By Emmanuel Unah

IKOT AWATIN—TWO  years back, the fear of erosion washing away residents, their homes and property was a recurring decimal in the lives of inhabitants of five communities in Calabar Municipality and Calabar South Local Government Areas in Cross River State.

The debilitating erosion in the communities of Ikot Awatin, Nyahassang, Edim Otop, Atakpa, and Ikot Ekpo was so fierce that during each rain fall, residents fled their homes   to safer areas.    This was because most times, during such down pours, vast portions of land caved in to the flood, taking along with it, human beings, houses and property.

The man-made erosion caused by    mining of sand for construction of roads and houses overwhelmed both the local and state governments for several years until the World Bank offered a helping hand in 2014.

N4 billion projects

The World Bank in collaboration with the  federal and state governments raised the sum of     N4 billion  through the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP, and with innovative engineering process, the rampaging erosion was brought to halt.    Houses that were on the brink of being swept away were salvaged and  large portions of land reclaimed for the communities.

Residents thank World Bank

Site Community Chairman of Ikot Ekpo community, Offiong Kanu Ekpo, told  Niger Delta Voice that over 26 houses, including his three -bedroom bungalow were swept away by the erosion between 2011 and 2013 before the intervention by NEWMAP.

He commended the World Bank for giving him money to rebuild another house, though smaller than his previous edifice.

“We saw a lot of things here before the intervention by NEWMAP. Anytime there was rainfall, we had to escape for our lives and by the time we came back, two or three houses had been carried away”.

Night vigils

He said life was miserable and full of fear, as nobody knew which house would be carried away next and since there was little they could do, the residents resorted to regular holding of prayer meetings and night vigils and God answered when the former governor of the state, Senator Liyel Imoke, listed their community among those for intervention by NEWMAP.

“Today I have a small house I live in courtesy NEWMAP   and there is no fear of it being washed away, as the erosion has been stopped and the land reclaimed, but one thing we will never allow in any form again in our soil is mining of any kind,” he said. .

Back to base, land value appreciates: At the Atakpa site, which adjoins the popular Marina Resort, NEWMAP constructed a 650-metre long channel to drain flood water down to the Calabar River, which has brought substantial relief to the community as they can now farm, and also build houses on land which they had earlier vacated.

“The cost of land here has appreciated as many people are now coming to buy land to build houses and those who had earlier abandoned their plots have returned to develop them and I am one of those because I have rebuilt my house that I abandoned for many years,” Saviour Atakpa, a community leader said.

He said the water channel has also added some beauty to the Marina Resort and with time, it would serve as a tourist attraction.

Also, the people of Edim Otop, Ikot Awatin and Nyahassang can now breathe a sigh of relief as NEWMAP has also saved them.

Projects on course: NEWMAAP Coordinator  for Cross River State, Engineer Fidelis Anuka, expressed satisfaction with the progress of work at all the five sites in the state, revealing that most of them were at between 90 to 95 per cent completion levels.