By Mary Ayobahan and Tosin Oluwafemi
The common saying that “one good turn deserves another” was the expression of the people of Ugboha Community in Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State, who came out en masse to express gratitude to the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration for bringing succor to them with the completion of the remediation work on the gully erosion site in Ugboha Community by the Edo State Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).
His Royal Highness, Steven Odijie Ukato, the Onojie of Ugboha, who spoke on behalf of the Community, poured encomiums on the State Government for rescuing his land from severe disintegration which would have set the people of the same community apart, despite the limited land space in the Community. He added that the project has helped to restore the socio-economic activities of the area and saved the lives and properties of residents.
While commending the Project Team led by Dr. Tom Obaseki, the Onojie lauded them for ensuring the successful completion of the project. In his words, “It only takes a mental will for a right-thinking person to drive capacity building into humanity and that is what your team has done because not everybody that is given such an opportunity will do what you and your team did.” He thanked the Edo State NEWMAP for doing more than the stated scope of the project in his domain.
Also speaking, the Project Coordinator of Edo State NEWMAP, Dr. Tom Obaseki, acknowledged the support of the people of Ugboha during the construction process of the project. He, however, appealed to the people to take ownership of the project by ensuring proper maintenance as that is the only way to guarantee the sustenance of the project.
Similarly, the Environmental Officer of Edo State NEWMAP, Mrs. Pauline Okundia, advised residents of the Community to engage in tree and grass planting within their domain to avoid a recurrence of erosion menace in the area. She stressed the need for a proper waste management system in the community and urged them to avoid building on erosion paths that act as discharge points for the gully erosion project in the Community.
The Project Engineer of NEWMAP, Engr. Edwin Asemota Ero, also explained that the Ugboha gully erosion project is one of the longest NEWMAP’s projects in the State, adding that the team had to carry out a comprehensive engineering analysis and designed the area so as to have a permanent solution to the issue of flooding and erosion which have bedeviled the Community over the years. He said the project has a life span of fifty (50) years.
Ero claimed that in the 10 years of the NEWMAP’s projects, the Ugboha Community has the largest length of roads constructed all over the Country spanning about 13.2km and 26,000m of drains. He added that new roads with drains were constructed to aid the discharge of flood water to the natural water body in the area.
