…as flood displaces 500 residents in Asaba
By Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin and Nosa Akenzua, Asaba
No fewer than 30 houses have been destroyed by a gully erosion ravaging the Okhoro community in Benin, Edo State.
This is just as about 500 residents of Infant Jesus road area in Asaba Delta State have been displaced by flood, which also destroyed three houses in the community.
Also, electricity poles and other public infrastructure in the Okhoro community have been damaged by the gully erosion, resulting in total blackout in the area due to inability of the power distribution company to supply electricity to the area under that situation.
When our correspondent visited Okhoro at the weekend, a failed portion of the road leading to the community had become worse and making it very dangerous for people to move in the area.
The Coordinator of the Edo Civil Society Organisations, Aliyu Umwen, told our correspondent that the gully erosion was threatening to cut off the Okhoro community from the rest of Benin City.
Umwen said due to the deplorable situation in the community many of the landlords in the area had to abandon their houses and move elsewhere for their safety, while so many others had even died from shock resulting from the loss of their property in the area.
He, therefore, urged the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration to concentrate on fixing the problems in the community by providing the much-needed dividends of democracy to the people.
The human rights activist said, “Tax payers’ money should be put to use in containing this gully erosion that is sending landlords and landladies to their untimely graves. Our people can no longer sleep due to the gully erosion. For now, hardly no week passes without a building being consumed here. It’s a pathetic situation we are in here in Okhoro community.
“We have sought Edo State Government’s attention, but they turned a blind eye to the horrible situation here. Governor Godwin Obaseki needs to be proactive rather than reactive.
“It is stated and written boldly in the 1999 constitution as amended 2011 Section 14 (2b) that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. With this, I hereby call government’s attention to the moat linking Okhoro down to Upper Lawani, which channels all the erosion from Ediaken Primary School road through Aisosa down to Ikpoba River. What used to be a blessing to the people of Okhoro is now becoming a threat and danger to us, the occupants and residents living around this area and its environs.
“If urgent steps are not taken, it will lead to more loss of lives and properties of residents living around this area. If nothing is done within a matter of a short time, it will cut off Okhoro from the heart of Benin City. It is said that prevention is better than cure. We hereby call on the various stakeholders with the responsibility to act, to do so fast so as to prevent the disaster that is about to occur.”
A landlord in the community, who has already lost a property to the gully erosion, Pa Godwin Uwaila, lamented the level of neglect of the community by the government, despite the representation made by the elders of the community to the governor.
Uwaila, who said if not for his children who have accommodated him, he would have long died of high blood pressure caused the effect of losing his property to the gully erosion.
“Many of my co-landlords in this area have died due to loss of their property to the gully erosion. That building that you are seeing up there that is almost caving in now, the owner died just a few days ago, because he had nowhere else to go. So, Governor Obaseki must do something urgent before our community is wiped off,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents of the Infant Jesus community in Asaba have been leaving the area in droves due to the frequent flooding experienced in the community.
The flood, which occurred in the area between March and October this year had resulted in the displacement of no fewer than 500 residents of the area, while three houses had been destroyed.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that Infant Jesus Phase Two community is worse affected as inadequate government intervention efforts had led to the devastation of the area by flood.
Adjoining streets in the area such Rondy, Umeje Adudu, Iyase Osowe , Chukwunwike Nwodi and others have been submerged by the flood while many residents have abandoned their houses to take refuge elsewhere. But others who have nowhere to stay are still hanging around the area.
Residents have, therefore, appealed to the state government to come to their aid urgently to halt the destruction of their property and environment by the flood.
They also pleaded with the state government to dredge the River Niger and build an embankment to prevent it from overflowing its banks, especially during rainy season.
A victim, Mr. Chike Nwodi, lamented the situation in the area, adding, “We are appealing to the state government to come to our aid because we have nowhere at present to stay. Our houses have been submerged. The problem is the annual flooding from the River Niger and the rate is dependent on the quantity of rainfall and this has been our challenge and what we have been facing since 2012 and 2018 that led to all residents of the area to relocate”
Another resident, Chief Patrick Onwochi, noted that urgent government intervention in Infant Jesus Phase two community would benefit the whole city of Asaba.
Onwochi added that the flood would no longer be a challenge once the River Niger had been dredged and the flooded areas reclaimed.
He also pleaded with the state government to sell sand to the residents at cheaper rate to enable them to sand fill the area.
“What we are asking for is the state government to do a complete channeling of the drainage into the River Niger. We are asking for the dredging of the river so that it is able to take any volumes of excess water going in, because we are suffering in this area and we need an urgent intervention from the state government and that is the only way we can move on with our lives,” he said.
In 2018, the administration of Govenor Ifeanyi Okowa, having realised the havoc that the floods could wreak, embarked on a multi-million Naira drainage system to check the problem once and for all.
The storm control drain project, which was divided into three phases and awarded to a Chinese construction firm, carried large volumes of water from several parts of the town, saving the people the recurring problem of flood as experienced some years ago by the residents of the areas.
The state’s Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Chris Onogba, assured that the state government would take the necessary steps to alleviate the suffering of the people, adding, “We are aware of the massive flood menace at Infant Jesus and when the rains finally stop, we shall be doing something about the situation in the area.
“We sympathise with the victims and we hope to care of them and make life meaningful for them and the entire Deltans.”
