(Opinion From Nweke Nweke, Onitsha)
Erosion could be defined as the carrying away of soil surface by wind or running water down the slop. It has many factors that in most cases contribute to erosion menace. Sometimes it might be due to the nature of soil. Sandy soil is more prone to erosion. Other factors that could lead to erosion among others are environmental degradation, deforestation, overgrazing, blocking of drainages, over tillage and other ecological factors.
Erosion if not checked on time wrecks a very devastating havoc on property and human survival of the affected area. South East geopolitical zone is erosion prone zone. There is no part of the zone that is free from erosion menace and it constitutes an economic problem.
AnambraState for instance has many gully erosion sites that have caused severe damages on many people’s residences, rendering them homeless; many farmlands and crops destroyed. Many schools and Churches are badly affected in Obosi community in Idemili North L.G.A. many houses were carried away by erosion. The depth of the gully erosion sites in Nanka, Ekwuluobia, Obosi, Oba and so on all in AnambraState is more than 11/2 km. some major roads connecting towns and villages have been cut by the erosion making the evacuation of farm products to markets very impossible. Farmers in the affected areas are living in abject poverty because there is no means of raising income from their crops.
When you travel along Nkpor-Onitsha express road near Omaba Phase one, you notice now erosion is damaging the express road there. Some buildings have been suck down and eroded away while a very big Church is been threatened.
Federal and State governments’ intervention is highly required.
The Federal government has been called upon by successive governments in the South-east to declare the South-east geo-political zone an erosion disaster zone. As the Federal government is checking desert encroachment in all the zones in the Northern Nigeria, the same disaster management has to be extended to the South-east geo-political zone.
It was expected that some donor Countries could come to aid of the South East zone during the tenure of Chief Emeka Anyaoku (Adazie of Obosi) as the Secretary General of the Common Wealth of Nations while Kofi Anang Ghana was the U.N. Secretary General all of the same West African Sub-region.
To our desperation, nothing visible was done except some palliative measures was taken to check that of Obosi sites of which the erosion is retreating back to where it started before causing more damages than before without any measure put in place to check it.
The Minister of Environment, Hajia Hadiza Ibrahim Mailaifia suppose to be invited to the South-east to tour and see for herself, if possible, all the erosion sites to enable the ministry apply a measure capable of ending erosion menace in the zone. If no active measures are not been taken now, before the end of this years raining season, many residential houses will likely be eroded way, rendering the occupants homeless, and causing damages worth more than two billion naira. A stitch in time saves nine.
The erosion has carried many Schools away and presently Federal Polytechnic Oko is being threatened by the deadly scourge called erosion. And if nothing is done to check the incursion of the environmental hazard into the School the damage it will wreck against the school will run into billions of naira. Therefore a stitch in time saves nine.
Please, all the State governors and all the members of the Nation’s parliaments from South-east zone ought to work in synergy aimed at influencing the presidency through the ministry of environment to declare the entire South-east zone erosion disaster zone so as to attract the attention of the presidency towards arresting the erosion menace once and for all. The earlier the better to prove government’s determination in tackling such natural disasters as desert encroachment, surging out of the ocean, erosion, drought, water logging, flood etc that affect humanity.
With recent research made by 247ureports, Nigeria is one of the countries living close to the coast of an ocean which do not experience earthquakes that claim many lives and wide area of coast land including buildings like the Middle-east. Industrial revolution has brought along with it some hazards yet it is indispensable. Before inventions, death rate was lesser due to little automation.
Unlike present century almost everything involving human activity is automated even laundry, domestic works, barbing, even carving all is being automated. Automation has gone a long way in extending life span of entire humanity as infant mortality rate has been reduced; date rate has also been reduced. While life span and longtivity has been extended beyond what it used to be when there was no improved health care delivery system.
Unlike natural disasters, such as erosion flood, landslide, desert encroachment, drought, and ozone depletion and so on, all these require the intervention of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as the States Emergency Management Agencies to arrest the devastating effects of the above natural disasters.
South-east zone alone records the highest land movement involving the loss of lives and property running into billions.
Below are the erosion and land slide sites/locations in South-east geo-political zone. They included among others the following:
AnambraState:
1. Nanka erosion sites. 2. Ekwuluobia erosion sites: 3. Obosi erosion sites etc.
EnuguState:
1. Udi erosion sites 2. Ezeagu erosion sites 3. Udi hill land slide site. 4. Milken hill land slide sites etc.
Other States in South-east are being affected but their locations are scattered in different local governments in the zones.
Some religious bodies attribute the menace as a sign of the end of the system as prescribed in the holy book, Bible.
Some of the Churches preach that the world is approaching the coming back of the Messiah, the Saviour of mankind. If all these ecological and environmental hazards are signs, in spite of that both Federal and State Emergency Management Agencies, should, please as a matter of urgency intervene to salvage the affected Nigerians.
