Rita Enemuru, Reporting
FOR residents of Ogbeozoma community in Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area of oil-rich Delta State, the ground beneath their feet is no longer a source of security: it is a constant threat. A network of deep, sprawling gully erosions has carved through their neighbourhood, swallowing roads, weakening building foundations, and turning daily life into a precarious balancing act.
On Thursday, a number of residents spoke with journalists about the relentless advance of the gullies. Their message was stark: lives and properties are in imminent danger, and time is running out.
“The gullies have gradually eaten away the foundations of our homes,” one landlord explained. “Soon, they will pull everything down.”
What was once a safe and secure environment has become a landscape of deep gashes in the earth, some more than 10 feet deep – deep enough, locals say, to swallow a tipper truck.
The central road running through the community has been breached for over three kilometres, leaving behind a chasm that has severed access to homes and businesses alike.
‘Even the blind can feel it’
Mrs Augustina Agba, a trader in the community, lamented the collapse of local commerce. Patronage has dwindled to nothing, she said, and abandonment is now the norm.
“Even the blind knows, and can feel, that this community is no longer habitable,” she told Stonix News. “But as landlords, we have nowhere to run to.”
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Her voice trembling, she recounted the personal cost. “My husband, a civil servant, took out a loan; and is still repaying it to his cooperative society; to build our house. That house is now under threat from the gullies. We have no place to go. That is why we are begging both the federal and state governments to come to our aid before the unexpected happens. Only a timely intervention can save us.”
She recalled that the landlords’ association had made repeated efforts to arrest the situation, but the scale of the erosion eventually overwhelmed them.
Plank bridges and daily peril
As the road has collapsed, residents have resorted to makeshift solutions. In front of nearly every building, a single wooden plank now serves as a bridge across the gully, allowing access to front doors. It is a fragile lifeline.
Mr Johnson Omoni, a landlord, described the situation as “unfortunate and sad”. He explained that during rainfall, the force of floodwaters rushing through the gully becomes so violent that the planks can be swept away in an instant.
“It is life-threatening whenever it rains,” he said. “The strength of the water is so heavy that it could pull down the bridge and kill anyone on it. We have already had an incident where a mother and child were swept off. Thankfully, timely intervention saved them from drowning.”
He added: “This gully is deep enough to take trucks and sink a tipper. It is a danger already happening to us here. We are praying that God touches the government to help us.”
Businesses shuttered, projects abandoned
For Mr Tony Nnwabueze, a cement dealer, the erosion has made his trade all but redundant. He says he is on the verge of closing up entirely.
“People are no longer demanding cement,” he said. “They have stopped building. All ongoing housing projects have been suspended because there is no access to the sites. As you can see, the gully has taken the centre of the road. You cannot drive into your own apartment.”
But it is the prospect of a medical emergency that haunts him most.
“It is even worse for anyone with a health challenge,” Nnwabueze said. “A victim may die before reaching the spot where a bike – a commercial motorcycle – can take them to another spot where a keke or a car can finally take them to a health facility. That is how bad the situation is.”
Hope deferred: The counterpart fund
Despite the despair, there is a flicker of hope – albeit one that residents fear is fading too slowly. Mr Samson Kenechi, a member of the landlords’ association, disclosed that the Delta State Government has shown concern and has already paid a certain amount as a counterpart fund.
That fund, he explained, was intended to attract additional resources from the European Investment Bank (EIB) through the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), to tackle the gully erosion challenge in the area.
“As an association, we have had fruitful meetings with NEWMAP and government officials,” Kenechi said. “They assured us that the challenge would be addressed. We wish to appeal to the federal and state governments to come to our aid and save us from these devastating gullies.”
For the people of Ogbeozoma, every rainy season brings fresh terror and horror. The ground keeps shifting; the wooden bridges keep trembling, and the clock keeps ticking. Their plea is simple: intervene now, before the next downpour sweeps more than just soil away.
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