Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Otuokpoti in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State is in danger. The menace of erosion threatening the existence of the community has continued to trigger sea surge, putting residents on the edge.
In the Second Republic, the first civilian governor of the old Rivers State, Chief Melford Obine Okilo, carried out a shoreline protection project in the community. However, in recent years, the activities of sand-dredgers have aggravated the threat pose by the erosion.
Bamy Okatubo, deputy paramount ruler of the community, told Daily Sun: “The state government gave companies permission to dredge sand from our rivers and creeks, not minding the effects of erosion on the communities. These dredgers might have eroded the embankment done during the government of the late Chief Melford Okilo underwater and so affected the land, causing landslide.”
Macaulay Inete corroborated the monarch: “What we are suffering today is partly self-inflicted. There is on-going indiscriminate dredging of the river by sand merchants. No proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) survey was done before these dredgers were deployed in the area. This has exposed our community to the danger of erosion.”
Also Andrew Enato said the beautiful sight of Otuokpoti landscape has been destroyed by the activities of sand dredgers: “Our once beautiful waterfront is gradually being eroded by tidal wave caused by the dredging vessels. The recent change in the rising water level has further compounded our woes.”
“We are calling on both the state and federal governments to save our ancestral land from extinction by revisiting the damaged erosion control work done by the then Okilo administration when Bayelsa was part of the old Rivers State.”
Mrs Roseline Aniba said the state government must not leave the people of Otuokpoti to be sent packing from their ancestral land due to man-made problems: “Just like you have seen other people talk, the Bayelsa State and the Federal Governments should not leave the Otuopkoti people to their fate. We have been dying in silence.
“Our land is being taken away by erosion caused by sand dredgers. We have complained severally but nobody seems to be listening to us. Government officials have not treated our complaints with the speed that is expected.
“We are calling on all relevant authorities to come to our aid. We don’t have any other place to call our home but here. I can imagine us being forced out of our land because of sand dredgers. If dredging must continue because of the revenue government gets from there, then let the needful be done. Indiscriminate sand-dredging without following how it should be carried out should be stopped.”
Alfred Inegite bemoaned the state of the environment in Otuokpoti especially the coastal erosion that has literally eaten a large chunk of the land of the community: “This is not the first time that we have pointed out our problem to the authorities but nobody seems to care. Otuokpoti is an old community.
“It was from here people living in Tungbo in Sagbama Local Government migrated from. We are not saying dredgers should not dredge sand. What we are against is the indiscriminate sand dredging.
This has caused problems. If it continues this way in the next few years the people of Otuokpoti would have been pushed out of this land.
“What is expected is that standard procedure should be followed in dredging the sand. The people of Otuokpoti are not against dredging. What we need for government is to revisit the embankment built by Okilo in the 80’s for our shore protection. It is obvious that continuous sand dredging has made it weak.
“Alternately, government can construct new one. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is an agency that should handle some of these things. Unfortunately, they have abandoned what is expected of them. We want relevant authorities to visit Otuokpoti and see things for themselves. Our people deserve what is good too.
“This issue is not difficult if right things are done. The state government should make the Ministry of Environment very functional.
“The ministry needs to be empowered to do what it was created to do. The ministry is very critical to Bayelsa. It should be strengthened to carry out major projects and if possible collaborate with the Federal Government. Now that we are going to have a governor that is in the same party with the President, we hope things would change.”
Programme Officer, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth (ERA/FoEN), Mr Morris Alagoa, said: “Conscious efforts should be made by the Bayelsa State Government to embark on shoreline protection for communities affected or prone to coastal erosion. This should be a continuous exercise until all communities are attended to.
“Some of the communities requiring urgent attention include: Obogoro, Anibeze, Abobiri, Ayama [Ogbia], Famgbe, Polaku, Peremabiri, Olugbobiri, Okpotuwari, Lasukgbene, Odioama, Opkoama, Twon-Brass, Sangana, Koluama, Kaiama and Odi.
“Bayelsa State Government should ensure that proper Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] is done before any dredging activity is allowed within any community environment. This is with a view to preventing coastal erosion.”