…Senate intervenes
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 the several erosion sites in the area.
This move by the Upper Chambers of the National Assembly, NASS, became necessary as the people are now, more than ever, faced with existential threats posed by multiple gully erosions ravaging every nook and cranny of the area.
The Senate noted that the total collapse of the Obodoukwu, Urualla, Akokwa, Umumaisiaku, Umuchima and Umueshi gully erosion sites and floodwaters have led to the loss of human lives, property worth over N4 billion as well as inflicted severe injuries on many people.
The entire Ideato nation is gasping and in shambles. The gullies are expanding daily. The people are frustrated and hapless and unhappy with government’s slow pace in managing active erosion sites in the two council areas.
Soil erosion is regarded as one of the most serious environmental and public health problems facing human society today. 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.
So far, no less than 30 residential homes have been swept and over 15 people have lost their lives in the monsterous and devastating floods causing the menace. Among the victims 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. These days, buildings cave in even when there’s no rains, it is more like landslides.
Lost of homes, farmlands
While many have lost their homes and farmlands, others have abandoned theirs and have been forcefully separated from their kiths and kins by dangerous and massive erosion gullies which cut communities into different parts.
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 property, farmlands, and critical infrastructures such as roads, power and phone cables, and pipes.
Access Roads
In the last four years, a major road linking Anambra and Imo states, the Orlu-Obiohia-Akokwa-Uga federal road, have been cut off at Urasi River, eating deep into Umuchima leaving in its trail, destructions, wailing and crying.
This erosion site 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.
The road is an important route that connects Imo to Anambra and many other states in the country.
SOS
The President-General of Umuchima community, Mr. Chibueze Emelu, while pleading with relevant authorities to save the people from extinction, said: “Erosion has swept off houses and farmlands on the road, forcing people to flee. We are calling on the Federal Government to come to our aid.”
“The condition of the road is deplorable. Our people are on the verge of being cut off owing to the state of the road. The economic and social life of the people is threatened by gully erosion. Federal and state governments must act now as communities in the area no longer have access to anywhere.”
Looming Catastrophe
A former member of the Ideato South Local Government Caretaker Committee, Hon. Ifeanyi Duru, expressed worries that the situation has assumed catastrophic proportions.
He said: “The truth is that some of us from Obiohia do not even have the faintest idea of the magnitude of this environmental disaster looming.
“Recently, I took out time and went round all the erosion sites in the community with a photographer in order to get the pictorial view of the situation on the ground, what I found out that very day really shook me to the marrows.
“From the road connecting Obiohia/Umueshi, through the Ozuomba Mbadiwe University (formerly Eastern Palm University) northernmost gate, to the erosion that runs through late David Mmeje’s backyard 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 explained that why it seemed that the present administration of Governor Hope Uzodimma was not doing anything to mitigate the situation was because the ecological problem in the area is way beyond it.
The governor through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Oguwike Nwachukwu, said he was not only dealing with the situation in Ideato South and North but anywhere erosion is posing a threat to lives and property in Imo.
“For Ideato in Orlu, the governor is very much in touch with the Federal Government’s Ecological Funds Office through the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government. Recently, a team from the Ecological Funds Office visited the erosion sites to evaluate the situation on the intervention of the Governor. We are awaiting their final response and perhaps, the formal award of contract protocols so that work can begin”, Nwachukwu said.
Not our responsibility
On the Orlu-Mgbee-Obiohia-Akokwa road, the Commissioner for Works, Raph Nwosu, stated that it is not the responsibility of the state government to do federal roads.
“The road in question is a federal road, therefore, it’s not our responsibility. We are only trying to intervene and when we came, we saw the ecological problem at Mgbee is huge. It requires proper studying because if you build 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. We needed a proper studying to award it So we are only doing the FG a favour for it’s their responsibility.”
Legislative Intervention
Worried by the magnitude of 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 “notes the economic impact of the continuous loss of lives, businesses and properties of individuals, NGOs and the government as flood is burying them under debris day after day;
“Concerned that the gullies and floodwaters are now beyond the Imo state government. Hence, the need for federal government’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; and
“Aware that by taking immediate action and working together, we can protect lives, preserve our community’s well-being, and build a safer and more resilient future.”
The Senate in its resolutions, urged the Ecological Fund Office, 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 NEMA 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.