An ocean surge caused primarily by a storm’s winds pushing water onshore has wreaked havoc on Itak Abasi Village in Ibeno LGA of Akwa Ibom state, South South Nigeria.
The Chairman of Ibeno Local Government Council, High Chief Williams Mkpah while conducting the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Uno Etim Uno and journalists round the affected village, appealed to the Federal and State Governments for urgent intervention.
High Chief Mkpah who narrated that he got a distress call from the village head of Itak Abasi Village, Obong Isemin Enyina that the ancient community was overrun by the ocean, said luckily, no casualty was recorded this time.
“It had rendered residents of the community homeless and destroying all sources of their livelihood with properties worth millions of naira destroyed,” he said.
Calling for intervention to ameliorate the suffering of Itak Abasi Villagers in Ibeno LG who’s land has been submerged by flood, Mkpah said, “Itak Abasi is one of the oldest village in Ibeno, it is the ancient community that King Jaja attacked in the eighteen centuries,” he continued.
“We relocated from here to Okurutip and then spread to other villages in Ibeno, we built a Primary School here and provided water for them but those things have been totally destroyed by flood as at today.”
The council Boss who went down memory lane saying “this is the community that they brought Christiane Amanpour of BBC 22 years ego before the World Mayor Conference when Obong Victor Attah was the Governor,” also stated that Itak Abasi Village has been a very old community with about 8,200 persons residing here.
According to him “We can’t afford to lose this community to the ocean,” Mkpah continued. “This is where the wealth of the nation is taken from. We cannot be feeding the country while staying hungry and homeless.”
He said this is September and they can not risk them staying there anymore because anything can happen. “You have seen so many of them crying for medical attention now, we have to relocate them to an IDP camp immediately so that we can take care of them,” Mkpah stated.
“We need help, we need so many relief materials, food, sleeping materials and clothes for them. We sincerely need help,” Mkpah noted, “there is no school here as the only school here has been submerged by the ocean, there is no medical facility here.”
While announcing plans to relocate the victims, Mkpah said “we will be opening a refugee camp immediately and relocate the victims of these environmental disaster to a safer place at least for now.”
“I am earnestly appealing to the Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA) and Akwa Ibom State Government to immediately come to our rescue.”
Narrating how inhabitants of the village tarry from 2:a.m, battling with the ocean waves just to stay alive, the Village Head of Itak Abasi, Obong Isemin Enyina and the Chairman of the village council, Chief Michael Livingston, said inhabitants of the village are helpless, hopeless and stranded and their only source of livelihood has been overtaken by flood with no place to sleep, no water to drink and no food to eat.
Similarly, the Chairman of BOT Ibeno Local Government PIA trust fund, Mr. Samuel Thomas, Member Representing Esit Eket/Ibeno State Constituency, Hon. Engr. Udobia Udoh expressed sadness over the sorry situation at Itak Abasi Village, and called on the Federal Government and state government to immediately intervene to bring succour to the people.
Some residents of the community, including Peace peter, Rose ifreke, Cicilia Sunday, Enobong Samuel Amos, Emmanuel Bassey Ekpo, among others, who narrated their ordeal said their hopes had been dashed following the flood disaster, saying they have been abandoned by the government for years with no hope of a better life.
“Our only source of livelihood is fishing, we go to the high sea to fish and live our normal lives but now, the ocean has destroyed our boats, our houses and everything,” they said.
“We don’t sleep at night, we don’t work during the day, everything about us has been shattered and we don’t have hope of life anymore, we are begging Governor Umo Bassey Eno and President Tinubu to come and help us.”
They cried that their children are out of school, they don’t have water to drink, they don’t have any medical facility and their husbands are now doing nothing, there is no food for them and they don’t have help from anywhere.
Responding, the Akwa Ibom state Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Chief Uno Etim Uno, expressed his sadness at the plight of the people and promised that the government would do everything possible to alleviate their suffering.
Uno who had a clear picture of the disaster and its impact on the community hinted them about his planned collaboration with a specialized government institution, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, for proper and long-term management of the disaster.
Mr. Uno noted that such disaster has most times been aggravated by construction, exploration and exploitation operations of companies.
The Environment boss called on all operators in the area to always incorporate Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) component in their investment plans, so as to ensure a preserved environment in the course of their operations.
He assured the residents of Itak Abasi Village and indeed, the leadership of Ibeno Local Government Area of government’s prompt intervention.
Ocean surge is the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, measured as the height of the water above the normal predicted astronomical tide.