Erosion: Building collapses, 20 on verge as Anambra community begs Governor Soludo to intervene

By Alphonsus Nweze, Onitsha

Threatened by the devastating effect of erosion menace residents of Vision World Estate, Uruokokwu Umuogali Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, which has already claimed one building and 20 others on the verge of collapse, have sent Save Our Soul, (SOS) to Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the State.
The residents which sent the SOS message to the Governor during their protest over the threat to their houses by the erosion attributed the menace to flood caused by the shoddy work done by the contractor that rehabilitated the damaged portion of the Onitsha-Owerri road.
They accused the contractor of channeling the flood to their estate, thereby causing excessive flooding which caused untold hardship to them when ever it rained.
Some of the protesting residents carried placards with the inscriptions: “Gov. Soludo! Solution come to our rescue, Vision World Estate Oba needs Solution, Soludo, we need your attention here, Save Our Soul” among others.
In a letter to the governor earlier which they submitted through the the Chairman of Idemili Local Government, Iyom. Amaka Obi, they appealed for urgent Government intervention
The letter was signed by the Chairman, Mr Joseph Mbanaso and Secretary, Jude Obowo and was made available to newsmen in Onitsha.
The petition read in part: “We, the residents of Vision World Estate, Uruokokwu Umuogali Oba, wish to draw Your Excellency’s attention to the pitiable condition that we now reside under since your last intervention. Some weeks ago, a house was washed away by the erosion and expanding gully but by divine grace, no life was lost. The ever growing erosion and attendant expanding gully if left unchecked threatens the lives and properties of the residents with over 20 houses standing to be destroyed in any other severe downpour”.
Theyssud: “While we acknowledge and appreciate your last visit despite your busy schedule to Uruokokwu Umuogali, Oba, and the remedial effort Your Excellency promised and put in place , the shoddy job done by the contractor whose efforts to control the erosion and ever expanding gully has been washed away due to use of substandard materials and lack of technical know how has not solved our problem”
The residents said that as at now, they have spent over N50million over the years and in recent efforts to nip this crisis in the bud which has proved abortive.
They called on the Governor to extend the: “Soludo Solution” to salvage lives and properties being threatened by the erosion menace.
“We anticipate a quick and favourable response to this our humble plea as we are aware that Your Excellency will not allow lives and billions of naira we spent to be swept away in one fell swoop of a monstrous rainfall”.
The chairman in an interview with newsmen pleaded with Governor Soludo to come to their rescue stating that Soludo led government is their only hope since they have tried in their capacity but to no avail.
He lamented that they now sleep with their eyes open to know when the fences of their buildings would collapse as the gully is almost on their perimeter fences.
According to him: “Soludo is a solution and since he became the governor, there is much difference in the state today. Vision world is thanking him and we are pleading with him to extend his solution to our estate. This coming election is undisputable because he is not contesting with anybody”.
He said that the voting strength of the people in the area is over 1000 even as he thanked the Governor for the ones he had done.
Others who appealed to the Governor included Mrs Gloria Okafor, Mr Darlington Odor, Sebastine Ibeagwa, and Mrs Lillian Chukwuemeka.