people, every community in this my constituency in Ekwusigo has at least 10 erosion sites, therefore, we need help and urgent attention”

    “What we are doing is to bring them to the notice of the state, Federal Government, International Donor agencies, before now, Anambra State had been known as erosion ravaged place from Oko to Nanka to Agulu but today, it is Ekwusigo, we are half dead”

    “This place should be declared erosion disaster area, all the erosions in other areas combined cannot equate those of Ekwusigo, these communities need help” Onyeka lamented.

  • Erosion wreaks havoc in Abia community

    A new erosion site at Amaekpu Ohafia in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State has destroyed the house of a single albino woman, Mrs. Grace Dike and many economic trees.

    Speaking when he visited the erosion site, the council chairman, Ulu Udensi Ekea described the site as disastrous, adding that if nothing is done urgently to address the menace and it would affect other houses and disrupt economic activities in the area.

    Ekea said the state government will do something to alleviate her suffering. He also promised to involve the Federal Government so that they could direct the ecological fund to stop the erosion from doing more damage.

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), would also come to her aid.

    He, however, thanked God that no life was lost in the incident. He called on the people to be conscious of their environments at all times so as to identify such problems on time.

    The council chairman said the magnitude of the erosion measures about 2, 000, stressing that it calls for national emergency. He later donated the sum of N50, 000 to Mrs. Dike.

    While presenting the cheque to the woman, Ekea said he was in government to put smiles on the faces of his people, “especially during their moment of pain. Other occupants of the affected building should look for alternative shelter to avoid loss of lives.”

    He urged Mrs. Dike to use the money judiciously to procure minor relief materials, adding that the council is ready to come to the aid of people who are affected by natural disasters.

    Alao speaking, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ohafia Local Government Area, Kingsley Imaga assured the people of government’s readiness to overcome such natural disasters like erosion, even as he thanked the council chairman for coming to the aid of Mrs Dike.

     

  • Erosion,water hyacinth threaten Akotogbo community

    Erosion,water hyacinth threaten Akotogbo community

    The menace of gully erosion and invasion of their waterways by water hyacinth are threatening to bring life to a halt in Akotogbo, a riverside community in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State. DAMISI OJO reports.

    These are not the best of times for the 10,000 strong inhabitants of Akotogbo, a riverside settlement in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State who are battling the twin invasion of their community by water hyacinth and gully erosion.

    Linked by a river to Benin, Edo State in the south and Badagry in Lagos state in the north, Akotogbo is almost being cut into two by erosion which has created a huge gully through the community.

    And to compound their problem, the river has been covered by water hyacinth thereby denying them easy access to their main market and other places through the waterways. In fact the people, who are predominantly farmers, have abandoned the market.

    The gully erosion which is more than two kilometers long has claimed many lives.

    The town’s regent Iwalewa Omoruwa told The Nation that the crater created by the erosion is endangering the lives of his people especially the younger ones.

    A teacher in the community, Richard Olarinde who corroborated the regent’s claim said the gully has become a death trap, stressing that many children and houses have been lost to it.

    Some residents of the community are unhappy about the situation of things generally there.

    One of them, Lisa Morayo, a mother of four, claimed that the state government has simply neglected the community.

    However, the community’s representative in the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Afolabi Iwalewa said the problem is beyond the state government.

    The regent and other members of the community have therefore urged the government to take concrete steps to end their pains.

    Apart from the menace of erosion, the people have also called on both the federal and state governments to urgently assist them to weed water hyacinths on their waterways to prevent water from overrunning their market.

    The river which is a blessing to the people may soon become a curse if urgent steps are not taken to remove the water hyacinths on the  waterways.

    Currently, the water is overflowing to the community’s main market located beside the river.

    Ojo Adegbusi, one of the high chiefs in the community noted that the community is in dire need of urgent government intervention.

    The member representing Irele state Constituency also lamented the poor state of the river, saying something concrete has to be done urgently to arrest the situation. He expressed the hope that the state government would attend to the demands of the community before the situation degenerates.

  • Abia reclaims erosion sites

    Abia reclaims erosion sites

    The government of Abia State has commenced the reclamation of an erosion site somewhere in old Umuahia which has claimed many houses and if left to continue will claim more houses and farm land and the state and its people will be worse off for it.

    Touched by the huge gully that the erosion had created in the place, the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji directed that the site be worked upon to safe guard the remaining property round the erosion site and reduce the suffering of the people of the area.

    It could be recalled that there are many erosion sites in the state numbering over 1,000 of different categories; in fact the worst area with the highest number of erosion site is in the Isuikwuato Local Government area.

    It is a known fact that the magnitude of the erosion sites at Isuikwuato area are beyond the financial capacity of the state government, as the government at various times called on the Federal Government to come to its aid in tackling the menace that has been ravaging the entire length and breadth of the state.

    The magnitude of the erosion sites has made the funds required to tackle them to keep increasing from small to big. During the administration of the former governor it was said that the then government will require about half a billion naira to tackle the menace and as at this point the financial implication has increased tremendously to well over N100 billion.

    However, the erosion site, which the state government had decided to work upon is the one it could manage with its lean resources and which it could handle with little or no pains to its pocket.

    At the flagging off of the checking of the menace of the erosion, the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji said that one of the ways to tackle the menace of erosion in the state is through the construction of building roads.

    Orji said that contractors who have been engaged by his government should do well to check erosion before building any roads else the roads they would have suffered to build with the resources of the state would be washed away in no distant time.

    The governor said that the erosion site at Afo-Ibeji in Old Umuahia, Umuahia South local government area if not controlled at the Holy Hills Umueledi near Assemblies of God Divinity School, that the school will stand the risk of being washed away.

    He maintained that until the erosion site is controlled, many houses along its way will be attacked and stand the risk of being swept away by the erosion which he described as one of the worst natural disaster in the country.

    Orji noted that many erosion sites exist in the state, stressing that he decided to start with this because of its proximity to residential area and the Assemblies of God Church, School of Theology and called for cordial relationship with the Federal Government to achieve more.

    Orji urged all to be grateful to President Jonathan, disclosing that a reputable contractor was chosen for the work and thanked the people of Old Umuahia for accepting to lose their crops to enable the control of the site permanently.

    He said that their courage to lose their crops to safe their houses and future shows an uncommon courage which other people in the state should emulate, stressing that one has to sacrifice today for a better tomorrow and that they should never regret their action.

    In his speech, the President General of Old Umuahia Development Union Federated and Overseas, Chinedum Ureka appreciated the governor for the much he has done for the people of the area and for keeping to his promise of doing the erosion site.

    In his speech, the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia in the Federal House of Representatives, Oluchi Ibeji thanked Governor Orji for the good relationship existing between him and the people of Old Umuahia, describing the occasion as uncommon one.

  • Erosion cuts off Imo communities

    Erosion cuts off Imo communities

    Devastated residents of Obinugwu, Ntueke and Umuogbom communities in Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State are looking up to Governor Rochas Okorocha to save them. Their communities have been cut off from the rest of the state as the only road linking them to other parts of the  council and the state has been devastated by gully erosion. The people say the disaster happened because the contract to build the road was abandoned.

    The Okorocha administration awarded the contract as part of efforts to open up the rural communities.

    The traditional ruler of Ntueke Autonomous Community, Eze Kerian Uchenna Chinedo lamented that the people of the communities have been cut off from their kinsmen in the other neighboring communities.

    According to the monarch, the first contractor handling the road abandoned it immediately after excavating red earth from the road. He noted that due to the poor performance by the first contractor, the road was re-awarded to a second contractor who also abandoned it after constructing 100 metres of drainage.

    He added further that,  ”while other contractors had returned to site in other areas, the road in our community has been left for erosion to swallow the houses and electric poles, thereby causing grievous danger to our people.

    “The erosion has gone out of control and the remaining portion of the road has been completely washed off, making it impossible for both pedestrian and vehicles to travel on; even the roads leading to our farms have been totally damaged, and as a result we cannot harvest our farm produce”.

    The traditional ruler appealed to the state government to come to their aid by calling back the contractor or reassigning the road project  to a more serious contractor to save the people from threat of the rampaging erosion .

    Also speaking, the Chairman of Elugwu Ntueke Community, Elder Clement Nnoham said that the people are facing serious challenges as a result of the inability to access their farmlands to harvest their products, “we have been starved of food of as a result of lack of access to our family lands to harvest our crops. The road was manageable before the project was awarded but after damaging the road, the contractors left us to suffer untold hardship”.

    The story is not different in some other communities where the abandoned roads have become sources of worry for the residents who accused the state government poor monitoring of contractors handling the projects.

    A resident of one of the affected communities in Ogbaku,  Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state Mr Anaele Akachukwu,  maintained that if the state government truly paid the contractors as claimed, adequate monitoring should have been followed to detect fraudulent contractors .

    “That is why the people are blaming the state government, how can you tell me that after releasing money to them, a contractor would fail to do his own part”, he said.

    Akachukwu noted that most rural roads in the state said to be under construction have been abandoned despite the claims by the state government to have paid the contractors.

    Akachukwu called on the state government especially now that the rainy season is about to commence to ensure that the roads are fixed to avert impending flood disaster in the rural areas.

    Governor Okorocha, it would be recalled last week ordered for the arrest of failed contractors in the state who could not justify the money paid to them.

    Following the poor performance of most of the contractors handling the rural roads in the state, the Governor, after his tour of the communities, sacked all the contractors and revoked the contracts.

    Okorocha noted that, “it is criminal to collect money for contract and abandon the work after receiving over 80% of the total contract sum”.

    The Governor who stated this during a meeting with members of the Executive Council, Transition Committee Chairmen, Traditional Rulers and Ministerial Heads at the new Banquet Hall, Government House, Owerri, said he was shocked at his findings during his tour of Local Government Areas where most contractors either did a skeletal work or totally abandoned the jobs after collecting huge amounts of money.

    He also dissolved all Committees previously set up to supervise all road contracts, stating that, “I don’t want to leave any of my projects uncompleted before December this year. No more awards of contracts, we shall now do the roads through Direct Labour in order to get the works done so that new roads can be embarked upon; I am in a hurry to make all roads in the State motorable”.

    The Imo governor also called on well meaning citizens of the State to work in synergy with the government to discourage and discipline people of dubious character who squander public funds meant for developmental projects.

    “If we don’t fix Imo State now, it will be difficult to do so later; we must sacrifice to better the lives of our people and the state,” he warned.

     

  • Erosion ravages three Isuochi communities

    The member representing Umunneochi State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, Prince Ikedi Ezekwesili, has called on the federal government to come to the aid of three communities in his constituency to save them from several erosion menaces ravaging the area.

    Ezekwesili said that the scope of the menace is beyond the capacity of the state government, as it will require about N15 billion to tackle the situation which has almost sacked a community, while five houses at Umuobasi Mbala have been swept away.

    Speaking while conducting journalists and a team of experts from the state Ministry of Environment round the erosion sites, Ezekwesili said the menace has been on for over 10 years now and wondered why his people failed to bring the problem to his notice before now. Ezekwesili said that the erosion menace has taken over the entire community of Mbaezi Mbala, while over 20 houses at Umuaku Isuochi have been swept away by gully erosion which has kept increasing with every rainy season.

    The political leader in the area, Chief Chukwuma Olima, said that the visit to the erosion sites at Umunneochi has marked a new beginning in the history of the constituency and the state, “As my people have suffered erosion menace for several years”.

  • Erosion divides Oron road into two

    Fully erosion has cut off a major road in Oron community of Akwa Ibom State into two.

    A residential building belonging to Emmanuel Edem was submerged.

    Residents turned out in numbers to catch a glimpse of the house.

    They appealed to the government for help. They said a road like Oron should not have been allowed to cut off totally.

    Edem said he went for his mother’s funeral when neighbours sent him a distress message that his house was no more.

    Mike Okpo, whose house is on Oron road, said: “Over the years, Oron road has undergone a lot of deterioration and neglect. The traffic on that road had been quite heavy over the decade.

    “It is quite unfortunate that in recent times roads like Oron road have been relegated to the back quarters.”

    The government warned residents of erosion-prone areas to leave to avoid loss of lives.

    Speaking during the site inspection of the collapsed road, the Commissioner for Works, Don Etim, sympathised with the Edem family.

    Etim, who spoke through the Head of Civil Engineering Directorate, Effiong Effiakedoho, said ravine encroachment was natural but could be aided by human activities.

    He noted that the case in Oron was a direct result of silting of drains, adding that the protection of environment is a direct responsibility of all.

    The commissioner appealed to Stemco Construction Company handling projects in the area to take up immediate preliminary intervention measures to stall further damage.

  • Nigeria needs N4.3tr to tackle shoreline erosion

    Nigeria needs about N4.3 trillion to tackle coastal erosion and ocean surge in 853km shorelines in nine states.

    Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development Prince Adesegun Oniru gave the figure on Tuesday while delivering a lecture at the 2013 Annual Distinguished Lecture organised by the Nigeria Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE) at the Eko Hotels and Suites.

    The lecture was on: “Nigeria’s Coastal Erosion: A Case Study of the Lagos State Coastline”.

    Oniru said Lagos, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Ogun states need urgent intervention to protect coastlines serving as national boundaries.

    He urged the Federal Government to set up a special budget to avoid disaster in coastal states.

    Oniru said the Federal Government has made little effort to address coastal erosion, leaving states to bear the entire burden of funding coastal protection interventions.

    He said Lagos has strived to bring a lasting solution to the surge at the Alpha Beach in 2011 and Kuramo Beach in 2012.

    Oniru said President Goodluck Jonathan, Minister for Trade and Investment Olusegun Aganga and a delegation from the Ecological Fund Office visited Alpha Beach in 2011 after the surge and promised that the Federal Government would assist Lagos to address the challenge.

    He said: “As I speak, we have not received any form of assistance in any way from the Federal Government.”

    Oniru said the state government has spent about N39 billion on intervention works to protect the 7.5km coastline from the end of the Eko Atlantic City to Alpha Beach, while N440 billion is required to save the coastline from the end of the Eko Atlantic City to the coastline boundary in the state.

    He said the Eko Atlantic City project was initiated to preserve Victoria Island and its environs.

    Oniru said: “The Federal Government needs to recognise that littoral states are our national boundary. A special budget should be made available for states and legislation put in place to avoid coastline disasters.”

    He urged ecological experts to continue to speak out about the dangers of paying lip-service to the protection of coastlines, adding that preventive measures would be easier to contain that the devastating effects of ocean surge.

  • FG secures $500m to combat erosion

    •UN selects Nigeria to set up REDD+ University

    The Federal Government has secured a $500 million facility to address some of the erosion projects in the country, the Minister of Environment, HajiaHadizaMailafia, has disclosed.

    The minister also informed of plans by the United Nations (UN) to set up REDD+ University in the country.

    The decision, according to the minister, followed the nation’s ability to preserve its forest reserve.

    Mailafia spoke at the 2013 Mid Term Presidential Media briefing at the weekend in Abuja.

    She said: “The major challenge we have now is multinational. To this effect, the World Bank has come up with a $500 million facility that will be used over a period of three years to address the enormous challenge of erosion.

    “Over the years, the South Eastern part of this country has been constantly bedevilled with major erosion occurrences.

    “We have issues of erosion in Akwa Ibom for over three years; it’s still there so Mr. President has decided to address this beginning with the big one.

    “I want to congratulate and tell Nigerians that the United Nations has approved for a REDD+ university to be built in Nigeria because of our efforts in preserving Nigeria’s forest reserves.”

    She expressed fears that the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Federal Government might be unsuccessful if issues of flooding and environmental degradation are not considered.

    She identified the Kizito Erosion Control project, Imo, Nekede as well as the erosion control project in Abeokuta, Ogun State as few of the completed projects, which are awaiting commissioning.

    On oil spillage, Mailafia said the Federal Government has supervised the clean-up of over four hundred and ninety-seven oil spill sites in the country.

    She said the ministry also remediated 430 lead poisoned homes and four hectares of lead poisoned industrial sites in Bagega village in Zamfara State.

    She blamed the large number of erosion sites in the nation on past administrations for not doing enough on erosion control.

    She said President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the upgrading of National Parks Service to paramilitary organisation with effect from January 2014.

    The Federal Government, the minister added, is set to privatise all the national parks in the nation.

    Mailifia said it was imperative for the Federal Government to tackle hazardous waste problems in the country especially those that involve the illegal importation and dumping of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste).

  • Erosion cuts off Anambra–Kogi-Abuja road

    About 25 communities in two local governments in Anambra State may be cut off by erosion.

    The erosion is threatening to cut off the asphalted section of the Anambra –Kogi– Abuja highway, which is being built by the Federal Government.

    The road is the only road used by communities in Anambra West Local Government Area to link Otuocha, Onitsha and other parts of the state.

    The project was progressing, though at a slow pace, until last year when the local government was submerged by flood.

    The contractor, Nigercat Nigeria Limited, left the site for unknown reasons.

    The Nation observed that sequel to the rains this year, erosion started “eating up” parts of the road.

    One bridge at Kilometre 8 has been almost washed off.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Special Duties, Tony Nwabunwanne, said Governor Peter Obi, who visited the site, offered to pay the contractor to correct the defects.

    “But as I speak with you, the contractor has not given him the quotations.

    He said he is waiting for approval from the Ministry of Works before the cost can be given to the governor,” he said.

    Commissioner for Finance Mrs. Ngozika Okoye has called on the Federal Government to intervene before it becomes too late.

    She said: “It is urgent. It is an important road. It will cost more if help comes too late.

    “We are crying now because we are used to letting things get bad then we begin to pay for our negligence.”

    The member representing Anambra West in the House of Assembly, Victor Okoye, pleaded with the federal and state governments to help make the road motorable up to Inoma, the boundary with Kogi State.

    “All the money used here will be a waste, if immediate intervention is not done.

    “As it is now, we cannot access the local government headquarters at Nzam, except by boat through the River Niger.”