Residents of Umudimishi Village, Umuoru, in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, have petitioned Governor Chukwuma Soludo over the worsening menace of gully erosion allegedly caused by illegal and unregulated sand mining activities in the community.
The villagers said about 120 buildings are currently threatened by the expanding gully, with some residents already making arrangements to relocate for fear of losing their homes to the erosion.
In the petition addressed to Governor Soludo and copied to the state Ministries of Environment and Works, the villagers alleged that the activities of sand miners posed a serious threat to human lives, property, and the continued existence of the community.
The petition, signed by the Chairman of Umudimishi Development Union, Nze Ibeabuchi Umeugochukwu, stated that several homes in the area were located only a few metres from the mining sites and had consequently become vulnerable to erosion. The villagers said: “Many homesteads in Umudimishi are close to and along the line of mining by a few metres and, as a result, stand eroded in the course of this ecological problem fueled by unregulated sand mining.”
They further alleged that the erosion menace was largely triggered by human activities, particularly unregulated sand mining along the Aguata-Orumba axis, where they said the soil structure was highly susceptible to erosion.
According to them, “Erosion menace is being triggered by human factors of unregulated sand mining, especially as it is in Aguata-Orumba Axis where the and structure is prone to erosion, which is the major environmental hazard in the region.”
The community also claimed that sand mining had become the major source of environmental crises affecting Umudimishi Quarter, Umuoru Village and Uga generally. Beyond the environmental consequences, the villagers expressed concern that the availability of quick money from sand mining was discouraging youths from learning vocational skills.
They said many youths now preferred sand mining to acquiring skills, while the worsening erosion had also discouraged residents and prospective investors from establishing businesses in the area. The villagers therefore appealed to Governor Soludo to permanently shut down the mining sites in Umudimishi to prevent further deterioration of the already deplorable environmental situation.
They also urged the governor to direct the appropriate agency of the Anambra State Government to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the erosion sites and produce a comprehensive report with recommendations on how to tackle the problem and reclaim lands already lost to erosion. The petitioners said urgent intervention by the state government was necessary to protect lives, homes and the remaining land in the community from further destruction.
