By Valentine Obienyem
Two days after Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso held a town hall meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, at which Obi reiterated his commitment to developing the Calabar Port, the issue of maritime infrastructure in the region assumed fresh political significance. Obi is equally committed to the development of the Ibom Deep Seaport. In an earlier tweet, he had emphasised the need to develop ports across Nigeria’s littoral states, as is the practice in other countries. He cited Egypt, which has about 15 ports, and South Africa, which has about eight. Such diversification promotes balanced development, distributes economic opportunities and reduces the pressure of concentrating port activities in one state.
I imagine that Obi’s remarks struck a nerve with PBAT, who hurriedly travelled to Akwa Ibom to promise the development of the state’s deep seaport. I hope the people of Akwa Ibom will be able to distinguish between genuine commitment and reckless political promises that will certainly be conveniently forgotten after electoral victory. During the visit, he also accused Obi of doing nothing about erosion during his tenure as Governor of Anambra State. This accusation is not only unfair but also contradicted by the historical record. It is therefore necessary to examine what Obi actually did about erosion in Anambra.
With over 1,000 active erosion sites, Anambra State is among the states most severely affected by gully erosion in Nigeria. The Nanka-Agulu erosion complex is one of the most devastating in the country. Yet, during his tenure as governor, Obi gave the ecological challenge exceptional attention.
Two incidents illustrate his personal approach to the problem.
One morning, Obi was alerted to the devastating erosion at Umuchiani, Ekwulobia. By 6 a.m., he was already at the site. He had a simple policy: whenever there was good news, nobody should disturb him, regardless of what he was doing; but whenever bad news came, he should be woken, even from sleep, because that was when his attention and intervention were most needed.
At Umuchiani, the situation was alarming. The Ekwulobia-Oko road was on the verge of being cut off by the advancing erosion. Residents living across the road had begun dismantling parts of their buildings to salvage whatever they could. Obi spoke to them and asked them to stop. By the following morning, work had commenced at the site. The erosion was eventually arrested and stabilised, the road was saved, and the threatened buildings were protected from further destruction.
A similar incident occurred along the Nkpor-Onitsha dual carriageway, around the Omagba axis. Upon receiving a distress call, Obi immediately proceeded to the affected area. Residents of the endangered building were already evacuating. He intervened, and the erosion was controlled, preventing the building from being swallowed up.
Obi’s concern, however, went beyond individual interventions. As Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum at a time when the forum was active, he took the ecological challenge to a regional level. One of his persistent arguments was that the South-East should be declared an ecological disaster zone to attract the urgent attention and intervention the region deserved.
His advocacy was instrumental in the emergence of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), a World Bank-assisted programme designed to tackle erosion and watershed degradation. This is not merely a claim by his supporters. The then Minister of Environment, Mr John Odey, publicly acknowledged Obi’s contribution to the initiative. Speaking at the official launch of the project in Abuja, Odey recalled that Obi had almost single-handedly pushed for its creation, even when some of his colleagues were lukewarm towards the idea.
The World Bank Country Director at the time, Marie-Françoise Marie-Nelly, also commended Obi’s commitment, particularly for being the first governor to pay the state’s counterpart contribution of ₦500 million. She stressed the importance of ownership and local commitment in ensuring the success of the programme. The project was designed to address erosion in Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Edo and Cross River states.
Thus, Obi’s contribution to erosion control was not limited to emergency interventions within Anambra. He helped advance a regional solution that eventually attracted international support and extended beyond his state.
By the time he left office, Obi worked on nearly 40 erosion-control and storm-water management sites across Anambra, with most completed and work continuing at some others. These included the major sites at Umuchiana, Ekwulobia; Mbaukwu; Mbanabo-Umuogba/Bishop Uzodike Road, Nnewichi, Nnewi; Umunze-Uga; Umudiana, Adazi-Nnukwu; Nsugbe; and Utu/Osumenyi in Nnewi South.
Other interventions covered the erosion sites at Okpuno, Uwani Village and Ebenebe; Inyaba Umudim, Nnewi; Umuchu; Iyiagu floodplain restoration in Awka, Phases I and II; St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Awka; New Tarzan Junction, Agulu Avenue; Okpuno-Umuota, Obosi; St Anthony’s Catholic Church, Ifite; New Era Girls’ Secondary School, Onitsha; Silgrey Hospital, Awka; Umuokpu, Awka; St John of God Secondary School, Awka; and St Theresa Catholic Church, Agulu.
Further interventions included the dredging of the Nwangene River in Onitsha, desilting of the Okpoko/Obodouwku road channels and Okpoko Creek, desilting of the Sacamori channels in Fegge and Housing Estate, Onitsha, and erosion-control works at Ugwu-Ogbada Village, Umueze; Odo Araba; Chief Eredu; St Mary’s and St Luke’s Anglican Churches, Obosi; St Pius Primary School, Ifite-Nimo; Ibollo-Unodu, Oraifite; Ubahu/Ozuluogu, Ebenator; St Gabriel Catholic Church, Okpuno; and the Teaching Hospital, Agulu.
These interventions demonstrate that erosion control was not an afterthought in Obi’s administration. It was a major component of his development agenda. He understood that erosion destroys not merely roads and buildings but also livelihoods, communities and the economic future of the people.
It is therefore remarkable that those who now attempt to diminish his record should overlook the testimony of the very former Minister of Environment who acknowledged his role in advancing NEWMAP. The facts deserve to be remembered: Obi confronted the problem at community level, mobilised his colleagues at regional level and helped secure international attention and support for a challenge that had threatened the South-East for decades.
Governance should be judged not by the volume of propaganda surrounding it but by the problems identified, the initiatives undertaken and the results achieved.