Flood ravages Cross-River towns, as FG’s dam collapses......Embattled communities drag contractor, CRBDA to court

Getting to Okobuchi, Akatom and Buniya communities in Irruan Boki Local Government Area, Central Senatorial District in Cross River State, submerged by water from a Federal Government-sponsored dam project was not a trouble-free undertaking.  A journey that would ordinarily take less than five hours took Niger Delta Voice, NDV, reporter, Ike Uchechukwu, who left Calabar at 5a.m., about 10 hours to get to Okobuchi, one of the affected settlements.
Himself and Mr. Peter Abua, his guide, got to Ogoja at about 1p.m. in a vehicle. They then took a motorcycle to the communities.  Accessing the dam site was another kettle of fish, as the terrain is horrifying. Uchechukwu got his first baptism on the jarring road, as black fly, sand fly and other insects, implacably attacked him.
The upshot was swollen hands and legs, which an expert at El-Vigo Laboratory, Calabar, who took his blood sample on return from the revealing trip, diagnosed as onchorcerciasis and leishamaniasis.
He went to a private clinic for treatment on the instruction of his Editor after debriefing. He said: “Editor, the communities look quite neglected and completely forgotten as almost all the bridges were either constructed in the 60s or none at all, because they still use ‘Monkey bridge.’
“Most of the communities like Bawop have no access road. It took about three hours to come out from that place back to Ogoja, where I lodged that night as myself and my guide, Abua, got to Ogoja at about 12 midnight.”  NDV findings showed that the snag that led to the buckling of the dam, which the current Managing Director of Cross River Basin Development Authority, CRBDA, Mrs. Eyo Oyo Ita, not in charge at the time of the construction, was battling to rectify, is a technical deficiency.
According to a reliable source, “the Federal Government has also not released funds since this year to complete the project.” The entire episode is a good read. Also in this edition is the tension in Niger Delta, following the red alert on impending flood.
OKOBUCHI— Adefectively executed Federal Government dam project has caved in in Cross River State, submerging Okobuchi, Akatom and Buniya communities in Irruan Boki Local Government Area, Central Senatorial district and wreaking havoc on residential buildings, cocoa, yam and cassava farms, and other assets estimated at over a billion naira.

Villagers’ rage
Hundreds of displaced villagers are enraged that the Federal Government executed a bad job and have dragged the Cross River Basin Development Authority, CRBDA, under which auspices the Federal Ministry of Water Resources awarded the project in 2013, to court. Also joined in the suit is the contractor, who had since left the site because of lack of funds.
The communities, in a letter to the governor of Cross River state, Professor Ben Ayade, stated: “We wish to bring to your notice the dire circumstances that had befallen the hardworking and farming communities of Buniya, Akatom and Okobuchi as a result of the dam project, which pleased the Federal Government to site in this area.
“In 2011, officials of Cross River Basin Development Authority and a contractor arrived the community with the otherwise good news that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, through the Cross River Basin Development Authority, had awarded a contract to Oweni Nigeria Limited for the construction of Buniya/Akatom dam project in Boki Local Government.”
In the letter, signed by the Chairman, Bunyia Central Committee, Mr. Dominic Kidzu, the communities said: “The people were full of joy and happiness hoping that perhaps the dam project will shore up the water level in the area, which is too low that no borehole or well has been performed around the year.
“Throughout 2013/2014, we noted that the contractor was either not properly financed or was not just serious with the project at all.  “However, by early 2015 they excavated a large area around River Ribokom and constructed a dyke, thereby blocking the natural flow of the river. When the rains came this year, all hell broke loose.
Disaster
“The upper part of the river being unable to discharge water, downstream supply swelled into a large uncontrollable flood, expanding sideways and consuming several hectares of cocoa farms, which is the mainstay of the people’s economy. “Also, access to farms far across the river is no longer there, while the body of swelling water is threatening several houses on the Okubuchi axis of the community.”
The communities pointed out that “even from a lay man’s point of view, a team of representatives from the three villages noticed that the dam is already eroding away just with the first rains. The upstream and downstream concrete construction is poorly done. The dyke, about 150 metres long and eight metres in width, is not properly controlled to prevent it from eroding away.”
They noted: “The water discharge pipes are too small, thereby causing automatic blockade and overflow. There is no standard site office or even one technician on site to clear pipe blockage and no automatic release valve system to check excess water upstream. Nobody is aware of the contract sum vis-a vis the shabby job done. “
Official exonerates CRBDA, contractor
A government official, who absolved CRBDA and contractor of culpability, said: “The dam would have been completed, but for non-release of funds from the 2015 budget  till date, which led to the job being stopped half way. “I can tell you that the people living in the area were warned before hand during the environmental impact assessment, EIA, that something like this could happen and some of the communities have already being paid compensation, while others will be paid in the second phase.”
Living in pain
Clan Head of Irruan, HRH Otu James Abua Abang, called on the Federal Government to come to their rescue, saying that since the calamity, his subjects no longer to go farm, which is their only source of livelihood. He declared:  “We have made efforts to reach out to the Cross River Basin Development Authority to ensure they come to our aid. We are appealing to government at all levels to come and help alleviate the suffering of my people; we are living in pain.”
Kidzu told Niger Delta Voice that the people were appealing to the governor, whose commitment to the welfare of the citizens of the state, even before he became governor, had never been in doubt, to as matter of urgency, step into the matter to help them regain their livelihood.  He said: “We are groaning in anguish and rejection of a project that is now destroying farms and eroding houses.
“The three affected communities are facing the worse time of their lives because of the devastating situation the dam has put them in. The mainstay of my people’s economy has been grossly affected.  “For months now, my people no longer go to their farms because it has been consumed by water and the only thing we produce here are purely agricultural with cocoa being the chief crop. As we speak, hectares of cocoa farms are now under the water.
“Look at the trees, they are dying, houses have been overrun. While some houses are under the water, others have collapsed with their inhabitants now displaced.”
‘Why we took contractor, CRBDA to court’
Counsel representing Okubuchi community, Mr. Ewah Obi, said the water from the dam, which submerged many farmlands, has brought untold hardship to the people in Okubuchi and environs. He said: “The damage in now in billions of naira because as a people, we no longer know our fate. We have being in this location for more than a century. Where do we go from here?
“We are highly devastated, which is why we have gone to seek redress in a court of competent jurisdiction because that is the only civil thing to do.  “In the suit, FHC/CA/CS/125/2015, filed at the Federal High Court, Calabar, we want the agency (Cross River) and the contractor, Oweni Engineering Construction Company, to explain to the people what happened.”
‘My cocoa farm gone’
A farmer, Mr. Barnabas Obi, said: “When my wife and I woke up and discovered the compound has been submerged by water, we decided to move out from the place with our seven children to a nearby police station. We have lost almost all our property. I just thank God that no life was lost; my houses are gone.
“We now live like destitutes. As a matter of fact, we have been displaced from our home; look at where I am now living at the mercy of people. Myself, my wife and seven children now survive only on goodwill. “My cocoa and yam farms are also gone; I just do not know what to do next. I am using this medium to appeal to our President, Muhammadu Buhari and His Excellency, Professor Ayade to please come to my aid. I am living like a stranger in my own land.”
Another farmer, who also lost his cocoa farm, Elder Abraham Ewa, told Niger Delta Voice: “How and where will I start from? My investments over the years are gone; this is the only thing we do. Within few weeks schools will reopen. How do I pay my children school fees? Feeding them now is almost impossible. Where do we go from here?”
He added: “My life has been shattered by this disaster. I am also angry because it was man-made. If it were a natural thing, it would have been a different ball game.” A cocoa dealer in the area, Pastor Joshua Abua, who spoke with Niger Delta Voice, said the flood had affected production of cocoa because before now, the farmers produce up to 50,000 metric tons of cocoa. Since the advent of the flood caused by the overflow from the dam, production has reduced by half.
He said: “It is affecting our business seriously. I used to have about 200 bags in two days but now to get 100 bags in a week is almost impossible and apart from that, I have to let some of my employees go because I cannot afford to keep them anymore, as I cannot pay them salaries due to low production.  “I used to have about 10 to 15 workers but as you can see, they are not up to five anymore. It is really bad for our economy, especially now that there are no jobs.”
CRBDA drafts team to assess damage At the CRBDA office in Calabar, the Managing Director, Mrs Eyo Oyo Ita, said that the agency was aware of the plight of the people and deeply sympathised with them over the situation. Mrs. Ita, who was not in charge in Calabar when the dam project was executed, however, said the authority was doing everything humanly and technically possible to curtail the challenge they were passing through.
Her words: ”We have already sent in a technical team to look at the extent of the damage, but the assessment will be done as soon as the water level reduces, so that the right thing can be done. “They should, please, be patient with us because everything will be properly handled as soon as possible.”
Photo: The about 150m dyke almost submerged by water.