Confusion as Landslide Rocks Anambra Community

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Indigenes and residents were Saturday thrown into confusion as landslides rocked Nanka, a community of Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra State. However, no case of death was reported.

THISDAY checks gathered that the landslides occurred in a section of the community that had been abandoned by indigenes of the community due to the grave consequence of gully erosion in the area.

A resident of the community, Mr Ralph Igwe explained that the landslides might have been caused by the unprecedented intensity of rainfall, which the community and its environs had been experiencing in the recent time.

He explained that the people of Nanka “have suffered untold hardship as a result of gully erosion related landslides. This time, they were faced with even bigger threats, judging by the intensity of rainfall.”

Reacting to the threats faced by the people, the Country Coordinator of Rural Communities Development Initiative, Mr. Ikenna Ezenekwe said that the community “is facing a bigger threat than they imagine.”

Ezenekwe said the affected community presently was on the verge of another catastrophic landslide should government fail to take immediate actions.

Ezenekwe blamed the state and federal governments for abandoning the community to their fate, not minding that proactive measures can help save residents from the impending calamity.

Ezenekwe corroborated the landslides in the community, noting that the minor landslides occurred in the village of Ubahu Nanka dividing the village into two halves without access roads.

He said the land where it happened “belongs to the families of Ezeagwuogbo, but was abandoned by the family resulting from the landslide. Other families in Ubahu were also affected.”

He said the federal and state governments had abandoned the people of Ubahu village, their land ravaged by gully erosion and their ancestral homes seized by the gullies.

He said: “The Ubahu community plays host to arguably the largest gully erosion crater in West Africa. Presently, the people of Ubahu village are left to the fate of a project funded by World Bank called ‘New Map’. The state and federal governments have removed their attention from the menace at Nanka.

“Nanka needs roads and gutters and a well mapped out tree planting regime. This responsibility he said falls within the purview of the state and local government. Our governor needs to come closer to Nanka and the problems firsthand. Nanka people are leaving on the edge. And it is wrong. Nanka needs roads and well delineated waterways. Governor Obiano can do it.

“The people cannot maintain a water borehole because of the gully erosion craters. Nanka does not have water. What they drink is water harvested from rainfall. In this day and age, Water borne diseases have been a permanent marker in the community. It cannot be allowed to continue this way.”