Following the severe damage and environmental degradation at Ihumiri Otamiri Umudoche Water Front because of the activities of dredgers in the area, the traditional ruler of Umuoma and elders of Umudoche Umuoma Nekede in Owerri West Local Government Area have come out to sanitize the dredging activities in the water front and said that enough is enough to the destruction of their heritage.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen shortly after their inspection of the water front last Wednesday, the traditional ruler of Umuoma Nekede, HRH Eze Morrison Eke PhD (Omadike 1 of Umuoma Nekede) expressed bitterness that continuous dredging is causing environmental degradation, stressing that the dredgers are have destroyed their environment.
Eze Ekeh enumerated the consequences of the dredging activities to include good water scarcity because the water has been polluted, soil erosion around the environment, fertility of the soil, one cannot cultivate in the valley and all these things affect agricultural productivity, causing food scarcity and hardship.
He recalled that before now, the people of Umuoma Nekede were known for subsistent farming but they cannot cross the bridge to go to their farms, according to him “The community’s incentives have been completely destroyed by dredging activities Nowhere to plant crops despite the fact that God blessed Umuoma Nekede with excessive arable land. The Umudoche Water used to be an attractive tourist site. We used to drink very clean water from Otamiri River, but all that is now history because of dredging activities”.
The royal father revealed that the community resolved and told the dredgers to shift and adhere to the authorized distance of 250 feet away from the damaged pedestals bridge, so that the bridge can be constructed for the people to go to their farms, noting that the dredging companies were invited and many of them accepted the conditions given to them in order to sustain their means of livelihood in these hard times and being the indigenes of the area, they cannot stop them but allowed them to do their businesses in adherence to the elders’ order.
Also speaking the oldest man in the community, Elder Boniface Obiyo warned them to remove their dredging machines “We want peace in Umudoche. We don’t want any dredging. We are ready to go to any length. They shouldn’t overshadow us. Any dredger who bought land for dredging activities must not trespass the boundary distance of 200 feet, ordered by the Eze and the elders of Umudoche.We cannot betray the confidence reposed on us by our forefathers because of money”
One of the members of the Elders’ Council, Nze Awumonye Nwaneri noted that the dates of ban of further illegal dredging warning by state government,In 2016, official documents showed that there were only 23 No of valid mineral title holders in Imo State.Today, in Umudoche water front alone ,there are up to 25 dredgers against government order of February 28,2018,May23 and July 19,2024,banning or end illegal Sand dredging/mining in Imo state,mostly around Umukoto,Nekede-Ihiagwa/FUTO axis leading to the banks of Nworie
and Otamiri rivers.The statement gave dredgers two days to remove their equipment and dismantle all their working tools from the area or face disciplinary actions, since then, nocturnal dredging has become the modus operandi.
The environmentalist and public health officer, Nze Nwaneri also revealed that the reason why penalty was imposed on the dredgers was because of the destruction caused by the dredgers. The money will be used to fix the damages caused, now that rainy season is by the corner. For now, the neighborhood is impassable and we cannot sit and watch such damages go unnoticed.
Nze Nwaneri who is a news analyst and former palace Secretary to Eze Stephen Agumanu said “We had the intention of building pedestal bridges. We are experiencing a lot of damages.
By Chibuzo Munony.
Red Also:
Ikenga Imo’s bill to review qualifications for President, Governor scales second reading
