By Jude Michael
Indigenes of Amakor village in Nanka, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, have cried out over the devastating effect of erosion in their environment as a result of sand miners.
Leaders of the village under the aegis of Amakor Njikoka Development Union, in a press release signed by its chairman and secretary, Mr. Ilo Obinna Daniel and Mr. Patrick Okolie, respectively, and made available to journalists in Awka, Tuesday, accused the traditional ruler and President General of Nanka Community, Igwe Godwin Ezilo and Rev. Can. Ifeanyi Ezike, of being behind the excavation of sand in the village.
This outcry is coming months after the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, banned the activities of sand excavators in the community.
The community said the destruction of their environment through sand mining by the traditional ruler was part of the marginalization Amakor had faced in the hand of the leadership of Nanka Community leaders.
‘We have earlier mounted a gate on the road leading to our village, but the gate was primarily dismantled to facilitate the illegal sand mining going on every night at the Agulu-Nanka-Oko Erosion Site, Amako section.
‘It took the mature intervention of the village Chairman, Mr. Obinna llo, to calm down the highly provoked people of Amakor when the gates were being destroyed. The illegal sand miners then had uncontrolled access to the already devastated stream beach,’ the community stated.
It said their marginalization by the leaders of Nanka did not start today and alleged that because of such marginalization, they had been stopped from producing the traditional Prime Minister of the community which was rightfully their turn.
‘They have even gone as far as trying to create a parallel leadership in Amakor, using some people who are loyal to them, just so that they can be causing environmental hazard to us through illegal sand mining.
‘We therefore call on the Governor of Anambra State to come to our rescue by setting up an independent panel or commission of inquiry to look into our complaints with a view of enforcing the rule of law and protecting the rights of the weak in the society.’
When contacted, the President General, Mr Ifeanyi Ezeike, who spoke on behalf of himself and the monarch, said he had received reports that the illegal sand excavators usually came from neighbouring Oko Community.
‘I have called the President General of Oko Community to tell them to investigate and stop his people from coming here. The Amakor leadership is playing politics by including my name as the one mining their sand,’ he said.
