By Bisola Adeyemo
Umudim community in Ekwulumili, Nnewi South Local Government in Anambra state have cried out to the government over the gully erosion ravaging their homes and farmlands.
According to Environews, a correspondent who visited some of the sites reports that the massive gully measuring several metres in width and depth is expanding speedily.
The people who were directly affected by the disaster said they have lost their ancestral land where they were supposed to build on and cultivate.
One of the villagers, Mrs Charity Ezeoke, who lives close to the erosion, said their lives are in constant fear of losing their houses the erosion is only a few metres away from their houses.
“The erosion has been there since she was a young girl and that efforts made to correct it had failed.
“Whenever it rains, the way it pulls trees and earth sounds like an earthquake and makes us live in fear all the time.
“Government, both federal and state should help us control the erosion or even come and evacuate us because we don’t have peace,” she said.
Mr Chukwura Ntagu, an indigene of the town, said gully many people have left the town due to the erosion threat while most people are homeless because their lands have been washed away.
“It was not as big as this in the past, we used to pass through this place to Ochi in Amichi where we used to have our match past, interacts with our neighbouring village -Umudim village in Amichi
“Those of us who live on the bank of the erosion don’t sleep whenever it rains, many families have lost their homes and ran to their family members in other locations,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Onyeka Ikejiaku described the situation as a disaster which has negatively affected their livelihood, economic activities and social development.
Ikejiaku said his people are predominantly farmers, and their brothers on other side of the gully cannot evacuate their produce because the roads had been cut off.
“A number of government officials and agencies have been visiting but nothing has been done, that is why we are calling on the Federal Government and State Government to come to our rescue.
“All the flash floods from Igboukwu, Oraeri and other communities flow down to the area and empty into ‘babuwa river’ which goes to Imo state.
“We have been doing our best as directly affected people and as a community to control this but it is not enough,” he said.
Ekwulumili is an agrarian community with a large population of indigenous people and shares borders with Amichi, Igboukwu, Unubi, Akwaihedi and Orsumoghu.
