From Linus Oota, Lafia
Communities in various local government areas of Nasarawa State have cried out to the Presidential Team on the survey of ecological sites to save them from gully erosion.
They claimed the menace has swallowed their houses, making them to leave in the valleys of shadows of death.
Acting President Yemi Osinbanjo had earlier in the week deployed a team of ecological experts from the Presidency to conduct census of ecological sites across the state to have first hand information on the state’s ecological problem.
According to the residents, the gully measuring about 60 metres deep and 40 metres wide has swallowed houses, claimed lives and destroyed property worth millions of Naira, adding that if nothing was urgently done, the entire communities might soon be washed away. A resident of Ungwan Sha’au in Lafia Local Government Area, Ahmed Sarajo said houses built with years of hard work have been washed away, as flood water overpowered some of the culverts and drainages constructed by the present administration under Tanko Al-makura. Another resident, Abubakar Shehu said people have started relocating as the rain sets in.
He explained that many members in the area could lose their source of livelihood if the gully erosion was allowed to deteriorate.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to come to our aide as our community is being threatened by gully erosion, the state government efforts had been in use over the years, but to no avail, what the flood is doing now is clearly above the strength of the governor.”
Leader of the five-man team, Sulieman Umar said they were in the state to survey and identify the devastated areas of the erosion with a view to addressing it.
He explained that from what he had seen, the effect of the erosion was beyond the state government.