…As landslide threatens homes, schools

 

The Anambra State community of Idemili North Local Government Council Area is facing an existential threat as flood water has continued wreaking havoc on the roads, schools, and farms connecting the Obosi School of Health and Union Secondary School, Obosi.

The heavy downpour which took place on August 13, 2026, caused enormous damage at Ugama village and Ogbe Anwusi, extending over 400 metres to the Idemili River.

Residents are, therefore, afraid that the next heavy downpour will sweep away roads, schools and residential homes belonging to the late Timothy Ikeazor; Egbuna Sunday, Hyacinth Udemba; Ifeanyi Udekwe, Chiemelie Mbakaogu, Gabriel Orakpo and Chike Obiefuna, among others.

Entertaining fear that the next rainfall will swallow more farmlands, road portions and residential buildings, including his palatial home, a philanthropist and outstanding contractor, Eric Anyamene, mobilized the sum of N40 million to embark on both preventive and combative palliative measures.

Anyamene, who is the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Idemili North and South Federal Constituency of the state, contacted Engr. Eric Umeh, the Senator representing the Anambra Central Senatorial District, on the menace, compelling the latter to cut short his trip to Morocco to see things for himself.

When Senator Umeh eventually stormed the site, the scene turned into one of wailing by women of the Federal Constituency bemoaning their fate and asking both the state and federal governments as well as the international community to come to their aid.

Senator Umeh’s presence attracted deep emotional tantrums from the women, youths and elderly ones in Idemili who called on the government to swiftly intervene to forestall further extension and expansion of gullies into homes, schools and other public infrastructures.

After his assessment inspection, Senator Umeh addressed the mammoth crowd later, decrying that Anambra State, with a small land mass, is being ravaged by gully erosion and landslides.

Umeh reiterated that Idemili is under incessant flooding and erosion threat, describing the menace in the area as of high magnitude, while hailing Engr. Anyamene for living a life by example in using his personal funds to initiate selfless intervention on the devastation.

Umeh called on the state government to move in quickly, warning against politicization of issues like the environmental disaster that poses a threat to the lives and property of the citizens along the line of political party affiliation.
Umeh, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Environment, called on the federal government to declare the Idemili Basin, made up of Idemili North and South Federal Constituency, as an emergency disaster.
He observed that the Senate has been in recess and will resume on September 15, hinting he won’t wait until resumption, but to write letters of urgent intervention to President Bola Tinubu and the Minister for Environment.

Taking Senator Umeh round to show him the level of devastation, Anyamene expressed fear of possible caving in of buildings lying by the sides of the gully erosion and landslide, a development he noted needed urgent intervention.

Anyamene pointed out that the huge volume of flood water that collects and rushes down from Ogidi, Umuoji and parts of Obosi after each rainfall contributes to the devastation, hoping the palliative work he’s extending will provide a temporary check to further damage to the environment, pending the intervention of government and international agencies.

Anyamene, who is currently working on a catchment pit in Ugama village, Obosi, to control flood water and prevent further environmental devastation in the area, said the remedial work is to stem the tide in expectation of intervention by the government and multilateral agencies.
He expressed his fear and mission: “I’m the one doing the palliative work to stem the tide of the devastation. My biggest fear is another rain. If another rain comes, the entire neighbourhood will go down.”

According to him, the palliative work done by the government had no breaker; hence, the flood water couldn’t be channelled properly through the drainage to the river, thus cutting the soil deep and wide to cause gully erosion and landslide.

He threw more insight into his political promptings: “What keeps me awake at night is the welfare and well-being of my people, as I believe that I can’t play politics where houses are being consumed or where a child is being consumed by erosion devastations.

“Nobody should play politics with human lives; instead, it should be what can be done to alleviate the sufferings of Obosi people.”

Anyamene said, “My ambition to contest for the House of Representatives is borne out of that singular desire to drive dividends of democracy to Idemili-North and South federal constituency.”.

He commended the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, for directing the Commissioner for Works and the relevant local government chairmen to visit the site.

In his remarks, the traditional ruler of Obosi Kingdom, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, represented by Chief Dr. Okey Mgbemena (Ichie Uzii), thanked Senator Umeh for His urgent response, believing that his dogged fighting spirit will go a long way in bringing about fruitful intervention to stop the degeneration of the erosion menace.

Contributing, the President of Obosi Development Union, Chikezie Obi, observed that the August 13 rainfall that caused the devastation is unprecedented, stressing that there are erosion sites in five Inland villages and 12 Urban communities under Obosi.

Obi noted: “This is very significant and requires urgent attention because it happened very suddenly, and if something urgent isn’t done, more houses will be affected. It has carried people’s houses and land; thank God no life was lost.’
The ODU leader called on the Works Bank and the European Investment Bank to come to the aid of the community to stop the erosion and reclaim the land.

Speaking on the nature of the work, the engineer handling the ongoing palliative intervention, Engr. Mezie Andrew, said the temporary remedial work will take between two and three weeks to complete.

He, however, acknowledged that the scale of the erosion devastation is beyond the capacity of individuals or even the State government, through a temporary intervention.

Some of the affected residents who spoke to newsmen, Chiemerie Mbakaogu, Sunday Egbuna and Gabriel Orakpo, also appealed to the state and federal governments to urgently intervene before the erosion causes further destruction, displacement and disruption to movement within the community.

Also in her remark, the Principal of Union Secondary School, Obosi, Mrs. Okoro Chidima, appealed for urgent government intervention, noting that the advancing erosion has already affected access to the school and posed a serious threat to students’ residences, homes and other properties in the area.