Saving Edo from the jaws of erosion

Cajetan Mmuta

ONE major challenge that has continued to haunt the Action Congress (AC)-led administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole is the refusal by previous administrations to meet the developmental need of the state.

Before the coming on board of Oshiomhole, there was nothing to hold on to as the pride of the state in terms of infrastructure.

The roads were in total disrepair, the roof tops of school buildings wore the traditional marks of green lawns as against what should be seen in the fields or play grounds.

Social activities were grounded with the rein of lawlessness unleashed on the residents by miscreants and robbers. Political brigandage, anarchy and terror took the centre stage. There was total breakdown of law and order.

The only government and political party in control of power was held at its jugular by interests that almost wrecked the ship of governance.

More disturbing was that the citizens within the Benin capital city and other urban centres daily faced the twin menace of flood and erosion that ate up several buildings, cut off roads and claimed several lives.

Many houses were deserted along the Five Junctions, Ugbowo, Ekehuan Road, Queen Ede Girls College all in Benin City and Auchi town dominated by the Muslim community.

But the Oshiomhole administration has taken steps to resolve some of the knotty problems that stare the state in the face with the massive transformation exercise in road construction, provision of electricity, water, health care facilities, beautification projects and other measures to meet the people’s needs, particularly to touch the lives of rural dwellers and to open up several communities hitherto denied access to most markets, social lifestyles and amenities.

Despite these laudable initiatives, Oshiomhole appear not to have been at the heart of major problems of the state because of the nightmare of gully erosion and flooding that seem to have defied all solutions.

The daunting tasks posed by the Auchi gully erosion at Igbira camp, some major parts of Auchi town, the Queen Ede Girls College area and that of five junctions on the Benin-Lagos road now under construction are a source of worry to both the government and the citizens.

Businesses have folded up in the affected areas while property worth billions of naira have been lost to either flood or erosion.

In addition, farmlands, tree crops, buildings and several lives have been wasted by what was caused by human neglect, error and greed.

In Auchi town alone in Etsako West council area and Oshiomhole’s strong political base, the impact of erosion is alarming.

Recently, the Igbira camp bridge linking the two neighbouring oldest council areas in the country, Akoko Edo and Etsako West was severed by the super saturation of water resulting from high erosion which was not attended to. The result is the ruin that would gulp a huge amount of the tax-payers' money to fix. 

The matter was subjected to politics and propaganda. Members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose government was saddled with the problems for over 10 years had resorted to blackmail. They accused the AC-led administration of spending about N7.5 billion on the Auchi erosion.

This, however, was recently debunked by the Federal Government when the Minister of Environment, Chief John Odey, on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, led a team of officers from the National Ecological Fund office and engineers from his ministry to  intervene in the plight of Auchi people, thousands of motorists and passengers plying the damaged but vital lone route leading to some northern states.

The seriousness of the situation had prompted Oshiomhole to lead a high-powered delegation of Edo indigenes that cut across various political divides early last month to the Presidency to solicit its urgent intervention.

The Auchi erosion is horrifying, considering its impact, as parts of the town that have been deserted.
Odey said the problem had always been there but was not attended to and that there was a great water build up within the area.

Worse still more than eight buildings belonging to the state water board were swallowed up in June, including acres of land, crops, etc.

During his visit to the governor and the Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Alieru Momoh, the Ekelebe 111, the minister conveyed to Oshiomhole the President’s directive to tackle the menace with dispatch.

According to him, Jonathan was particularly concerned about the effect of the erosion on the residents.

“When (the President) received this message of the collapsed road portion leading to the other communities he was worried. I am sure you are aware that I visited here last year regarding the major erosion projects the Federal Government started some years back. But unfortunately that problem overwhelmed all of us. It was given to an indigenous contractor. For one problem or the other due to poor management that project up till now has not been concluded.

“But what we have done is to terminate that contract, relying now on the general survey that we have done for a comprehensive channelisation of water in Auchi. We are working towards a proper programme for channelisation of water to solve erosion problem here once and for all,” Odey said.

He disclosed that the Federal Government had not released any money to the state government for Queen Ede project.

According to him, for Queen Ede project, a direct award of contract was done by the Federal Government for almost about N110 million.

“That has been properly executed by the contractor independent of the Edo State Government but the governor has brought to our attention that we should do more,” Odey added.

The project, according to him, would be executed through the ecological fund account.

The governor expressed appreciation to the President for his quick response to the call by the state and other stakeholders.

“This is the kind of action that Nigerians want,” Oshiomhole said.

In his reaction, the Otaru of Auchi urged the Federal Government to handover the contractor that handled the Auchi erosion to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and to take steps to recover the huge contract sum paid to him.

He disclosed that many residents of the area had lost their lives and property because of the failure by the contractor to execute the job after collecting the total sum for the job.

The monarch however thanked the President and wished him success in his administration for the special work he has agreed to carry out in Auchi which he said would help boost the economy and lifestyle of people of his domain.

Speaking on the issue, a resident of the area who is a nurse, Ajia Sule, said the Auchi bridge “has been giving way little by little. The thing finally gave way that Friday night. The bridge is small but water is passing under it. Because the way for water is so small, water has been accumulating. Last year, water was on top of the bridge. Even this year it was on top of the bridge before the thing finally caved in.”  

Apart from the Auchi erosion problem, the Queen Ede case cannot be neglected given the level of damage being experienced there with many buildings collapsing.

More than seven houses, including worship centres, school and other vital parts of the area are on the verge of being abandoned.

The government has taken measures to address some of these problems.

Among the measures was the cleaning of blocked water drains by the state Ministry of Environment headed by Clem Agba, including the various Benin moats abandoned by previous administration in the state to reduce the erosion surge and flooding.

The government also demolished illegal structures built on government right of ways to pave way for movement of the people.

The administration recently said it needed a minimum of N100 billion to deal with the perennial problem of flooding in Benin and its environs.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Anselm Ojezua, said the protracted problem of flooding that appeared to have defied solution along Ugbowo, the five junctions through Ekehuan Road areas through Ovia River and core areas of the ancient city became worsened in 1975 due to the neglect and abandonment of the original Benin master plan by previous administrations until the coming of Oshiomhole's administration.