EROSION IN IJEBU-ODE COMMUNITY
Erosion is a major challenge facing towns and cities in all nook and crannies in Nigeria. This problem is arguably linked to rainy season with heavy downpour as engineered by poor drainage measures and other factors. It is this lack of proper drainage facility - “gutters” or channels for easy water flow or at the extreme non-availability of such facility that has made things worse.
Some households have been destroyed by erosion – some are usually boxed to a corner of the society with little or no movement when erosion problem sets in, some have lost their lives, some have lost their children, some have lost their property to mention but a few. All the aforementioned troubles of erosion are nothing short of a reality in Ijebu-Ode Area of Ogun State.
Going by history, Ijebu-Ode used to be a riverine area before sacrifices was made to turn around the fate of the town to a dry land. This in itself is justifiable considering the erosion problems or heavy water flow affecting all crannies of the town to a mighty sacred river/lagoon called “Odo Kala”. It is however more worrisome and breath-taking considering the number of lives that have been lost in that scenario – leaving some affected families desolate.
Not too long ago, a mother of three attending one of the branches of Christ Apostolic Church in IjebuOde lost her life to erosion while she was returning from one of her children’s school after Parent Teacher’s Association (PTA) meeting. After a while, it was also reported that erosion claimed the life of a prison officer whose leg slipped on the slab/gutter very close to his office leading to his eventual death after being spotted around the famous St. Anthony Nursery and Primary School, Ijebu-Ode.
The highlighted example is just a case out of the numerous cases of erosion saga in the town which has therefore necessitated the need for urgent attention by all and sundry. From the individual end, walking in the rain, especially around a drainage system is not a worthy tour for anybody especially young students and elderly, “frail” people to be safe because the power of the erosion in the area cannot be underestimated. This is quite funny because a dried canal, gutter or drainage system in the area usually get filled up in few minutes whenever there is a heavy downpour.
On an administrative level, adequate attention must be channelled towards creating drainage system where necessary and replacing/repairing old ones to give way for erosion which can be less powerful where there is an easy channel for its movement. Abolaji Adewale Obileye, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State