Flash floods: Ekoli river swallows 200 homes, farmlands in Bayelsa

OBOGORO: For almost a decade, residents of Obogoro Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have watched helplessly as the Ekoli River steadily eats into their homes, farmlands and public facilities.

The community, located along the Ekoli River, is among several communities in Bayelsa State badly hit by the menace of coastal and gully erosion.

Within this period, over 200 homes have reportedly been swallowed by the river, while several others now stand waiting for their doomsday. In its wake, a community primary school, football field, NYSC lodge and ancestral burial grounds are among facilities residents highlight have been lost to the rampaging river erosion.

Meanwhile, the latest heavy rainfall has worsened the situation, with sections of the riverbank collapsing into the swollen Ekoli River and forcing more families to flee their homes.

Cries for help 

A tenant in the community, Janet Eseoghene, said several families who previously lived in her compound had relocated after the river advanced dangerously close to the building.

“I am a tenant living in this compound. There were other families living here, but they have all left due to fear. Last year, the river was still a few metres away, but now it is at my doorstep.

“Please, we need help. I have no other place to go. It is risky living here, and I fear for my children too. We are appealing to the relevant authorities to come and help us,” she said.

Another resident, Joel Itortaziba, who hails from Ogbia Local Government Area, said residents had become accustomed to the sound of collapsing earth, particularly at night.

“I have been living in Obogoro for two years now. It is not somewhere anyone should live, but because of life and its challenges, we came here.

“It is terrifying living in this community. Sometimes at night, you hear a hit, which indicates that some land has caved into the river. We really need the help of the government.

“Children are dying. Just some months back, a child lost his life in the erosion. Government should please help this community,” Itortaziba said.

The President of the Epie-Atissa Peoples Congress, Obesi Otasume Benjamin, said the scale of destruction had left only a fraction of the original community standing.

His words: “The entire river you are seeing here was actually a community. If you were here a few years ago, you would have seen that the community was where this river is right now.

“Today, the community is no more. What we are seeing is just one quarter of the community that is left. People are dying. How can a full family, mother and children, be eroded away?

“People who have homes are now homeless. Some houses are at the edge of the river, knowing that they will slide into the river any moment. Over 200 houses have been submerged into the river.

“The state government, Federal Government and the NDDC need to visit Obogoro community. This place needs urgent attention,” he said.

Convener of the #Save Obogoro Community Now# group, Ada Gwegwe, said residents had raised the alarm repeatedly over the years, but their appeals had not produced a lasting solution.

Gwegwe said the Bayelsa State Government had awarded a contract to Niger Green Dredging Company for work on the erosion site, but alleged that the project was later abandoned.

“We have been on this issue for years now, and we were able to draw the attention of the state and Federal Government. The state government awarded a contract to a firm. They started work and later abandoned the project.

“Behind me is a building, well fenced, that is on the line to slide into the river. This is what this community has been passing through for the past 10 years.

“Millions of naira worth of property have been submerged into the river. I am using this opportunity to call on the Federal Government, the state government and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to come to the aid of Obogoro community,” he said.

Residents said formal petitions had also been sent to lawmakers at both the Senate and House of Representatives in an effort to secure federal intervention.

They appealed for a comprehensive shoreline protection and reclamation project, rather than temporary measures, warning that more families could be displaced if the erosion continues unchecked.

Residents lamented that while homes, farms and community facilities have been destroyed, the government has not provided any permanent accommodation or internally displaced persons’ camp for those forced from their homes.