BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
We have witnessed in recent times what the rainwater is doing to our farmlands, roads, homes, and markets in Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi, and Ekwulobia. The government is complicit, likewise the people. No emergency was declared by the government of the day to tackle this danger. We have seen the governor visiting some areas and making promises of remedies.
I supported him when he encouraged the villagers to construct the local sump basin (Ntii) to reduce the force of the water, but words are not enough. When the life and source of livelihood of the citizens are threatened by the force of nature, we expect the government to come in handy not just verbally.
The Ogidi road from Onitsha to Awka may no longer be motorable after this rainy season. I have piled on that road for over fifty years. I can authoritatively say that no government, either past or present, has looked at that road constructively to offer a lasting solution. When the government of Willy Obianno built the local water collector without an outlet, the people knew that it was a time bomb.
The force of nature cannot be contained in a bottle. Today, the sea of water from Umudioka, Abatete, and Ogbunike heads to Ogidi, and the only local reservoir is the small sump basin by the government. The people of Ogidi are on the receiving end and could do nothing to alleviate this behemoth of a problem. I call on the governor to rescue the people of Ogidi with a lasting solution. I witnessed his visit to the spot and listened to his promises and advice to the people. I did not hear a lasting solution proffered.
I know that this is a campaign season, and the governor has a lot of things on his desk, but I believe that the lives and properties of the people should be paramount on his agenda. I saw where people were taking a video of cars submerged in floodwater in a compound at Nnewi. I was worried about them because they did not think that the foundation of the building was in danger.
A house that was built for the upland cannot be submerged in water for days. Engineers would tell you that the cement and foundation of a swampy land are different from those used on the tableland. We should wait till this force of nature destroys the whole of Anambra state.The erosions along Ozubulu road will soon break the major road into two.
I lived in Nanka and Ekwuluobia, and I can tell you that one night of rainfall can sweep away the whole village. The people of Amako Nanka have not finished the story of erosion; likewise, the people of Umuchiani in Ekwuluobia. The time to act is now. The governor should lead the way in action and words. Many towns and villages are suffering from the menace of this rainfall, but because the government has not shown enough concern, the public has kept an uneasy calm. The governor should lead the charge and declare war on the flood. Anambra state should not be like the Nigerian government who will waits for the flood from Cameroon to come down every year to destroy the houses and farmland of the citizens before they will start the fire brigade approach. We should start looking for the dark sheep before it gets dark in the day. Almost all the local governments in Anambra State have a town or more under threat by floodwater.
I do not want to go to the riverine areas because we all believe that, because they are living on the coastal line that flood should be their perennial problem. They are the food basket of our state and should be protected. There are many cities all over the world living on the coastal lines, and their governments have constructed the drainage system so well that nobody is worried when it’s raining. The people in Anam, Atani, are always at the mercy of the rain annually.
Their farmland and roads and always decimated during the rainy season. Although one of their sons was the governor for 8 years, he did not think towards the direction of making his people live comfortably like the people of Venice. I should not cry more than the bereaved, but I should call on the necessary authorities to come to the rescue before it consumes the whole of Anambra state. The flood swept away a little girl coming back from school in Onitsha: thanks to the good Samaritans who risked their lives to jump into the flood to rescue the little girl.
The citizens should do their part by looking at the weather forecast first and being careful with where to be and what to do if the forecast says heavy rainfall.The government can instruct the people to move away from the eye of the storm, but they cannot force you to do that. The citizens should not rush to dump their garbage into the drainage whenever it is raining. I remember Udenze fighting with Piccolo because the family of Piccolo dumped the corn chaff into the drainage, and the rain stopped suddenly for the refuse/garbage to be deposited into Udenze’s compound. We knew whose garbage it was, and we informed Udenze, who picked it up and sent it back to the owner, and the fight began. So, I call on the citizens to stop dumping trash into the drainage system.
The governor has encouraged the digging of the local sump basin; I support him on that because it reduces the flood force. It is not a must that you read the weather forecast, but looking at the clouds, you can also see that the face of heaven is not bright, so avoid going out. The teachers in our schools should not allow the kids to leave the school compound when it is raining heavily. I know that we are known for commerce, but if the extreme weather comes calling, we can close our shops so that we can be alive to open them the next day.
I have watched traders struggling with flood water at Ofor Igwe Umudioka, Eke Ekwuluobia, Nkwo Nnewi, Eke Awka, and Otu Nkwo Onitsha. The government can advise you on the use of common sense, but will not force you to use it. The challenge of floodwater is real; the citizens and the government should work together to limit the damage thereof.
