Gully Erosion Sacks Ezewuzie Str. Residents Near New Anambra Gov’t House
Most residents of Ezewuzie Street near the new Anambra Government House have abandoned their homes due to lack of access road.
This is due to a sustained period of flash flood that has resulted in a huge gully on the road that makes passing through Ezewuzie Street a journey of undulating bushy footpaths and sand dunes between two hills.
Ezewuzie is a street linking the Anambra Government House to Ifite road terminating directly opposite St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.
A visit to the area revealed that the road is not usable to motorists and tricycles while most of the buildings are now as high as two metres above the road level such that they had to build steps in order to climb to their compounds.
A resident who simply identified himself as Nnamdi said most mist buildings on the street and those around it were empty as tenants had moved out while landlords had abandoned their homes.
He said the street was a death trap whenever it rained because the flood moved with such force that swept people away.
Nnamdi said they were hopeful that the new Government House would bring relief to them but regretted that despite the proximity of the street to the seat of government they were worse off than rural dwellers.
He said it was possible that the government was not aware of the challenge and begged the governor to come to their rescue.
Mrs Judith Okoye, a passably, said the road was the easiest access to the area but had been abandoned because only pedestrians could use it
Okoye commended the street residents for their effort to salvage the situation with sandbags and other control measures but noted that the enormity of work could not be done by individuals.
“Only the government can recover this space, the people are trying but it is not enough, we need urgent government assistance.
“Most of the buildings you see here are empty, people have deserted them because of no access road but yet, we are facing a serious housing deficit.
“Something has to be fine to save lives and property, not just in Ezewuzie but the streets around it,” she said.
Ezewuzie is one of the many streets in Awka which demands the urgent attention of the government.
