•Cry out, say pirates lay siege, and rob them on the waterways •10-km Opume-Okoroba road contract awarded in 2011, but later abandoned

By Samuel Oyadongha

OKOROBA – Residents of Okoroba, a coastal fishing and farming settlement in Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, have bemoaned the abandonment of the link road to the riverside community. The natives, led by a nonagenarian, Madam Omiekumo Numo, a decade ago, converged on the Opume end of the proposed Opume-Okoroba Road to stage a protest to draw attention to the broken-down road and activities of sea pirates who raid the people along the creeks. The late Oronto Douglas, a one-time Special Adviser (Research and Documentation) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, hailed from this ancient Ogbia-speaking community.

Contract abandoned The Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC, awarded the 10 km road project to link the coastal town of Okoroba to the mainland Ogbia Council Area to the Mangrovtech, now known as Kakatar’ce in 2011. Sadly, they abandoned the project over an alleged disagreement over contractual terms, compensation, and the non-availability of sand.

Inhabitants recount sufferings NDV’s check revealed villagers access the community through the endangered creeks or the abandoned 10-km Opume-Okoroba road. Most natives prefer to trek about four hours on the tortuous uneven track, which a car would navigate in 15 minutes if the road were motorable. Some people get in and out of their community with motorcycles, also known as Okada. Motorcyclists ply the route between November and April when the swampy terrain is dry, charging each passenger N5,000. Others travel on hand-paddled canoes at N3,000 per passenger to the stabilized section before they finally deserted the road.

We travel with spare clothing because of the rickety road — Tari Tari, a native lamented: “We are worse off during the wet season, we have to wash ourselves and change into clean clothes on getting to the Opume end because of the marshy nature of the route on our way to Ogbia and Yenagoa.”

Annual floods cut-off community — Ayerite, CDC vice-chair The vice-chairman of Okoroba Community Development Committee, CDC, Frank Ayerite, told NDV: “Unfortunately, nothing tangible has been done with the result that during the dry season, we trek on the patched and uneven road for about four hours to access our community from the Opume end in Ogbia. All efforts to see that the road is completed have been futile.” He explained that the road is the only route to take their agricultural produce to nearby markets in Ogbia, complaining that annual floods usually cut off the community.

Our people suffering — Furo, youth president The youth president, Elliot Isele Furo, asserted: “Our people suffer because of the deplorable road, we trek or use motorcycles to access the community in the dry season. Motorcyclists charge N5,000 or more for a distance of 15 minutes or less if it is passable. “It is more pathetic during the rainy season as our people are compelled to travel in hand-paddled canoes whose operators charge each passenger N3,000 to the stabilied point at Opume.” He disclosed that the community had made efforts to contact the chairman of Nembe Local Government Area to dedicate a special boat for the Nembe-Okoroba route and revive their abandoned cottage hospital.

Doctors, nurses, and teachers reject posting to Okoroba — Indigene An indigene who spoke anonymously noted with sadness that the absence of a link road to their community has led to a series of armed attacks by sea pirates, forcing nurses, doctors, and teachers to stay away from their community. “If they construct the road, the journey is less than 15 minutes by vehicle and 25 minutes by motorcycle. The agricultural sector of the economy is suffering as our community is agrarian,” he added.