Eemah:

Who is this fake journalist sef that is reportint what we that are living in Benue have not heasrd ? Y dont you investigate and get the facts before reporting any story ? there is nothing poverty will not cause in this countre. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MAUTAINOUS VILLAGE WAS A LANDSLIDE AND NOT A VOLCANIC ERUPTION. Next time try to get your facts before reporting please.

VARSITY TEACHER WANTS GOVT TO TACKLE MOUNTAIN EMISSION

A LECTURER at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Mr. Abagyegh Ingyorokogh, has described the emissions at the Abalekpam Mountain in Mkomon District of Benue State as a wake up sign for government agencies to act in order to avert a more devastating incident that could claim more lives in the area.The eruptions at the mountain claimed two lives and destroyed farmlands and property worth millions of naira.
Addressing journalists in Makurdi, yesterday, Ingyorokogh, a geologist said that such an eruption was a function of geological forces within the earth crust, where magma substances boil, which are forced to the earth surface through a crack.
He said that the distance that the magma would travel and cause destruction, depends on the space of the crack on the mountain occasioned by tensional forces under the earth.
Ingyorokogh suggested that detailed scientific research be conducted around the Mountain at the Mkomon District to determine the level of the volcanic threat to lives in the area.
He said that since the emissions were from the side of the mountain, it was certain that the weakness where the emissions emanated from were not at the top of the mountain as was the case with other volcanic eruptions.
Ingyorokogh called on government to build protective demarcation lines around the mountain and evacuate the people living in the area to protect lives and property of the residents.
Also, in an interview, Mr. Hyacinth Vaatyough, a geographer with the National Space Research Institute, told The Guardian that the area where the eruption took place was in the volcanic belt running from Adamawa through the Benue Mountains.
He described the eruptions as volcanic slide, noting that the zone is prone to such eruptions. Vaatyough suggested that the state government should relocate residents from the area and erect warning signs to stop people from residing in the area.
He informed that researchers from the Institute have moved over to the site to take samples from the mountain to work on them to ascertain the nature of the eruptions.
Contacted, Benue State Commissioner for Environment, John Ngbede, claimed that there were no volcanic eruptions at the Mountain. He said what happened was a landslide. Ngbede said though he was yet to visit the area because of his involvement in the preparation for a thanksgiving service for Governor Gabriel Suswam, he believed the report of his director of environment.
Ngbede said the state government was waiting to get the statistics on the quantum of destruction caused by the natural disaster.

Rage of the mountain…in Benue

WEDNESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2010 00:00 FROM SIMEON NWAKAUDU, MAKURDI NEWS - METRO

TO the people of the remote Mkomon District of about 10 villages in the Kwande Local Council of Benue State, the mountain range on the Nigeria-Camoroun border is an integral part of their everyday life.

Ominously dark, with huge boulders and lush green vegetation on its gently rising sides, the people had had cause to look at the mountain range with suspicion and even awe.
In 1995 and again in 2005, there had been rumblings and some gaseous emissions from the mountains.
Then came Wednesday, October 13, when again, the mountains rumbled, the earth shook and gaseous and molten matter spewed out from the mountainsides.This time, two people lost their lives.

It took The Guardian five tortuous hours from Makurdi, the state capital to Tse-Igba, one of the affected villages and another hour on foot before reaching Abelakpan Mountain, one of the two mountains that erupted. The other is Ba-Mbatyough, both part of the mountain range.

Some of the villagers told The Guardian they knew persons healed after drinking water from the spring that formed after the last eruptions. They called the spring Bo-Tam.This time, there has been nothing beneficial from the last eruption.
They said they were awoken at about 5.00 a.m. by massive vibrations that shook the entire area.
“There were booming sounds as if bombs were being dropped in the area. Nobody had ever experienced such an ugly situation in the past,” Jeremiah Yashi, a civil servant who lives in the community, told The Guardian.

“Most of us thought that we were spending our last days on earth.”Two people died while vast farmlands and houses were destroyed by emissions from the mountains.When The Guardian visited the villages affected by the volcanic eruption, the people were still in shock.They lamented that no official delegation from the government had visited them though they had been notified.

About 10 bridges in the area, including Kikpan Bridge were swept away by the rushing lava as a result of which the area has been cut off from the rest of Kwande Local Council.
Heat from the emissions scorched farmlands while the smell of cooking gas filled the environment in the villages near the foot of the Abelakpen Mountain.

The Kindred Head of Ityuluv Kindred of Mkomon District, Chief Gabriel Hangeior Aja told The Guardian the eruption destroyed farmlands and sources of water.

“ Since the eruption, we have stopped drinking from the stream because the colour of the water has changed beyond recognition and those who attempted drinking from it fell ill”.

He said Shaaka Aja, his 30-year-old nephew and a 10-year-old boy died as they could not withstand the shock of the vibrations.
He said a dignitary in the state who did not want his name mentioned had asked them to take stock of the homes, farms and property damaged by the eruption, so he would take up the issue with the state government and National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.

“What I have come to do this morning in the church is to announce to community members that they should take stock of their losses and inform me accordingly.
“This will help us submit the needed information to the government official who said it should be submitted by November 15,” he said.

A former Kwande Local Council chairman, Mr. Akombor Ande Akombor, regretted that the affected communities have been left to their fate, without attention from the government.
He said the emissions from the mountains and the gaseous stench, since the day of the eruption indicate that there was more to the problem than the damages already suffered by the people.

He said: “For us, we need the Federal Government to send scientists to come and research around the mountains. We do not know the smelly gases that we inhale since the eruption and the damage it is doing to our systems. We also do not know what lies ahead of us with the manner the dangers associated with these eruptions are increasing by the day. Beyond relief materials, we need to know our fate as it relates to the eruptions of the mountains around our district”.

The Security Adviser to Governor Gabriel Suswam, Col. Benjamin Abohol who hails from the area told The Guardian he would call the village to find out the true situation before commenting.
On his part, the Benue State Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Mr. John Ngbede said the state government would soon swing into action.

The commissioner, however, claimed that there was no volcanic eruption, and that said what happened was a landslide.
Ngbede said the state government was waiting to get the statistics on the quantum of destruction caused by the natural disaster.
One clear evidence of government neglected of the people of Mkomon District is the police station in Anwase.
It was under lock and key, with no policeman near the area.

A commercial motorcyclist told The Guardian it has been so for years.A teacher at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Mr. Abagyegh Ingyorokogh described the eruptions and emissions as a wake-up call on government agencies to act in order to avert a more devastating eruption that could more lives in the area.

Addressing journalists in Makurdi on Monday, Ingyorokogh, a geologist said that such eruption was a function of geological forces within the earth’s crust, from where magma is forced to the earth’s surface through a crack.
He said that the distance that the magma would travel and cause destruction, depends on the space of the crack on the mountain occasioned by tensional forces under the earth.

Ingyorokogh suggested that detailed scientific research be conducted around the Mountain at the Mkomon District to determine the level of the volcanic threat to the lives in the area.

He said that since the emissions were from the side of the mountain, it was certain that the weakness where the emissions emanated from were not at the top of the mountain as was the case with other volcanic eruptions.
Ingyorokogh called on the government to build protective demarcation lines around the mountain and evacuate the people living in the area to protect lives of the residents.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Hyacinth Vaatyough, a geographer with the National Space Research Institute, the area where the eruption took place, was in the volcanic belt running from Adamawa through the Benue Mountains.He also said that researchers from the Institute have begun efforts to ascertain the nature of the eruptions.

Commenting, the Head, Planning, Research and Statistics of Benue State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Mr. Raph Nduul said that the agency was already taking stock of the damages caused, and promised that the state government would reach out to those affected by the disaster.

Benue CNPP faults govt’s silence over emission from Abelakpam hills

FRIDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2010 00:00 FROM SIMEON NWAKAUDU, MAKURDI NEWS - NATIONAL

CITING insensitivity, the Benue State Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has condemned the lackadaisical approach of the state government to the volcanic eruptions at the Abelakpam Mountains in Mkomon District of Kwande Council.

It said the action of the government showed that it placed little value on human lives.

Also, the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Benue State chapter, has described the slow reaction of the state government to the eruption, which killed two, as an indication that the focus of the state government was not people-centred.

Addressing a press conference in Makurdi, Chairman of the Benue CNPP, Mr. Baba Agan, regretted that the Benue Ministry of Environment had once again failed the state by engaging in rhetorics rather than responding to an environmental disaster.

He said the CNPP was especially disappointed with the state Environment Commissioner, Mr. John Ngbede, who rather than visit the disaster site, continued to give excuses.

According to him: “It was appalling and extremely unimaginable that the Benue State Environment Commissioner, John Ngbede, told journalists that he would attend a political thanksgiving for Governor Gabriel Suswam on Sunday, rather than assess the damage caused by the eruptions at the mountain. This smacks of negligence of duty and lack of respect for the lives of the less privileged in Benue State”.

He called for the re-organisation of the Environment Ministry in the state to make it more responsive, pointing out that the Benue people can no longer condone the loss of valuable lives occasioned by the negligence.
In another press interview, the state ANPP Secretary, Iorkenge Jev, said the party was disappointed that the governor went ahead with a political thanksgiving, rather than kick-start a process to assist the victims of the Kwande eruptions and bring succour to them.

He said the action of the state government epitomises the failure of the PDP-led administration of the state to invest in the people and protect their lives and means of livelihood.

Jev added that the ANPP commiserates with all those who suffered losses during the eruption, calling on the Federal Government to intervene.
The ANPP scribe called for the immediate sanctioning of Ngbede for neglecting his responsibility to the people.

invisible!:

Now a lanslide? Submit pictures or sharrap and go to sleep.

Eemah:

[b][b]What do you mean by Sharrap ? when the dump journalist reported a lie to you didnt tell him to sharrrap now that am giving you an authentic version you are telling me to Sharrap. OLODO.[/b][/b]