Erosion across the South East is a life threatening situation, perhaps worse than any other natural disaster, judging from the social, cultural, and economic impact on the region.
Families are forced to flee their homes and industries their locations.
Statistics showed that the South East has grave cases of over 2,000 gully erosion sites. Imo State alone has over 410.
While some of the sites are caused by natural disaster, such as land slide and natural land formation, others are caused by deforestation, farming practices, road construction, bad drainages, and flood debris.
Need for erosion control blueprint
All this is caused in part by the inability of federal, states, and councils to devise a comprehensive erosion control scheme.
Implementation of a good programme – timely intervention, new culverts, filling up gullies, and well constructed roads that would not produce potholes within months of completion – would have helped prevent erosion.
Unfortunately too, sand excavators parade papers from states’ Environment Ministry and from the Federal Ministry of Mines authorising them to excavate sand, thereby worsening gully erosion.
In Imo State, gully erosion sites have advanced to dangerous dimensions, separating communities and kinsmen.
Interest of World Bank
A few months ago, the World Bank showed interest to partner with the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) to control erosion in Imo State.
This was disclosed during a visit to FUTO Vice Chancellor, Chigozie Asiabaka, by the leader of the World Bank delegation, Amos Abu.
The partnership will create a community driven erosion control and watershed management through the implementation of the World Bank/federal government intervention scheme.
Abu said the bank decided to partner with FUTO’s Institute of Erosion Studies on the project based on the track record of the institute
How soon will this promise by the World Bank trickle down to communities?
This question is on the lips of residents of Okohia-Ihim Autonomous community in Imo State, who appear to be the worst hit by gully erosion.
The traditional ruler of the community, Oliver Ohanweh, warned that the buildings of Okohia Primary School, founded in the 1950s, and St. Peters Anglican Church will soon cave into gully erosion measuring several metres deep.
On October 6, 2014, he wrote a letter to the Imo State House of Assembly asking for his community to be declared an erosion disaster area.
He claimed that about five people, mostly school children, have gone missing from locations not far from the erosion site.
The letter said the “village leaders are calling on the Imo State House of Assembly to save us out of over 100-foot deep gully erosion. We are in dire need of the intervention of the House to save us from perishing.”
On October 22, 2013, the House of Representatives moved a motion on the same matter, tabled by Matthew Omegara, the member representing Onuimo, Okigwe and Isiala Mbano Federal Constituency.
NEMA shuns lawmakers’ plea
The motion, titled, “Save Ihim community from annihilation by gully erosion” said “the situation could soon degenerate into crisis dimension” because the gully erosion “is on the verge of swallowing some of the structures” located close to the state primary school, the church, and the palace of Ohanweh.
The motion was adopted by the House, which asked the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to send relief materials urgently to the resident to cushion the effects of the menace on them.
A year on, NEMA is yet to give attention to the community.
Also last year, Imo State Petroleum and Environment Commissioner, Okey Okoro, made a case for the government to release N300 million being counterpart funding for the federal government’s erosion scheme.
Okoro was not available for comment, but a source in the ministry said the money has not been released.
Erosion advances 200 metres yearly
Ohanweh has closed down the only primary school in the community for fear of children jumping into the gully erosion.
One of the community leaders, Luke Ugwuji, said the situation has got out of hand, despite all efforts by the indigenes.
The erosion moves forward yearly by 200 metres, he lamented, and “we no longer feel safe in our own community. Where can we relocate to at this critical time? Our school children, family members farm lands and buildings are not safe.
“If the federal or state government cannot help, let them relocate us.”
Nowhere else to go
Another resident, Appolonia Anyanwu, supported the closure of the primary school, saying women cannot go to the farm and have instructed their children to stay indoors until after the final landslide.
There is nowhere else to live, she moaned.