Abari is one of the communities on the bank of the River Niger in Patani Local Government Area of Delta State.

Morgan Agidi, 84, stood at the eroded
shore of Abari creek, gesturing as he
spoke about the havoc flooding has
wreaked on the living and the dead in
his community.

“Most of our (late) fathers, their bones
are now in the river. When they die, we
bury them but erosion carries them
away into the river,” the octogenarian
said.

Abari is one of the communities on the
bank of the River Niger in Patani Local
Government Area of Delta State. The
town is on the verge of becoming a
historical reference with the yearly
flood gradually washing it into the
river.

According to a research paper by
Adaku Echendu, the erosion is caused
by the Niger Delta coastal flood, which
has left no fewer than three million
persons displaced.

It is estimated that the town loses about
five to six houses and farmlands to the
flood annually.

This leaves many in the town and other
coastal areas with only the option of
relocation from the area or taking
temporary accommodation with the few
whose structures are yet to be
impacted.

A study has shown the havoc that the
Niger Delta coastal flood causes
annually. Climate change vulnerability
is a major issue of urgent policy
attention among poor coastal regions.

The Nigerian Environmental Study /
Action Team (NEST) reported that sea-
level rise and repeated ocean surges
will not only worsen the problems of
coastal erosion but will increase the
problem of floods, the intrusion of
seawater into freshwater sources and
the ecosystems. These will affect
agriculture, fisheries, and general
livelihoods.

A prediction in 2007 by the Fourth
Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) says rising global
temperatures will contribute to an
upsurge in several floods, drought,
glacier melt, and sea-level rise.

In developing countries, the pressure is
expected to intensify especially on land
and water resources, disrupt
agricultural production and threaten
food security.

The treasurer of Abari town,
Peremobowei Dakromoh, said erosion is
an age-long problem, which he grew up
to understand as a norm.

‘Normally, human beings die before
houses. But in this community, houses
die before human beings,” he said.

Still, in his late twenties, Mr
Peremobowei said his family members
had been victims of the disaster.

Stretching his hands in the direction of
the waterside and snapping his fingers,
Mr Dakromoh said the house his late
father built was swept off by erosion.

He said the government has turned a
blind eye to the plight of the residents.

“Abari community is the first ward of
Patani local government but ‘we no
know if we be part of this Nigeria,” he
lamented in pidgin English.

Difficulties with farming,
business

Mr Peremobowei said the main
occupations of the residents are
farming and fishing, but farmers and
fishermen have problems taking their
products to markets outside the
community because there are no
motorable roads.

According to him, farmers now take
their goods to the nearest market
through wooden or engine boats, which
he said adds between N7,000 and
N10,000 to their transportation cost.

“This could be half the value of the
whole farm product, resulting in little
or no gain,” he added.

Izon-Ebi Gobagha is
the secretary of the
town’s association.

He said moving crops from the farm to
the nearest village for sale is even
harder when the flood comes.

“Sometimes the floods scare many
farmers because sometimes our boats
sink,” she said.

The community’s youth association
chairman, Ogbotobo Godday, said
farming activities have drastically
reduced in the community.

‘This community used to produce about
3,600 tonnes of yam every year, but
there is nothing to write home about
the figure anymore. It is frustrating.”

A young farmer, Ogboteh George, said
the flood has dealt badly with farmers
in Abari.

“It (flood) has affected us so badly; so
much that youth outside the
community can be seen owning houses,
owning okada, owning cars but we in
this community have nothing.

“Even at our farms, when we plant our
crops, they get flooded within a year,
killing our crops. We are so sad about
this, to be very honest,” Mr Ogboteh
said.

Hospitals, others affected
It is not only the economic endeavours
that are suffering, other parts of
peoples lives are also affected in the
community.

There is no functional health centre or
hospiral in the community and ill
residents have to seek help from
neighbouring communities.

“We are begging the government to
come and help us because we are
suffering. Imagine people who are sick,
before we call a boat from the nearest
community, the person would have
died. In short, I want to believe we are
not part of the local government in
Delta State. They forget us in every
aspect of development,” Mrs Gobagha
said.

Similarly, Mr Peremobowei said, the
educational sector in the town has also
been affected.

He said teachers often reject posting to
the community, “because there are no
motorable roads and most of them are
afraid to travel by water.”

NDDC intervention and failed
government efforts

The National President of Abari Union,
Peter Pibowei, said the community had
made a series of appeals since 2012 to
the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) and other
government agencies for the
construction of shorelines and
motorable roads. He said the appeals
were all ignored.

Also, a former Chairman of Patani Local
Government Area, Perez Omoun, said
he had written articles, letters, and
recommendations to the state and
federal governments on the problems
of Abari.

NDDC, which was set up to address
infrastructure deficit and other
developmental challenges of the region,
has made little impact in the region.

According to the commission’s website ,
in 20 years, the NDDC has awarded over
9,445 projects in the Niger Delta region.

However, this reporter tracked the
ongoing projects in the community and
saw no evidence of recent progress.

The community’s chairman, Abraham
Zitubboh, told PREMIUM TIMES that
the shorelines project was proposed but
not executed.

“In 2018, a contractor from the NDDC
came, taking feasibility studies, designs
or whatever and left. Till today, nothing
has been done,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES later found out that
the feasibility study was assigned to
Yemi Fasuyi, a consultant working for
the commission.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr
Fasuyi confirmed that in 2018, the
NDDC sent him to conduct a feasibility
study of the area to include ‘the length,
sea depth and pilling of shorelines.’

He revealed that the report of the study
with its cost has been on his desk since
2018 because “we are still debating it.”

Mr Fasuyi said he was not sure if the
shoreline contract had been awarded.
But he added: “Even if they want to
start construction, another feasibility
study needs to be taken because every
year, the shore keeps collapsing and the
sea depth keeps deepening.”


Collapsed house due to the erosion

Residents of Abari lament the attitude
of the government to their plight.
“Since I came to this town 40 years ago,
we have been pleading with the
government to help the town,” Mr
Agidi said.

“They promised us heaven on earth,
that they were going to help us and that
we should show them where they were
going to put their materials. When they
came, they arranged all their materials
and left. Till today, we have not seen
them again,” Mr Agidi said.

Oladapo Soneye, the spokesperson of
the Nigeria Conservation Foundation ,
said there is a need to evacuate the area
before any action is taken.

“The first thing to even rescue the
situation is evacuation,” he said.

“Taking residents to a safer place
because there is no way they may get
help immediately and even if it is
immediately, it will still take a while
before any result.”

In addition, Mr Soneye recommended
that infrastructure like “groynes which
interrupt water flow, strong solid
shorelines and canals” be built to
manage the situation.

Mr Soneye further warned on the
future of communities in coastal areas
experiencing floods.

“If actions can be taken by the
government and corporations on time,
we can save the situation but if nothing
is done, these communities in coastal
areas will disappear into the water with
people being displaced. In like 20-30
years from now, you won’t hear
anything about these communities,” he
warned.

Support for this report was
provided by the Premium Times
Centre for Investigative
Journalism (PTCIJ) through
funding support from Ford
Foundation.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/469758-special-report-inside-delta-community-which-existence-is-threatened-by-flooding.html

According to buhari,their leaders and youths has assured him personally that they wont grant igbos access to the sea,
so what then is the usefullness of an eye glass to a blind man ?.

The billions of dollars the vegetable jihadist spent to find non existent oil in the desert north could have been used to save these people

NDDC is a scam