The residents of Araromi-Ilugun-Itoko and six other communities in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State on Monday,raised the alarm of an imminent flooding disaster and landslides which will affect no fewer than 50 houses if the problem of the gully erosion is not fixed before the next rainy season begins.
According to The PUNCH, the residents also took to the streets to protest the terrible state of the road linking their communities as well as the huge gully which has not only destroyed the road but also threatened to sack the communities whenever it rains.
The residents, during the protest, were armed with placards bearing messages such as “Gov Dapo Abiodun come to our aid at Araromi-Ilugun-Itoko”, “We can’t access our houses again due to gully erosion”, “We can’t afford another rainfall under this condition” among others.
The affected communities are Araromi Ilugun-Itoko, Victory Estate, Surulere, Peaceland, Ilugun Central, Sunshine Estate and Abata CDA.
The Chairman of the Araromi-Ilugun-Itoko Community Development Association, Mr Okuneye Alaba Ezekiel explained that the challenge started around June of this outgoing year.
Okuneye said, “The gully erosion is threatening the existence of the foundation of our communities. It started in June this year and it has become a source of serious concern to the residents. We believe that disaster looms should nothing be done on this terrible gully if the next rainfall should begin
“The volume of the water that is coming to Araromi Ilugun-Itoko CDA resulted in this gully erosion and as communities, we can’t handle this huge challenge.
“We are calling on the state government and particularly the federal government, through the Ministry of Environment to come to our rescue because if another rainy season should start there will be serious problems in this area.
“We have about seven communities accessing this road and the gully erosion has destroyed the road, people can no longer drive to their houses even trekking to their various houses is a serious challenge as a result of the gully erosion.
“We are calling on the government to come to our rescue because if another rainy season should set in, about 50 houses will be affected and seven communities will also be affected.
“Before now, we have been appealing to the government to come to our rescue, but our voice has not been heard yet.
“We want the government to help us to construct drainage that will channel the water into a nearby river down the community. It has to be a very big drainage looking at the havoc that the the gully has caused, but if that is not done a greater disaster looms.
“We are appealing to Governor Abiodun as well as the Federal Ministry of Environment to please arise and help us. We don’t want to wait until we begin to lose lives and properties, already our economic activities are badly affected. We plead for all the help that we can get before the next rainy season begins”.
Alhaji Kazeem AbdulAfeez and Mrs Olusanjo Adebayo while speaking over this challenge also pleaded with Governor Abiodun to please help the community wipe away their tears saying that all the residents are already afraid of the dire consequences if the problem is not fixed before the next rainy season.
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Mr Lekan Adeniran, urged our Correspondent to contact the Commissioner for Works, Engr Ade Akinsanya, whose ministry is directly in charge of the matters relating to the demands of the residents.
The Commissioner for Works was however yet to reply to the message sent to his WhatsApp, while calls to his phone were also not picked up as of the time of filing this report.
