Residents of Enugwu-Nanka Village in Orumba North Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra, have sought government intervention to address the worsening gully erosion threatening the community.

The residents also seek reprieve from the World Bank and relevant environmental stakeholders in a bid to prevent continuous destruction of lives and properties in the area.

Chairman of the Enugwu-Nanka Erosion and Flood Control Committee, Emmanuel Osele, told journalists that the erosion had displaced over 200 families, while houses worth billions of naira had collapsed into the gullies.

“Several buildings, farmlands, access roads linking the village with neighbouring Amakor and Ubahu communities, as well as critical infrastructure, are at risk, if urgent action was not taken.

“The community and individuals have embarked on various self-help measures, including tree planting, construction of drainages and catchment pits, to mitigate the damage.

“We also warned residents against cutting down trees in erosion-prone areas, but to no avail.

“We are, therefore, calling on the Federal and Anambra State Government, to urgently intervene in the worsening gully erosion threatening our community,” he said. 

Reacting, a resident of the community, Nze Joshua Obinwa, whose house is threatened by the erosion, said that the problem had lingered for decades.

Mr Obinwa, an octogenarian, said that the menace had also displaced many old people from their ancestral homes; he consequently, joined in the call for governments intervention.

Another member of the community, Alexander Nwafete, also lamented that over 1,000 plots of land had been lost to the erosion, with severe effects on socio-economic activities.

He also begged government to save residents from dangers posed by the erosion.

Meanwhile, the vice chairman of Ubahu Village, Nze James Ezeilo, raised concerns over emerging erosion sites around the Uhuabor axis near the boundary between Enugwu-Nanka and Ubahu villages.

He attributed the development to a runoff from neighbouring communities, and urged government to take decisive steps aimed addressing the problem. 

(NAN)