After many decades of erosion havoc in parts of the South-East, the Federal Government has responded to the threat by awarding contracts worth N11.5 billion to contain the threat. But will that solve the deeply-rooted problems? NGOZI OBOH, who has been monitoring environmental degradation in the region, reports.
The ecological problem of the South-East is not new and appears to have defied all solutions already applied by successive administration in the land. It may not be out of place to say that of the whole country, the area has taken the hardest blow from the forces of nature that have been pounding the troubled landscape for decades: yet gully and marine erosion driven by severe flooding and land encroachment has combined to compound the problem that has already left its scars on the landscape.
The South-East gullies are believed to be caused by the action of torrential rains on cohesion-less soil, worsened by? improper termination of roadside drainages,? dumping of refuse in waterways coupled with deforestation and aggregation of surface runoff arising from uncontrolled urban developments.
For instance, the Nanka landslide and gully erosion has since the 18th? century proved insurmountable to successive authorities which have been trying every known approach to get it off the neck of the people. Neither human nor the most modern technological device has been able to curtail its advancement. Its menace has become so threatening that many have tended to attribute its defiance to spiritual, some natural forces beyond their control: the colonial masters tried to overcome it once and for all but failed woefully just as no administration since then has been able to overcome the ravages of the landslide in the area.
It is not the only site that is giving the government and people of the South East sleepless nights. In Anambra State alone, there are no fewer than 1000 erosion sites.
It is estimated that to effectively tackle erosion in Anambra State alone, the government needs to put down at least N500 trillion. If the cost of the devastation caused by erosion in Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi is added to that, then the five state governments in the region, would need to seek the assistance of international financial groups and donor agencies to be able to render even a marginal response to the problem.
Although the five governors met in October 2008 to find an answer to the problem, they only ended up crying louder for aid. Having reviewed the enormity of the environmental challenge and their? purse, the governors pleaded with the Federal Government to urgently tackle the problem to save them from being wiped out of the map of Nigeria.
The federal government did not disappoint though, as it ordered the environment ministry to design an immediate intervention programme to contain the problem in the region. The ministry came up with 15 erosion projects, which it considered very critical and put their cost at N11.5 billion, and assured that they would be carried out without delay.
Minister of Environment Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia, said? that the projects would be funded directly from the Ecological Fund to avoid any delay in completing them.
Under the tripartite arrangement put in place to ensure the immediate completion of the projects, the ministry is to execute the project to be funded by the EF while they would be supervised by selected consultants.
In spite of the spirited attempt to arrest the worsening situation, the local communities still live in fear of being washed away by the advancing landslides.
But the assurance from the government has not faded. “Government is therefore making efforts at both local and International levels to encourage best practices aimed at reversing the environment problems,” the environment minister stated at the formal flag off of the 15 erosion projects held at Sacamori/Nwangene flood control site in Onitsha Anambra state.
“State, local governments and individuals have obligations androles to play in addressing the peculiar environmental challengesfacing the country. Therein lies the path to the safety of lives and property of our people and the sustainability of our environment for unhindered socio-economic activities, towards the realization of the Nation’s dream of being among the World’s 20 leading economics by the year 2020.
“It is therefore desirable that structures and dedicated institutions put in place at the Federal level to address the ecological problems are also replicated at the State and LGA levels.
But to the Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, the award of contracts for the projects marked the first step in the journey of 1000 miles and called for more attention to the paid to the monumental problem starring the people on the face.
Obi said the singular exercise and the inclusion of the state governments in the supervision of the projects would ensure that the relevant stakeholders pay adequate attention to the implementation and protection of the projects for the interest of the communities.
“What we are doing today marks a paradigm shift in the way the Federal
Government had previously tackled erosion problems in the South-East.
In the past, contractors were awarded contracts from Abuja without the knowledge of the state and local governments, who are the real stakeholders. The result is that many of these projects were poorly executed and most times unsustainable.
Obi said that his administration had continued to tackle environmental challenges headlong.
However such assurance gives no serious hope to the people especially with the warning by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency of heavier rainfall and the need to take actions to contain the rise.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Environment and former Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, assured that with the pledge of the sum of $450 by the World Bank for erosion control in the country, the SE would not be left out.?
But to further tame the ecological monster in the south-east, the federal government disclosed plans to establish Integrated Solid waste Management Facility in the zone.
However, with the rating of Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Anambra State as one of the five fastest-growing cities in the world, it is yet to be seen if the effort by the federal government would add any meaningful succor to the erosion menace in the area.
For Onitsha’s growth to be sustainable, it needs to overcome several developmental challenges. But paradoxically, the Sacamori/Nwangene drainage channel lies at the lowest part of the city, absorbing sand and refuse from the other parts of the town. The result is that the channel is easily blocked, thereby defeating the purpose for which it was built.
How far the new approach by the federal and state governments in the area will go in checking the perennial erosion problem in the five states will become clear when the new projects come on stream.? Will they take away the flood, tears and fear of the natives?