Fear has taken over Okpanam Community in Oshimili North Local Government Area as the notorious Igwogwo gully erosion looms dangerously close to triggering another round of destruction with the coming rainy season.
As reported by THE POINTER Newspaper, in the Amachai axis of the community, residents now live under the shadow of disaster as the ever-expanding gully continues to eat into their homes, roads, and livelihoods, turning once-thriving neighbourhoods into zones of anxiety and despair.
Speaking at the erosion site, the Chairman of the Amachai Landlords’ Association, Mr. Chineye Okonkwo, described the situation as a slow-moving catastrophe that government has failed to arrest since it began in 2019.
According to him, several government agencies and intervention partners have visited the area over the years, raising hopes with repeated assurances that relief was on the way, only for those promises to evaporate while the gully keeps advancing.
“Two years ago, officials of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) came here, conducted surveys, and promised that emergency work would begin while they waited for federal funding,” Okonkwo said.
“We were even told that the Delta State Government had paid N1 billion as counterpart funding. But today, nothing has been done. The erosion is still here, and it is getting worse. We are begging the government to save us before it is too late.”
Another resident, Mr. Jude Ejakpomevi, revealed that the community had been forced to fight the disaster alone after government intervention failed to materialise.
He explained that members of the Amachai Landlords’ Association had repeatedly contributed their own money to build embankments and protective barriers, but the raging erosion keeps destroying every effort.
“We have tried everything within our limited means, but the gully keeps winning,” he said.
“We are now appealing directly to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori. We know he has done a lot for Delta people, and we are pleading with him to come to our rescue.”
For residents like Mr. Solomon Okeliwu, whose house stands dangerously close to the edge of the gully, the threat is no longer abstract — it is immediate and terrifying.
He warned that without urgent intervention, the erosion could lead to massive loss of life and property, as thousands of people live around the affected zone.
A retired civil servant and landlord in the area, Mr. Olu Tony, said more than 200 houses are now at risk of collapse, adding that all development in the area has come to a standstill because no one is willing to invest or build in a community that could be wiped out at any moment.
The economic impact is already being felt. A BetNaija shop operator, Mr. Lawrence Omoko, who runs his business near the gully, said many residents and traders have already fled the area.
“People are leaving because they are afraid,” he said.
“My friends have told me to move my shop, but I don’t have the money. This shop is my only source of livelihood. If this place goes, I lose everything.”
As the rainy season draws closer, the people of Okpanam are running out of time. What stands between them and another wave of destruction is not engineering or technology — it is the will of government to act.
Without urgent and decisive intervention, the Igwogwo gully may soon turn this community into the next tragic headline.
