By Chioma Onuegbu

Residents of Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have blamed the failure of both local and state governments to harness the vast economic potentials of Nwaniba Beach for its current sorry state.

Some community leaders and stakeholders who spoke last Friday during Coastal Community Environmental dialogue facilitated by Peace Point Development Foundation, PPDF, with support from Global Greengrants Fund, GGF, complained that it had been over 15 years that economic activities at the beach wound down with nothing being done to revive the place.

Chairman of the Beach Management Committee and an indigene of Nwaniba village, Mr Effiong Ekpo told NDV that the incessant robbery attacks and killings of their fishermen on the waterways by sea pirates have also affected fishing business in the area.

Ekpo said: “Today, instead of the situation improving, it is going backwards. There is no improvement here. Both local and state governments have not made any effort or show interest to improve this beach. In fact the community has been managing the beach and pay revenue to the government.

Security challenge

“We cannot afford the kind of funds needed to improve this place. We don’t have that capacity. And our people have been appealing to government for support to check the insecurity challenge our fishermen face.  The insecurity is making fishing business unattractive. Some youths that would have loved to go into the business after secondary school are no more interested in fear of being killed.

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“Some people even borrowed money to invest in the fishing business, but when they are continuously attacked and robbed how do they payback?  So insecurity on our waterways is our greatest challenge and we are still calling on the government to come to our rescue. And during the rainy season this beach is always flooded.

“And why weeds have not taken over the beach is because of regular environmental sanitation exercise we carry out as a community. Government is not interested in developing this beach.”

Similarly, an associate Professor in Chemistry department, at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) James Asuquo, from Ekpene Ukim village in Uruan local government area,  frowned at failure of the government to develop the beach as well as its politicisation of things that bring sustainable development to the society.

Asuquo who is also a fellow of the Nigerian Environmental Society said, “There used to be big companies here like the PZ, UAC, and Leventis. They used to come from Calabar. Many years ago there were buildings depicting the presence of those companies here but because of politics they moved away and this place began to go down.

Need for dredging

“But the place can be improved if this river is dredged bigger vessels will start to come in and it will boost more businesses with commercial value. And this beach is very close to the state capital, so if you bring business through here it will be easier for you to take it to town. But they will not do that because of politics and I frown at it.

“Another problem is that we don’t have people who are concerned about the development of the beach. Government lacks the political will to do the things some of us technocrats suggest. They want things that they will have immediate gain, and most of such things are not sustainable.

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“I have been talking about developing this place but they don’t listen to people like us because we are not politicians. And I  advise the  Beach Management Committee, that they should not to allow this river to be taken over by weeds, because if that happens it will not make it easy for movement of their canoes and that will block fishing and wood businesses.

Coordinator of Peace Point Development Foundation, (PPDF) Mr. Imoh  Isuaikoh said the programme was designed to sensitise coastal communities on how to suggest as well as  seek  for solutions regarding the environmental problems that affect them

“This community dialogue is a platform we want to work with to see how we can encourage select coastal communities in the Niger Delta region to start taking environmental issues like deforestation seriously. Cutting down of trees is a threat to human existence.

“We (Nigeria) have lost some species of hardwood. Some of them even use chemicals to fish and in the process, they kill species of fish. And they do it out of ignorance. That is why this sensitisation programme is important. It will help them understand that they are destroying the environment, our aquatic life. We are going to train them after today engagement.”

Potential revenue earner

He expressed disappointment over the condition of the beach despite its proximity to the Five Star hotel in the state, stressing that if the beach was properly developed and effectively utilized it could serve as a big source of internal revenue to the local and state governments.

He stressed, “But you can see that the beach is dirty, poorly managed. And people can even access the five-star hotel through the waters from Rivers, Calabar, etc.  As this region doesn’t have good roads, water would have been an alternative means of transportation. Unfortunately, insecurity on the waterways has affected travelling by water in recent times.

“So the issue of insecurity on the waterways raised here by the Beach Management Committee is paramount, there is need for government to be alive to its responsibility of protecting lives of the fishermen and those that travel through the waters,” he said.

Vanguard News Nigeria