•6 houses, property worth millions of naira destroyed
•Villagers cry out to federal, state govts
•John-Jonah, dep gov visits, dumbfounded at havoc
•Gov Dickson sends relief materials

By Samuel Oyadongha

OKOLOBA—PANIC has gripped indigenes of the riverside Okoloba community in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, following the recurring landslide ravaging their locality.

They fear that if urgent remedial steps were not taken, the agrarian settlement, situated along the bank of River Nun, a tributary of the River Niger, may be lost to mudslide, which yet again struck, last week, destroying six buildings and valuables worth millions of naira.

The incident, which left the natives badly shaken has once more brought to the fore the fate of several communities in the predominantly riverside state whose indigenes are not only contending with crude spills occasioned by the activities of the oil industry,  but also the fury of mother nature, such as the erosion menace and landslide. Though no life was lost in the latest incident, the life savings of many were lost in a swoop, leaving them in a bad situation.

Ocean-surge destroys community

Natives relieve experience

An indigene of the town, Ebi, said the Monday landslide, which jolted the residents, occurred thrice, at about 8.00 am, 1.00 pm and 6.00 pm respectively, penultimate Monday. According to him: “We are lucky that ours is an agrarian settlement where people go out early for farming and fishing expedition to eke out a living. It could have been a calamity if occupants of those buildings flattened were at home.”

Some victims of the landslide, Mr. Titus Yeigbagha and Chief Imomoemi Officer, lamented that property worth several millions of naira, including six houses were wiped away.

They called on the government to come to the aid of the community by providing shoreline protection for the area.

One of the affected persons, Kurodokumo Deingiye, said: “We are lucky to be alive and it is by the grace of God that we were not consumed by this terrible disaster because we noticed it on time. But there was no time for us to move our belongings, because we had to flee for our lives, but our property and belongings have been washed away.”

Dep gov dazed at level of destruction: The state Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah (retd.), who led a delegation of the state government to the troubled community to inspect the site of the landslide, was taken aback at the level of destruction.

Accompanied on the assessment visit by the Commissioners for Information and Orientation, Budget and Planning, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite and Mr. Joshua Ongore, Chief of Staff, Government House, Hon. Talford Ongolo and Chairman of the Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency, (BYSEMA), Dr. Zedekiah Izu, the deputy governor called on the Federal Ministry of Environment, agencies and other well-meaning organizations to join the Bayelsa government’s efforts at combating coastal erosion and other environmental disasters ravaging the state?

Urges FG intervention: He urged the Federal Government to participate more effectively in the protection of the Bayelsa environment, which according to him, has suffered serious degradation owing to erosion and oil exploration activities. Several communities in the state, including Koluama, which had been washed away by ocean surge and coastal erosion, he noted, were now in their new settlements.

His words: “There are lots of erosion sites in Bayelsa State; this is just one of them. We have been reporting about how the ocean surge has been washing off our communities, including Koluama. There is need for the Federal Ministry of Environment to look into Bayelsa case more seriously now with this wakeup call that we have got today. We shall inform the Federal Government on the need for them to participate more effectively in the protection of our environment.”

He sympathized with the victims, assuring that government would do everything within its reach to provide them with some temporary relief, while proffering long-standing solutions to the problem. He, however, cautioned the people to be more safety conscious and take proactive measures by avoiding development of houses and other facilities in areas that are prone to natural disasters.

Natural disasters

On the issue of providing shoreline protection for the community, the deputy governor said, “I understand there is a record that the government had planned to provide shore protection here. We will look at that and see where the plan stalled and put as pressure  much as we can to see that that project comes back to light.”

Relief materials pour in for victims: Also speaking, the Governor’s Special Representative in Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area, Mr. Iselema Gbaranbiri, recounted a similar incident that occurred in the community in 2008, 2013 and 2015 and appealed for the urgent attention of the government.

Meantime, Bayelsa State government through the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, has donated relief materials, including mattresses, food items and kitchen utensils to victims of the landslide in Okoloba community.

The Chief of Staff, Government House, Hon. Talford Ongolo, who led the distribution in company of the Information and Orientation Commissioner, Hon Jonathan Obuebite and other top government officials, urged the people not to allow the incident dampen their morale, but should rather keep hope alive, as government would collaborate with other stakeholders to find lasting solutions to the erosion and other environmental hazards troubling the area.

Receiving the delegation, Dame Fortune Dorgu, who represented the chairman of the council area, expressed gratitude to the state government for its swift response to the needs of the victims.  The lawmaker representing the area in the State House of Assembly, Engr Ebiye Tarabina, who was one of the early callers at the community, also provided temporal accommodation and cash gifts to the victims.

A community leader, Mr. Emomoemi Angaye, who formally received the materials on behalf of the victims, thanked the state governor and SEMA, for the assistance, stating that the government’s prompt response was an indication that Bayesa state has a caring governor.