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Traditional rulers and community leaders in Obutong, Calabar Municipality, have rejected plans for a protest over the recent landslide disaster in the Anansa area of the community but are demanding urgent intervention to save homes and livelihoods.
The leaders spoke after reports circulated that some youths were planning a protest over the devastation caused by the landslide in Obutong and other parts of Calabar.
“Obutong will not protest. It has never happened, it will never happen”
Acting Chairman of the Obutong Traditional Council, Chief Effiong Etim Eso Achibong, said the community was distancing itself from any protest action.
“Please, and please, and please, whosoever wants to give the Governor information, let that person give the Governor the authentic information,” he said.
“Obutong cannot go to protest. It has never happened, it will never happen, and in this time that I am the head.
“This is a natural disaster. What are we protesting for?”
Chief Achibong said he and other chiefs had just returned from the inauguration of the Board of Trustees of ANTAN and immediately convened a council meeting to address the rumour.
Also speaking, Esor Esor Archibong, a community liaison in Obutong, said the landslide was a natural disaster worsened by construction issues and not the fault of the current administration.
“These are natural disasters that can happen anywhere and anytime. Due to wrong constructions.
“So, this particular construction did not happen in the present administration. So why are we protesting or why are we going to be angry?” he asked.
Instead of protesting, he said the community is calling on all levels of government and international bodies to intervene.
“What we owe ourselves and the good people of Cross River State is to call for aid. That is a huge project, not for only our small community to embark upon.”
A community stakeholder, Venerable Harrison Richard Efa, warned that the situation is getting worse and needs immediate government action.
“I will beg the government to please do something. Because people are losing their properties on a daily basis. If you go to that place, you see what is happening to that man and other properties, Lafarge. And it’s affecting the economy of Cross River State and Nigeria,” he said.
Efa warned that with more heavy rain expected in Calabar, the landslide could spread further in the next three days and destroy more properties.
“If nothing is done urgently, it will cross over to the other side. And it will affect more properties. The government should please come to our aid and assist each and every one of us.”
Weeks of torrential rainfall last month caused a major landslide within the Anansa area of Obutong Community in Calabar, Cross River State.
The disaster affected public infrastructure, private properties and investments, and also threatens federal agencies, including a naval base and the Calabar Area Office of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
