Dickson Okafor
The people of Umuoma Nzerem, a community in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo State, have cried out for help over the deplorable roads in the area.
Recently, they noted that the roads have made life quite difficult for them, especially during the rainy season.
Members of the agrarian community lamented that they have been experiencing hardship daily due to the poor roads in all seven villages. They also said moving farm produce had become a herculean task. Now they are calling on Governor Emeka Ihedioha to come to their aid quickly.
In the meantime, youths in Nzerem have embarked on self-help by constructing a wooden bridge to access other communities.
Chairman of Umuoma Nzerem Progressive Union (UNPU), Lagos branch, Mr. Vitalis Esiagu, expressed sadness over the neglect of the area by previous administrations. It blamed the community’s woes on its representatives at various levels of government, alleging that they deliberately abandoned the area after being elected.
He also raised questions on why a community that feeds virtually the entire region should be cut off from other neighbouring communities by erosion.
“We, the people of Umuoma Nzerem community resident in Lagos, are calling on the new government in Imo State, led by Governor Chukwuemeka Ihedioha, to pay an official visit to Umuoma and see the pitiable state of roads in the villages, which include Umuaguma, Umuosu, Umudimokoro, Umuezeala, Umuoha Isieke, Umueleawo and Nnocha,” Esiagu said.
Decrying the hardship faced by members of the community daily, patron of UNPU, Lagos branch, Chief Linus Onyenanu, emphasised the importance of agriculture in the area, noting that it was the only source of livlihood the people know and have lived with.
He expressed regrets that farmers in the community find it difficult to transport their produce to nearby markets due to the collapsed roads.
Onyenanu recalled how previous administrations, especially the immediate past, promised to embark on massive road construction to boost economic activities in the area.
He maintained that Umuoma Nzerem remains a source of livelihood to many communities in the state because of its agricultural potential, urging the new administration to enhance food sufficiency and security. Onyenanu also charged Ihedioha to fix major roads that linked Umuoma Nzerem to other communities like Umuaguma/Oriagu, Umudimokoro/Orieagu, Umuosu/Afor Ebu and Umuezeala/Ezeoke Nsu.
A prominent member of the Nzerem community, Nze Ikechukwu Okafor, took elected representatives of Ehime Mbano and Okigwe zone to task, accusing them of being insensitive to the plight of people in the area. He expressed regrets that, as lawmakers, they were far away from their electorate.
He vowed that, in the next election, Umuoma Nzerem would not vote for individuals that were far from the grassroots.
Sinilarly, the youth leader, Nze Christian Nwokoro, wondered why the state government chose to abandon the community for years. He also blamed lawmakers from the area, especially the House of Assembly members, for not attracting amenities to the community through legislation.
Nwokoro stressed that all the campaign promises made by the lawmakers were not honoured. He also said the losses incurred by farmers over the years due to the terrible state of the roads were unquantifiable.
The youth leader lamented that erosion posed serious threats to rural development, adding that most children could no longer access their schools as they had all been cut off from other villages.
His words: “The Federal Government’s quest to develop the rural areas through agriculture will not yield the desired result if Nzerem, the food basket of the state, is unable to distribute its farm produce as a result of bad roads.”
He called on Governor Ihedioha to expedite action on all roads in the area.