By Nnamdi Ojiego
Succour may be on the way for the people and residents of Ideato South and Ideato North local government areas, LGAs, of Imo State, as the Senate has called on the relevant Federal Government, FG, agencies to embark on immediate remedial works on several erosion sites in the area.
This move by the upper chamber of the National Assembly, NASS, became necessary as the people are now, more than ever, faced with existential threats posed by multiple gullies ravaging every nook and cranny of the area.
The Senate noted that the total collapse of erosion sites has led to the loss of human lives, and property worth over N4 billion as well as inflicted severe injuries on many people.
In Imo, the sites of gully erosions are commonplace. However, Ideato is believed to be the most erosion-prone area in the state with over 200 erosion sites across the federal constituency. The entire Ideato nation is gasping and in shambles as a result of ecological problems.
As the rains pound harder, the gullies are expanding daily. These days, buildings cave in even when there’s no rain, it is more like landslides. The people are frustrated and hapless and unhappy with the government’s slow pace in managing active erosion sites in the two council areas.
According to Sunday Vanguard findings, no fewer than 30 residential homes have been swept and over 15 people have lost their lives in the monstrous menace. Among the victims, we gathered, are two elderly siblings, Mr. Benedict Agughasi and Festa Agughasi of Obiohia community.
Communities mostly affected include Umuchima, Obiohia, Ogboko, Ugbelle, Amanator, Umueshi, Urualla, UmumaIsiaku, Obodoukwu, Isiokpo, Akpulu, Isiekeneisii, Umuobom, Akokwa and Ntueke.
Loss of homes, farmlands
While many have lost their homes and farmlands, others have abandoned theirs and have been forcefully separated from their kiths and kin. Although there are no verified independent sources to ascertain the monetary/economic value of damages done by the gullies in Ideato, it is estimated to run into billions of Naira, including loss of critical infrastructures such as roads, power and telephone installations, cables and pipes.
Cut Off
In the last two years, a major road that connects Imo to Anambra and many other states in the country, the Orlu-Obiohia-Akokwa-Uga federal road, has been cut off at Urasi River, leaving in its trail, destructions, wailing and crying.
Those who spoke to our reporter said the erosion along the federal road was long identified but nothing serious was done to check the advancing gully until the highway bowed to the superior force of flood, leaving motorists and other road users stranded and at the mercy of hoodlums.
SOS
While appealing to relevant authorities to save the people from extinction, the President-General of Umuchima community, Mr. Chibueze Emelu, said: “Erosion has swept off houses and farmlands forcing people to flee their ancestral homes. Our people are on the verge of being cut off. The economic and social life is threatened by gully erosions. We are calling on the Federal Government to come to our aid. they must act now as communities in this area no longer have access to anywhere.”
Looming Catastrophe
A former member of the Ideato South LGA Caretaker Committee, Hon. Ifeanyi Duru, had expressed worries that the situation has assumed catastrophic proportions. According to him, not many “have the faintest idea of the magnitude of this environmental disaster looming.
“Recently, I took out time and went around all the erosion sites in my community, Obiohia with a photographer to get a pictorial view of the situation. What I found out that very day really shook me to the marrow.
“From the road connecting Obiohia/Umueshi, through the Ozuomba Mbadiwe University northernmost gate, to the erosion that runs through Umuezee, and finally, the monstrous endless abyss around Umuezee/Agbala axis, that has become a potentially existential threat to us as a community.
“Though the pictures and report from that exercise were submitted to the current government in power by myself, I still believe that the community needs to rise to the challenges and threats posed to her environment by this ugly development.”
Imo govt’s efforts
The Imo State government has said that the ecological problem in Ideato is way beyond it. Governor Hope Uzodimma through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Oguwike Nwachukwu, said he was not only worried about the situation in the area but anywhere erosion is posing a threat to lives and property in Imo.
“For Ideato, the governor is very much in touch with the Federal Government’s Ecological Funds Office, EFO, through the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government. Recently, a team from the EFO visited the erosion sites to evaluate the situation on the intervention of the governor”, Nwachukwu said.
Not our responsibility
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Works, Mr. Raph Nwosu, has declared that the affected Orlu-Mgbee-Obiohia-Akokwa road was not the responsibility of the state government.
“The road in question is a federal road, therefore, it’s not our responsibility to do it. We are only trying to intervene. However, when we came, we saw that the ecological problem is huge and requires proper studying because if you build a bridge there it will collapse if it’s not properly studied.
“So people are studying it and after the study, we will go ahead and award the project. Initially, we thought it was a small problem but when we got there, it was larger than we thought. Therefore, we needed proper studying before awarding the contract. So we are only doing the FG a favour for it’s their responsibility”, Nwosu stated.
Legislative intervention
Worried by the magnitude of the devastation, the Senator representing Imo West (Orlu zone) senatorial district, Mr. Osita Izunaso, a fortnight ago, moved a motion of “Urgent Need to Carry-Out Remedial Work on Obodoukwu, Urualla, Akokwa, Umumaisiaku, Umuchima and Umueshi Gully Erosion Sites in Ideato North and Ideato South LGAs, Imo State”
Presenting the motion, Izunaso noted the economic impact of the continuous loss of lives, businesses, and properties of individuals, NGOs, and the government as floods are burying them under debris day after day.
Concerned that the gullies and floodwaters are now beyond the Imo state government, the lawmaker stressed the need for FG’s presence and urgency to undertake immediate remedial work to mitigate the risks and prevent further loss of lives, properties, and environmental degradation in the affected areas.
The Senate, in its resolutions, urged the EFO and the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA. to jointly and urgently engage relevant experts, including geologists, hydrologists, and environmental engineers, to conduct the assessment and implement measures such as slope stabilization, gabion installations, terracing, re-vegetation, and construction of retaining walls to prevent further losses and minimize the risks to nearby infrastructure, communities, LGAs, and states.
It also urged the emergency agency to urgently implement a community resettlement plan, where necessary, to relocate residents from high-risk areas, providing them with adequate housing, livelihood support, and necessary amenities;
The lawmakers further asked NEMA and EFO to establish community-based initiatives to enhance resilience, such as emergency response teams, evacuation plans, and the formation of local task forces focused on disaster management; outlining the achieved milestones, challenges encountered, and plans for future actions every four weeks.
Source: Vanguard
