UNIBEN, communities under threat of gully erosion

Some staff and students residing close to the Ugbowo Campus of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and residents in Iguo-Osaigie and other surrounding communities in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of Edo State are about to be cut off because of the ravaging gully erosion in the area.

The surrounding communities, Iguo-Hana, Iguo-Efosa, Oke-Okehn, Okun Magiajemen and Utteh have called on the relevant authorities to come to their rescue.

The residents said the erosion had already cut off the alternative route and the bridge linking Ugbowo and Ikpoba River.

Some other areas affected by the gully erosion included the portion housing the UNIBEN Senior Staff Club and senior staff quarters.

The gully had also halted the ongoing construction of the Ekosodin Road that links the area to the New Lagos-Benin Expressway.

A signpost in the area indicated that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) had apparently awarded the contract in the past.

The Secretary-General of Efosa Community, Mr. Aghahowa Obayinwana, pleaded that relevant authorities should come over to put an end to the innumerable damages the gullies had caused.

According to him, “Delay is dangerous and in a situation like this where over five communities have been crippled and their means of livelihood taken away, crime becomes inevitable.”

A lecturer at the Faculty of Management Sciences, UNIBEN, Dr. Uwagbor Eboigbe, said the situation could aggravate, if not checked urgently.

“As we speak, the gully has, among other damages, rendered many staff homeless and the staff club where we cool off after a tensed work day has also had its own pinch.

“I am very sure, as you can see from the sign post, that this project has been awarded at different times.

“On our own, we have made formal appeals to relevant authorities in Abuja and Benin, yet no luck. I am now appealing that aggressive, positive measures be taken.

“If the fund needed is too much for one agency to foot, they should employ a syndicated approach and collectively get it done,” the don said.