Gully erosion evicts 30 families and counting

At least 30 families have relocated from their homes in the Ikot-Uduak area of Calabar, Cross River State, due to the ravaging effect of gully erosion in the community, Southern City News reports.

It was gathered on Sunday that aside the families, 200 others were considering relocating as well.

Efioanwan Asibong, the newly elected village head confirmed this.

Asibong, a princess, said erosion was fast sending the indigenes of the community out of their ancestral home.

She said, “We now live in fear because of the rate at which erosion eats up our houses. Many have been forced to abandon their houses, while some have lost property worth millions of naira to the erosion. We do not know what else to do than to cry out to our Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, to come to our rescue.”

Asibong wondered how the community land that had no threat of erosion in the past suddenly became a huge erosion site.

Asibong said: “What you are looking at started about 12 years ago during the administration of former Governor Donald Duke, who tried so much to handle the situation by constructing a drainage channel, which helped to reduce the problem.

Unfortunately, the government could not complete the project. It was stopped midway.

I have also tried to stop people from harvesting sand from the location, but all my efforts seem not to be effective, which is why we are also calling on the Deputy Governor, Prof Ivara Esu, who has been going round some of these sites to also visit the one at Ikot Uduak.

We have written an appeal letter to the deputy governor, the Ministry of Lands, and the chairman of the Calabar Municipality Local Government Area, appealing that they come to our rescue before it is too late.

We have also concluded plans to submit letters to the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project."

Secretary of the community, Ekpeyong Efiwatt, also appealed to Ayade to help salvage what was left of their ancestral home before the situation got out of hand.

Efiwatt said: “We know the last administration made a lot efforts in different rural areas, but our community was totally left out in the eight years of former Governor Liyel Imoke. Nothing was done here.

If Imoke had continued from where Duke stopped, this problem would not have escalated to this level. Besides, we also want government to prosecute people who harvest sand in order to avert the looming danger."

Efiwatt said the last time government officials visited the threatened community was over three years ago when the then Commissioner for Works, Mr. Venatius Ikem, accompanied ex-governor Imoke.

He recalled that during the visit, Imoke promised to address the problem, but never did until he left office on May 29, 2015.

One of the landlords in the area, Mr. Peter Ita, said the situation was different when he built his house 15 years ago.

He explained: “When I came here about 15 years ago, things were not like this at all. What you are looking at today started close to eight years ago after the government of Mr. Donald Duke left office. It is high time government took this matter as an emergency because that is exactly what it is.

Many people have packed out with their families for the fear of this problem which showed no sign of reprieve at all. This place was purely a plain land that was duly surveyed by qualified surveyor and building plans approved by the Ministry of Lands."

A senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the agency had five project sites in the state, adding that the Ikot Uduak community was not included.

He, however, expressed optimism that the community might be included in subsequent projects.

He said, “We are aware of what is happening at Ikot Uduak, but there is nothing we can do for now until that place is approved and it is not in our power to do so. But what they must do first is to write to us, informing us officially.”