AFRIPOL.ORG IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
CONFRONTING
ECOLOGICAL DISASTER IN ANAMBRA STATE AND SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA
By Emeka Chiakwelu www.afripol.org
The ecological disaster confronting
south eastern Nigeria especially Anambra State, the massive erosion coupled with
disastrous gullies and ephemeral soil surface shift needs and requires immediate
attention. The reality of ecological disasters in Nigeria including desert
encroachment in northern Nigeria and now in erosion gullies in eastern Nigeria
requires fundamental paradigm shift in the way Nigeria treats her ecological and
environmental system. One thing for sure, Nigeria takes her environment and
ecology for granted, occupying a landscape without adequate planning for
maintaining a sustainable green environment, is the core vulnerability of the
managers of south eastern Nigeria.
On the appeal of the five south eastern governors led by Governor Peter Obi of
Anambra state, the federal government of President Umaru Yar’dua declared the
ecological land mass of the region an ecological disaster zone. By this
declaration the federal government will fund the remediation project by coming
to the aid and rescue of the battered states of the region. This is the way the
course supposes to take, but the federal government is bedeviled with red tape
and incompetence. One thing is to declare a disaster zone, another is to marshal
the requisite resources to combat and ameliorate the situation. It has not been
easy for other areas of Nigerian land mass suffering from other forms of
ecosystem calamity including desert encroachment, therefore the governors cannot
afford to wait for the federal government forever.
Although, these governors are scrap of funds but there are still minimal steps
they can take as they wait for fund from the center. Most of the high powered
meetings held by the governors among themselves and sometimes with the
legislators from the region are mostly political and not balanced. By balanced
summit, it implies the broadening the scope of the meetings to connote
ecological and environmental experts, financial experts and philanthropists -
all these people from diverse walks of life will evaluate all aspects of the
project for curbing the ecological disaster with seasoned expertise, unsullied
ideas and common sense rooted in experience and competence. For arresting this
ecological disaster is too important to be left in the hands of neophytes and
apparatchiks.
The citizens of the region and its leadership must act fast and take up this
challenge squarely without not transferring responsibility and pointing fingers
to anybody or institution. They complain about lack of funds, while it cannot be
discarded nor disputed, the most intrinsic issue and significant thing is the
will power. Even with the meager fund at hand, something reasonable can be
initiated and be commenced especially in the short term. But by no means, this
is not to abrogate the federal government from its commitment and responsibility
but to alert the governors on the propinquity of the situation.
The erosion gullies have the potential of claiming about two third of Anambra
state in the next ten years and this development desperately seeks immediate
attention and long term strategy to stop the encroachment. The perennial risk
with erosion gully is its irreversible ‘personality' and propensity: Once it
took hold, it becomes a losing battle to reverse the landslides and the
degradation.
There must be short and long term strategies to trounce erosion gullies, a
blueprint strategy with comprehensive standard operation procedure. The idea is
to put a stop to the progressive ecological disaster at the moment, while laying
down the road map to the total arrest of future occurrences of erosion gullies.
Nature can be dominated and the forces of nature channel to more affirmative
usage and consumption, therefore with a circling strategy we can stop the
disaster and fabricate the bulwark to deter the raging force of erosion.
Short-term strategy
For some time, the leadership of states in south eastern Nigeria have neglected
their basic responsibilities of doing something tangible to deter erosion
gullies. So with the interim destruction of the landscape of the region, an
immediate action must be implemented to arrest the situation. Series of meeting
among the governors must be leverage to immediate action, but too much talking
without action is a wasted time.
The governors and the responsible bureaucrats must set up Ad havoc panel to
tackle the problem immediately with the funds at hand, while they are waiting
for funding from the federal government.
Stabilising the erosion gullies at the moment is the best possible reaction to
this ugly situation. "The object is to divert and modify the flow of water
moving into and through the gully so that scouring is reduced, sediment
accumulates and revegetation can proceed. Stabilising the gully head is
important to prevent damaging water flow and headward erosion. A variety of
options can be used to get the water safely from the natural level to the gully
floor. Improvements like grass chutes, pipe structures, rock chutes or drop
structures can be installed to do this effectively. Structures might also be
required along gully floors since some grades can be quite steep and allow water
to rush down under peak flows, ripping away soil and vegetation. These may take
the form of rock barrages, wire netting or logs across gullies. Sediments held
in the water will then be deposited along the flatter grades as a result of
slower water flow, allowing vegetation to re-establish."
Long-term strategy
After stabilizing the erosion gullies, a joint committee from all the south
eastern government will be set up. The committee will comprise of the state
governors, environmental experts and financial managers. The committee will come
up with a everlasting prevention strategy: Prevention is better than cure.
Application of Nnobi Re-vegetation strategy
Nnobi is a town in Idemili local government, that was bedeviled with erosion
gullies and this become menace to the community. The farms, roads and
residential areas were being claimed by this devastating erosion gullies. The
Nnobi community used re-vegetation and reforestation to reclaim and control the
gullies in their community. They planted cashew tress and the roots of the tress
becomes a cohesion that held the soil in tact with lest permeable membrane.
Others including: "Strategies for preventing gully erosion include:
maintaining remnant vegetation along drainage lines and eliminating grazing from
these areas
increasing water usage by planting deep-rooted perennial pastures, trees, or an
appropriate mixture of both thus maintaining healthy, vigorous levels of
vegetation
identifying drainage lines as a separate land class in which vegetation needs to
be protected
immediate stabilisation of sheet or rill erosion
vermin control
ensuring run-off from tracks is evenly distributed across paddocks ton dissipate
its energy
maintaining high levels of organic matter in the soil
avoiding excessive cultivation."
Education and Awareness
A media campaign will be initiated and implemented by the government to educate
the citizens on their role in curbing and controlling erosion: Sowing grasses
and planting tresses in their residential compounds can be beneficial in
controlling the damages of erosion. Citizens should be encouraged to have
cemented floor and pavements in order to minimize the storm water exposure to
the fragile ephemeral soil. Urban planning and estate surveying are tools to be
applied in commercial and residential houses construction in order to avoid
building them on the soil surface vulnerable to erosion gullies.
With these strategies the government and the people of south eastern Nigeria
will finally tame and check erosion gullies for good. But our governors MUST ACT
NOW lest the situation overwhelm them. Let us get to work!