Gully erosion gobbling up Anguwar Biri

Anguwar Biri community in north-east ward of Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sits perilously on the edge of a valley and gully erosion is threatening to gobble up the mud houses now standing precariously on its edge. The community, which is on the outskirts of Abaji town, used to be in […]

Anguwar Biri community in north-east ward of Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sits perilously on the edge of a valley and gully erosion is threatening to gobble up the mud houses now standing precariously on its edge.

The community, which is on the outskirts of Abaji town, used to be in a thick forest  inhabited by monkeys, earning it the Hausa name, Anguwar Biri (monkey territory). It is now, however, almost a slum with houses built close to the stream and without any access road.

Malam Samaila Shehu, leader of the community, while speaking with Aso Chronicle over the weekend, expressed concern over the gully erosion that is threatening to wash away their homes. He said the erosion menace is a major challenge to the residents as which they lacked solution to. 

He said residents with houses in the area have for the past three years lived in fear of waking up and not having their houses standing any more and other attendant losses. He said the residents dread rainy season.

He also said the gully erosion had cut off the community from Anguwan Ayaura, a neighbouring community, as their only road has become impassable as a result of the erosion.

“You see, we live  close to the stream here in this community and when  water  overflows it, especially during the rainy season,  it destroys houses. It has cut us off from  Anguwan Ayaura.  

The community leader also said that residents who own cars have to park them at relatives’ or friends’ homes at Anguwan Ayaura, and trek to their  houses at Anguwar Biri due to lack of good access roads.  

The community also lamented the absence of amenities in the area, saying lack of pipe-borne water has been another problem facing the community. Residents drink and wash their clothes with water they fetch from the stream, they said.

Malam Samaila said though a borehole was sunk by Senator Philip Aduda, representing the FCT, it was not enough to satisfy the water needs of the community, and called on the authorities of the council to sink additional boreholes to complement the existing one.

He also appealed to the council chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Ajiya, to liaise with the management of the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) to come to the aid of the community in tackling the gully erosion before this year’s rains commenced.

“And we are also requesting for the area council to extend electricity from neighbouring Ayaura community to this place. That I believe would boost socio-economic activities in this community,” he added.

Mr. Sunday Raphael, a resident of the community, who owns a three bedroom flat, said he built the house about a year ago, but expressed fear that the gully erosion may affect it.

“It is just about a year ago that I built this three bedroom flat and my concern is that the gully erosion is gradually affecting my house. In fact, during last year’s rainy season, I always stayed awake at night whenever it was raining to watch over my house,” he said.

In a related development, residents of Abattoir new extension have also expressed concern over gully erosion threatening some houses in the area.

Spokesman of the area, Isaac Musa, told Aso Chronicle, that the gully erosion had degraded the road to the main abattoir and that the situation is worst at the peak of the rainy season. 

He said about 11 houses affected by the erosion collapsed during last year’s rainy season, adding that the occupants were forced to relocate.

He said  he had written a complaint letter to the council authorities to intimate them about the gully erosion.

“Actually, I wrote a complaint letter after elders of the Abattoir new extension held a meeting last year, where we requested the area council authorities to come and intervene or they should channel our challenges to the FCT administration,” he said.

He added that lack of access road from the main market that would link to the Abattoir new extension is also a challenge facing residents of the area, saying the situation always became worst during the rainy season when residents who own vehicles have to park them elsewhere and trek home.

“Apart from the problem of the gully erosion that has been threatening our houses, also during rainy season one can hardly drive from the main market junction to Abattoir new extension because of the deplorable state of the road,” he said.

He complained over lack of boreholes as another challenge facing them, saying many households buy water from neighbours who have boreholes for their domestic purposes.

“Although the stream is not far from this place, the unhygienic nature of the water poses risk to people’s health, which is why some of us mostly buy water from either water vendors or from neighbours who have boreholes,” he said.

He further called on the council authorities to replace some of the wooden electric poles with concrete ones to enhance stable electricity and boost socio-economic activities in the area.

The spokesman further lamented over the odour from the slaughter house, stressing that it also posed  a serious health hazard to residents of the area.

“People who reside here, especially those who own houses at the back of the slaughter house are affected by the bad odour, which I want to call on the environment department of the area council to quickly take appropriate measure on,” he said.

When contacted, the chairman of the council, Alhaji Abdulrahman Ajiya, said the council would soon direct the head of works of the council to visit the community to take record of the challenges facing the community for necessary action.

He said the council would give more priority to the problem of gully erosion, assuring that he will write through the FCT minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, to the management of the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) for urgent action.

“But on that of the Abattoir new extension, we will  visit the area and also see the steps to take, while that of the abattoir slaughter house from where people of the area are complaining of bad smell, we shall invite the manager of the place and he will work with environmental officials to ensure constant evacuation of the waste,” he said.