Despite Multi-million Naira Ecological Funds Payment, Gully Erosion Sacks Farmers from Akpayak Community
By Ekemini Simon
Mary Etim a mother of six in 2012 bought and also acquired through lease some farmlands at Akpayak community in Uyo local government area. Her husband had just lost his job. With the plots of land, Mary was determined not to allow her family to feel the impact of the husband’s jobless situation. On the plot, she cultivated water leaf among other vegetables in commercial quantities which over the years have been just enough for the family’s feeding, academic and other sundry expenses. ” My vegetable farm was my office. With it I was able to comfortably send my two children to university and the other four private secondary school”.
But things took a turn for the worse.
After 12 years of sustaining her family through her farmland, one morning in July 2024 after a heavy downpour, Mrs. Etim went to her farm to pluck some water leaves for sale. On arrival, Lo and behold, her farm produce together with her farmlands have disappeared. They were washed away by gully erosion.
Unfortunately for Mrs. Etim, the ecological disaster was chaperoned by pangs of distress for her livelihood. With no land again to cultivate her vegetables, Mrs. Etim has not only lost the money she used in acquiring the lands but also her business. To survive, she buys water leaves from those whose farmland is yet to cave in and sells the same.
But the funds she gets from the business has nosedived and has brought untold hardship to her family” Two of my children were in the university and the other four in a private secondary school. Now, I can no longer afford their school fees. The money is no longer good as when I planted my vegetables. The little money I now get from the trade is what we manage to feed. I am already in several debts trying to cope”.
The situation faced by Mrs. Etim is similar to what has befallen Madam Margaret Obong. When the gully caved in lands again in mid-September, her farmland was among the many farmlands lost. Madam Obong lost 35 beds of waterleaves. She says as the breadwinner of her family, she now struggles to feed her seven children and has started contemplating telling them to drop out of school temporarily since she will be unable to afford their school fees following the disaster.
Mary and Margaret story are just a few of many farmers who have counted their losses at the Akpayak community where gully erosion has claimed a large span of land.
The gully site at Akpayak community located at the old Uyo stadium, Barracks road has continued to cave in due to a poorly terminated drainage system and soil structure as the area played host to dumpsite that was not properly decommissioned.
The gully which caves in towards Udoh Street if allowed unchecked may besides consuming residential building affect government structures such as the Uyo Traditional Rulers Council, Akwa Ibom State Council of Chiefs, Christ the King Primary School, and the Barracks Road Primary Healthcare Centre.
Help us- Farmers, Community Cry for Help
The farmers in the Akpayak community have called on the government at all levels to immediately take steps to address the gully encroachment and also reclaim the lost land.
Speaking on behalf of the farmers, Madam Margaret Obong said over 25 families have lost their livelihoods due to the gully erosion on the Akpayak farmland this year alone.
She said if the government does not address the gully encroachment, reclaim the land and provide alternative land for them to farm while the reclamation work is ongoing, many of the farmers may experience untimely death due to the emotional trauma and financial demands they are facing.
” Our lives have been totally devastated by the gully. We started crying over this threat in 2022 but no one listened. Most of us are breadwinners of our family. We are not asking the government for money. All we ask is that they protect and reclaim our land. We will work and take care of our families “, Madam Obong said.
The Youth Leader of Akpayak community, Ubong Henry said his community is concerned that when they had raised the alarm to relevant government authorities when the gully was at the level of a threat, nothing was done hence he is concerned if government will take action now that it has become a full gully with high cost demanded to address it.
He warned that if immediate action is not taken, residential buildings and government structures will soon be lost to gully.
TheMail Newspaper in April 2023 had reported how the gully was cutting deeper close to residential areas yet no action was taken.
Government not Helpless with Funds
Analysis of the reports from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shows that in the last 18 months, between January 2023 and June 2024, the Government of Akwa Ibom State, Uyo Local Government Council and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have received multi million-naira ecological funds that should have been utilized for the remediation of this environmental disaster.
According to the 18 months FAAC reports, Uyo local government area alone received N49.85 million as ecological funds within the 18 months period. An equal amount deducted from Uyo Local Government allocation was also paid to NDDC for ecological projects.
The FAAC report also showed that within the time, N990.5 million was paid to the Government of Akwa Ibom State as ecological funds while an equal amount deducted from Akwa Ibom State’s allocation was paid to the NDDC for ecological remediation projects in Akwa Ibom State.
The Government of Akwa Ibom State is currently undertaking a land reclamation project at the gully site at Udo Inwang Street in Uyo although the cost of the project is not made known by the Government of Akwa Ibom State.
When contacted, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Iquo Abia said a team from the Ministry led by the Former Commissioner, Uno Uno about three months ago visited the site together with a contractor for on the spot inspection in order to put together a design for the remediation of the site.
” We are at the level of design now. When the design is out, we will write to the Governor for Intervention. I believe that from that point intervention will come immediately”, she added.
Meanwhile, TheMail is not aware of ecological projects undertaken by the NDDC and the Uyo local government council in Uyo. Analysis of NDDC portal did not reveal any ecological project for Uyo local government area within the period. When the Commissioner representing Akwa Ibom State, NDDC Governing Board, Abasiandikan Nkono was contacted for the specific ecological project embarked upon by the Commission in Uyo in 2023 and the first half of 2024, he told TheMail Newspaper to channel the inquiry to NDDC head office in Rivers State stating that the request is outside the purview of the State Office. In Mid-June 2024, TheMail Newspaper in a Freedom of Information request to the Managing Director of NDDC requested for information on the ecological projects implemented in Akwa Ibom State per local government area between 2020 and 2023. Despite acknowledgment, this request has not been acceded to till date.
Also, calls, text and WhatsApp messages to the Chairman of Uyo local government area on Monday morning, afternoon and evening were not addressed as at press time. The Chairman in a response to our message in the morning said he was on a phone call. However, further attempts at reaching out were not responded to. TheMail Newspaper specifically sought to know the ecological projects undertaken in the last 18 months in utilisation of the ecological funds and the Council’s plan for the gully erosion site.
Use Ecological Funds for Akpayak Ecological Crisis – ZeWA tells State Government, Uyo LG Council, NDDC
Zero Waste Ambassadors (ZeWA), a cluster of civil society organisations working on wastes management and other environmental issues in Akwa Ibom State have called on the government of Akwa Ibom, the NDDC and the Uyo local government Council to deploy the ecological funds it has been receiving from the federation allocation in address the gully menace affecting Akpayak community.
Speaking during the group’s visit to the gully erosion site on Thursday, September 25, 2024 to mark the World Clean Up Day, the Coordinator of the ZeWA in Akwa Ibom State, Faith Paulinus said the government must not always wait until lives are lost before actions are taken to address challenges facing the citizens.
He said ZeWA in the last two years have been calling on the government to address the gully concern when it was only a threat but it was ignored.
He added ” Now, the speed in which the gully is caving in is very alarming. Unfortunately, the government will spend more than when we had raised the alarm calling for their intervention. It is our call for the ecological funds paid to the State, local government and NDDC to be deployed here else the gully erosion will continue to destroy many livelihoods and in the near future render many families homeless “.