Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
People living in Nzam community in Anambra West LGA, Anambra State, do not only live in hellish groans but are daily counting their losses on the predicament of their dilapidated roads.
Nzam people are by no means happy. Their grouse with Government is that they have been grossly neglected despite being one of the major producers of food in the state.
The people are sad at the state of the roads which linked them with other communities in the council area. The community has boundaries in the North with Inoma Akator; in the East with Mmiata Anam; in the west with the River Niger; and in the South with Umuenwelum Anam.
The community as a result, has endlessly been groaning in pains and terrible sufferings following the pitiable condition of the said roads.
Our Correspondent’s recent trip to the community found that the people pass through hell trying to traverse Umueze Anam – Nzam – Kogi road. They have been deprived of vehicular movements in and out of their homes and farmlands, while those who manage to move, do so at outrageous financial costs.
Again, the indigenes of the community who are predominantly farmers are usually stuck with their agricultural produce as they cannot transact businesses with neighboring communities.
Farm produce from the area waste because after harvesting, traders who buy in large quantities do not get access to the area to buy from them and the people cannot also take the items to town due to the deplorable condition of the roads.
The condition of the people in the area has been so bad that those in the village have remained there perpetually, and indigenes that live outside, cannot also visit until dry seasons.
Our Correspondent who visited the council secretariat observed that the council headquarters was abandoned and overgrown by weeds.
Some of the structures are now roofless and dilapidated, a sign that the facilities have long been abandoned.
Villagers who spoke to our Correspondent disclosed that the secretariat was deserted due to the inability of successive governments to repair the road leading to the council headquarters.
They noted that while some workers resigned due to the huge challenge of the road, others went ‘AWOL’ (absent without official leave) and rarely report to work because of the inadequate nature of their makeshift offices.
Mr. Patrick Okafor, a farmer, who said he farmed on the secretariat affirmed that: “the council workers have not been coming to work in the secretariat since March/April. This is because of the bad road leading to our community. We heard that they now stay at Umueze Anam using somebody’s house as their office.
“They usually relocate back to the headquarter during dry season, but once its April-May when the rains start, they stop coming.”
Speaking on the safety of the facilities, he said: “One day I was going to farm, I met one big yellow generator dropped at one corner of one of the buildings and covered with a cloth. When I got there and removed the cloth, I discovered it was one of the big generator sets that was brought out in the day time to be stolen at night. I went to the town and called the President General who took over the generator for safety.
“Again, some of the buildings were razed by fire that emanated from annual dry season bush burning. If the secretariat was not overgrown by weeds and turned into bush, it wouldn’t have happened. That is why some of the buildings are now roofless.”
On his reason for farming on the secretariat he said: “during raining season, we farm here to scare wild animals and thieves from invading the place and protect some of the installed facilities. But during dry season, the Government clears the bushes and relocates back to the headquarters. They stay 3-4 months here before rain comes back and that is when they move again back to Umueze-Anam.”
Another villager who gave his name as Mr Kelvin Onyeka said, “the Mmiata – Nzam road is the only terrain the people follow to the headquarters but becomes worse at every raining season.”
On how the villagers go about the road themselves, Onyeka said: “The community people now prefer using their river with flying boats to go about their journey, except going to the farm. Our visitors mostly get scared of using our flying boat and do not visit us.”
Again, some of us that are car owners do not make use of our cars in the raining season due to the road. We only use our cars during dry season; that is when the road is fair.”
Mrs Udezu Udaku, a farmer in the community said, “the people lack access to markets to sell their goods.
“We, from Nzam and Orumbanasa are farmers but we have no access to market our farm produce; that is why we are poor. This road must be repaired before I die and that is what I am fighting for and I must fight to the end. During election, the politicians come here and share money to people afterwards, they abandon us to our fate.”
Peter Okonkwo from Mmiata, a neighboring community, said: “Before Peter Obi left office as Governor, he paid for the construction of the road but ever since he left office, the construction of the road was discontinued. We do not have road to take our farm produce to the market. There is total neglect of the people of my area by the government.”
Speaking to Ikengaonline on the their relocation, the Acting Head of Anambra West Local Government, Mrs Stella M. Nwankwo, said the council decided to borrow a mini hall at Umueze Anam to escape the bad road of the area.
She said several efforts the council made to the State Government for intervention had yielded no fruit, leaving the workers with no option than to relocate to a safer place despite the non-conduciveness of the place.
“The council workers pass through hell on the road and could no longer bear the sufferings. We resorted to relocate to a safer Umueze-Anam where the road is good.”
She also said the workers would go back to the headquarter in the dry season when the roads in the area would be better.
The Council boss appealed for urgent Government intervention to end their woes.
