Erosion Ravages Anyaoku, Achebe Communities, Senator Umeh Calls for State of Emergency

By Tony Okafor, Awka

The Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Dr Victor Umeh, OFR, has called on the Federal Government, the Senate and the Anambra State Government to urgently intervene to save Obosi and Ogidi communities in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State from worsening erosion and flooding.

Obosi is the hometown of former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, while Ogidi is the hometown of the late acclaimed novelist, Prof Chinua Achebe.

Umeh made the call on Saturday, August 15, 2026, during an on-the-spot assessment of the erosion menace ravaging parts of Idemili North, particularly the two communities.

He also called for the declaration of a state of emergency on the ecological challenges confronting Anambra State, warning that the state’s limited landmass was gradually being consumed by erosion.

“Our land in Anambra is small, yet erosion is eating it up every day. This problem has gone beyond what the state government alone can handle,” Umeh said.

He stressed that the situation required urgent and coordinated intervention by the Federal Government, the Senate, the state government and relevant ecological agencies.

At Ugamuma, Obosi, Umeh was confronted by the devastating effects of the erosion, with farmlands and roads already affected and several houses reportedly at risk of collapsing into the expanding gully.

A group of distressed women at the scene reportedly threw themselves on the ground, crying and appealing for urgent government intervention.

Moved by their plight, Umeh described the situation as a “terrifying landslide” and a natural disaster requiring immediate action to prevent loss of lives and property.

“This is not something we should wait until lives are lost before we act. Government must intervene now to save these people, their homes, roads and farmlands,” he said.

Umeh specifically urged the Federal Government to declare the Idemili Basin an environmental disaster zone, citing the recurring flooding and erosion ravaging the area.

He said he would take up the Obosi and Ogidi crises with relevant authorities in Abuja, particularly the Presidency and the National Assembly.

“I will take this matter to the relevant authorities in Abuja. The Senate must be made aware of what is happening here, and I will engage the Presidency and the relevant federal agencies to see how we can attract urgent intervention,” Umeh said.

He assured the communities that, upon the resumption of the Senate from recess, he would pursue appropriate legislative action and engage relevant government agencies on a permanent solution to the recurring ecological disaster.

The senator also commended Hon. Eric Anyamene, the NDC House of Representatives candidate for Idemili North and South Federal Constituency, for drawing his attention to the crisis and deploying his personal resources to undertake palliative measures.

Umeh noted that Anyamene had personally tarred the affected road and was undertaking other measures aimed at containing the spread of the erosion.

He, however, said the scale of the required intervention was far beyond what an individual could handle, estimating that the palliative work being undertaken by Anyamene alone could gulp more than N500 million.

“What Eric is doing is commendable, but this is far beyond individual effort. The palliative work alone will cost over N500 million. Government must come in because what is required here is a permanent engineering solution,” he said.

Umeh said the ecological threat also extended to Ogidi, the hometown of Achebe, and appealed to the authorities to act before the communities suffered irreversible damage.

He urged the Federal Government, Senate and Anambra State Government to work together to “salvage” Obosi and Ogidi from the worsening ecological crisis.

Speaking during the visit, Anyamene, the President-General of Obosi, Barr. Chimezie Obi, and Chief Okey Mgbemena, who represented the traditional ruler of Obosi, His Majesty Igwe Chidubem Iweka (Eze Iweka III), thanked Umeh for responding promptly to the community’s distress call.

They commended his proactive representation of Anambra Central and his interventions in projects and programmes from which Obosi had benefited, assuring him of their continued support.