There are reports that 30 buildings have been destroyed and over 50,000 people have been displaced as a result of the gully erosion ravaging communities in Onitsha Inland, Onitsha North Local Government Area, Anambra State.
The problem, which began in 2019, was said to have caused some damage on Obeleagu and Nkisi-Aroli streets, causing panic among residents when it became more serious.
Residents of the affected areas urged Governor Chukwuma Soludo to save them from the environmental disaster.
Two churches, a school, shops, and residential buildings worth billions of naira had already been completely destroyed by erosion.
Newsmen who visited the site on Friday gathered that a three-storey building constructed close to the gully at Nkisi-Aroli Street caved in three years ago and the erosion had continued to expand.
Following the development, more buildings have been submerged while many occupants have been displaced and their belongings destroyed.
A septuagenarian and retired educationist, Onwa Chukwudobe, told our correspondent that he had suffered serious hardship in the past three years due to the erosion.
He stated, “I thank God that I am still surviving, and I thank the state government for the much they have done, but as you can see, the calamity is not over yet, as it is rapidly ravaging properties.
“I thank our monarch, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, and the town union’s leadership for the relief items they have so far provided for the victims. The state government has diverted the water channel from the main erosion gully site but it has yet to be sealed. That is our concern now.”
Another resident of the area, Amechi Egbunike, urged the state government to rescue them from the area, adding, “We want a proactive measure, not political promises made by past administrations.”
The President-General, Onitsha Improvement Union, Chike Ekweogwu, told our correspondent that since the erosion started late 2019 and became severe in 2020, they had approached the various arms of the government.
He added, “Our monarch has done a lot too by using his influence at a time when the then Minister of State for Environment, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, as well as officials of Anambra State government under former governor Willie Obiano, visited the site.
“Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project officials and even former governor Obiano were here to look at it. The governor had some compassion and he started a palliative measure.”
He appealed to the governor to complete the work and desilt the Nkisi River for the stream to flow freely while tasking the Federal Government for support.
When contacted, the state Commissioner for Works, Ifeanyi Okoma, did not take several calls and messages to his phone.
However, a staff in the ministry said the governor already set up a Flood and Erosion Mitigation Team, headed by his deputy.
“The inter-ministerial team has the State Emergency Management Agency, ministries of environment, education, local government areas, power & water, health, agriculture, transport, works and other concerned government agencies.”
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