Erosion: Gombe ravaged communities get respite

It was early in the morning with a cool breeze blowing, following the previous night’s rain. Despite the weather which could be harsh on elderly persons, a 70-year-old man was busy, alongside his children, evacuating remnants of their belongings from their houses located in Malam-Inna area of Gombe metropolis. Malam Usman Sani and his three […]

It was early in the morning with a cool breeze blowing, following the previous night’s rain. Despite the weather which could be harsh on elderly persons, a 70-year-old man was busy, alongside his children, evacuating remnants of their belongings from their houses located in Malam-Inna area of Gombe metropolis.

Malam Usman Sani and his three children were vacating their house, after the heavy rainfall had washed away a large part of the house and destroyed their belongings, the previous night. They were lucky to have escaped, but some of their domestic animals were killed and washed away by the gushing flood as the result of the downpour.

The house was built from mud and situated near a small valley, which has become a gully over the years as a result of erosion, and has gulped a large chunk of the house. This unfortunate development has sent most people of the neighbourhood away, rendering hundreds of people homeless.

Daily Trust gathered that over the years, hundreds of people were forced to relocate from their ancestral homes during every rainy season, as a result of the huge valley that keeps increasing annually.

Similarly, at the Gombe State University (GSU), male students are forced to trek for a long distance to access their classes, because of a gully that created a barrier between the students’ hostel located at the southern part of the campus, and the academic area located at the northern part.

The gully erosion has hindered access to some parts of the campus, because it created a very big barrier, hindering easy access for both staff and students, as they could not access almost one-third of the space of the campus.

This made it difficult for students and staff to move from one side to the other, despite the university’s effort in massive tree-planting to mitigate the effect of the erosion on infrastructures.

These are some of the challenges the Gombe State Government sought to address when, in December 2020, it signed a N2.9 billion contract with the Nigerian Erosion Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) for the commencement of the erosion control projects in the state.

NEWMAP is a state-led project, in partnership with the World Bank. It is designed to support the drive to achieve greater environmental and economic security.

The project is meant to ease erosion threats in Gombe, in which over 4.4 kilometres of erosion have been tackled in the last two years.

It was gathered that Gombe was amongst the 23 states benefitting from the NEWMAP project under the World Bank.

The Communication Officer of Gombe NEWMAP, Mr Richard James, said the 100 per cent completion of the GSU-Malam Inna-Kagarawal gully erosion control is one of the success stories of NEWMAP in the state.

He said the gully had existed for over 100 years, presenting daunting challenges to the residents.

 “For instance, at the GSU, the gully effectively divided the university campus into two; administrative block, classes and girls’ hostel on one side and the boys’ hostels on the other side.

“Prior to the project, the communities on the gully stretch at Malam Inna, Kagarawal areas had suffered losses over the years in terms of human lives, animals, houses, land and other assets.

“Before the intervention, more than 100 houses were literally on the verge of collapse, as such, the intervention saved the university properties; the boys’ hostels valued at N2 billion from imminent collapse,” he said.

Mr James added that the hitherto divided university campus is now reconnected by a bridge built by the NEWMAP, and the intervention has directly saved 1,200 lives, “protected over 100,000 people and properties worth millions along the gully corridor. It has reconnected the people and improved social interaction among the three communities.”

The communication officer added that as a part of the erosion control project, the NEWMAP has created some woodlots as a preventive measure against erosion in the state.

He said woodlot plantations have been established in all the 11 local government areas, covering 363 hectares.

James said: “Each of the 10-hectare woodlots has a solar-powered borehole with 20,000 litres capacity overhead tank, a security house and perimetre fencing. The boreholes provide water to the communities. And the plant species consist of 25 per cent fruit trees and 75 per cent other trees.

“The establishment of the woodlots has helped in modifying the microclimate of the sites, through carbon sequencing and stabilisation of the ecosystem.”

A resident of Kagarawal, Malam Buba Suleiman, said his house has been impacted by the gully erosion control works and was paid compensation alongside his neighbours who are also impacted by the works.

“We are happy with the project because the gully was threatening to sack us all. We are happier with the work itself than the compensation because it will control erosion in the community.

“It will protect our primary school which would have collapsed but for the NEWMAP intervention. The school was on the verge of collapsing which would have affected the education of our children.

“We had problems before this intervention. Most people lost their houses completely. Our own houses were under threat and would have imminently collapsed. We lived in constant threats of losing houses, lands and other assets, before the work was done.” Suleiman said.

On his part, the Village Head of Malam Inna, Malam Ahmad Muhammadu Bello, said the NEWMAP has done what people of the community will never forget.

He said: “This is because in the past this gully has destroyed people’s houses; animals and many people have been killed. But through the intervention of NEWMAP the gully has been controlled.

“Before now, we were unable to get to our houses on the other side when it rained. About 20 people get killed every year from the gully menace. More than 100 domestic animals were lost, and many houses were destroyed. So many things have been lost.”

Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, while on inspection of ongoing NEWMAP projects in the state, said his administration will continue to embark on projects that will bring development and impact directly on the lives of the people of the state.

He expressed satisfaction with the quality of works on the erosion control projects which his administration is carrying out in conjunction with NEWMAP and the World Bank.

“My resolve to provide the dividends of democracy to the people of the state will never be derailed. You saw it yourself; the work is moving at a good pace and we are catching up with time to reach our destination. The quality is alright and people are happy with the level of development,” he said.