Nature of the roads

The two schools at located on Onukwube Street in Adabebe village in Amawbia town, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra, had had closed for the day, with the school children and their teachers departing in droves for their various residences and the next destinations.

The heavens has opened up on that fateful day and blessing the earth with rain, which had made the area and earth road, not just wet but heavily flooded. Making driving or walking on the road towards the old Awka-Onitsha Highway, precarious.

A shout for help

A loud shout for help sounded across from a section of the road where a number of the school who were making their way home had gathered.

They alerted people to help I rescuing two of their colleagues from the secondary school section that were caught in the throes of the flood and almost be carried away by it surge. A number of the neighbours and some teachers were attracted to the scene and swung into acting, trying to rescue the two students from drowning in the flood.

Buildings in danger

Similarly fate has in the past been visited on buildings between Kabe College and Union Secondary School Amawbia in the past. Many of them have not be spared the anger of the ranging flooding especially as the flood has birthed a gully erosion, which has now posed danger to two buildings within the flood path.

On one of those days the flood which empties into the Obibia stream had pulled down a face and cracked the foundations of two buildings under construction while several farm lands had been submerged. It took the assistance of the then Awka South LGA officials to control the flow of the menacing flood.

However, the efforts of the LGA’ officials, residents and successive administrations of the state have proven abortive as the menacing flood has continued to be a threat to the people, with over 300 buildings within the neighbourhoods now endangered and are likely to be consumed if nothing is done urgently to come to the rescue of the people. About five years ago there was an inferno caused by a petrol tanker that crashed at the Amawbia Roundabout which took the lives five persons.

The gridlock it caused lasted for hours as there was no alternate route to accessing Onitsha-Awka-Enugu Expressway. The only possible route was the Nise-Amawbia Road which was not accessible because of it poor state.

Was the road to be in good condition then, it would had served as alternate route for the people to avoid the scene of the fire incident and connect Amawbia bypass to access the expressway or to the old Awka-Onitsha Highway.

Rescue mission

It was against this backdrop that the need for an alternative route became not only necessary but also instructive. Apparently worried over the needless and avoidable danger and losses by the people, the Deputy Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Honourable Pius Okoye, took an on the spot assessment of the state of the five roads in Amawbia.

Following his visit and findings, Okoye brought the issue to the attention of his fellow lawmakers, as he formally presented the case at the floor of the House for discussion and rescue action. Okoye stressed the need to save the endangered buildings and their occupants from an impending doom, and ultimately, to protect lives and property.

The road, which links Amaw- bia to Nise town in Awka South LGA, is also a shortcut to Agulu in Anaocha Local Government Area of the state. Presently, the reconstruction of the road has passed the stage of stone base and now awaiting asphalting.

Aside of the Onukwube Street, there three other roads that are being handled by the lawmaker, who is a son of the soil, under his constituency projects. Speaking on this develop- ment, the lawmaker, noted; “Amawbia is a town in Awka South Local Government Area and part of the Awka capital city.

This town is the landlord of the Governor because the Governor’s Lodge is located in Amawbia town. “There are several roads that need the attention of the state government and those roads are being considered at the moment. “There are roads in Amawbia that links Umuokpu village as well as the Awka capital city and in due time they would be taken care of by the government.

Okoye further disclosed; “When I came into office, I made a solemn promise to the people of Awka South 2 Constituency that I would interface with the communities that make up the Obizi Constituency. “We have communities such as Mbaukwu, Nibo, Nise, Isiagu, and Umuawulu.

We have plans to take care of roads in those areas. “These communities have rich farm lands that need access roads to assist our farmers to transport farm produce to the markets. “Also, there are other rich mineral resources in those towns which can be exploited to boost the socio-economic development of Obizi Constituency.”

Celebration

For the residents of the area, there is great expectation in the air, leading to celebration and jubilation over the road projects and the transformation that this is expected to bring, especially expelling their fears each time it rains.

Chief Collins Obidi, the Chairman of Adabebe Neighborhood Association, described the massive construction of roads as a welcome development for the people of the areas.

According to him, “we have not seen this before and we are happy that it is happening in our time and that means we do not have to be apprehensive of the date of these areas when it rains.

“Before now it used to be hell on earth and vehicles do get stuck on n the road and we have to spend several hours to move those vehicles out of the way.

“We thank the Deputy Speaker Ozo Pius Okoye for what he is doing for us by attracting those roads and also thank Governor Charles Soludo for conceding to do those roads.’’

While Mazi Chizoba Akutekwe, a landlord in Amawbia, noted that with the road construction, the yearly issue of flood erosion is going to be a thing of the past. He said, “You need to here when there is heavy rain to appreciate what we have been facing for years now.

“The flood can move a car let alone a human being but with what is on ground at the moment we are happy and we send our gratitude to the Anambra State government as well as the Deputy Speaker for this.

“My candid advice to the government is to extend the road to other areas that need attention and due to the flooding I suggest that we get catchment pits at strategic places where there is so much flood to checkmate the speed of the flow of rain water.

“Also, there places where the drainages should be expanded and deepened to control the flood. Again, we have a stream called Obibia, which is down the road and the flood need to be channeled into that stream as that would go further to save the roads that are under construction.” Mrs Joy Nwokoye, a business woman in the area, stated that the road under construction shows that government is in touch with the masses.

“What do we need government for if not for the provision of social security for the people,?” she queried. Adding, “Now we can move around and our vehicles will not be a steady guest to the mechanics. You can imagine how much we have lost to the bad roads in this part of the town.”

Barrister Okwy Erike urged the state government to go a step further to connect the adjoining roads within Adabebe village in Amawbia, noting that those adjoining roads carry massive volume of flood water that may pose a threat to the roads under construction.

According to him, “so far so good but there are adjoining roads that need to be taken care of to save the roads under construction because those little roads carry flood that may end up eroding these roads.”

While the proprietor of Morning Star Block Industry, Amawbia, Mr Onyedimma, described the project as one that has endeared Soludo’s administration to the people, adding that in the past heavy duty trucks had always had problems passing through the area to supply building materials

. “The road is strong and what the contractor has done so far is solid and we commend the Deputy Speaker and Gov Charles Soludo for that,” he said.

Proprietor of one of the Kabe College, a private primary and secondary school in Amawbia, Mr Kabe Onyeogu, whose students have been on the receiving end of the poor state of the road, stated that it is a relief for staff, students and parents that bring their children to the school.

“We can go home and sleep because our worries are over and I can recall what we passed through in those days or decades when I started the school but today it is a thing of history,” he reminiscence.

Adding, “We urge the state government to extend the road also further to link up Nise since the bridge has been constructed and that makes it easier for us to come into Adabebe from Agulu and Nise towns.