from Emeka Onah, Awka
Years of ravaging soil erosion at the popular UBA Junction along
Enugu-Onitsha expressway near Orie-Owa junction, has cut-off the
Umudim community of Imezi-Owa, Ezeagu LGA, Enugu State from the
rest of the local government and other parts of the state.
The junction, which provides the only access point to the Umudim
community, also serves part of Ezema community, particularly those
living around the Ugwu-Ezema axis.
Following intense rainfalls, which swept off the double culvert erected
by the community several years ago, through solely community efforts
and engagement of youths of the community, they no longer have access
to their homes.
The community folks have for more than 30 years, managed to channel
the large volumes of water off the Enugu-Onitsha expressway from the
MOPOL Junction up to the Umuaji junction, through manual labour and
community efforts, now has finally given way due to heavy rainfall on
Wednesday.
As at press time, the double culvert, earth embankments and other
remedial measured put in place by the community to channel rain water
successfully through the community, have been washed away.

* Collapsed portions of the culvert at UBA Junction, off Enugu-Onitsha expressway, washed away by
heavy rainfall (Photo credit: Umudim Youths Assembly)
As of filing this report, the Umudim community has been totally cut-off
from the rest of the communities in Imezi-Owa and other parts of
Ezeagu Local Government Area, making movement to and from
Umudim impossible due to the wash-off of their only access road.
The community folks who returned to either visit their elderly ones or
those who commute from Umudim to Enugu daily to eke out a living,
have been forced to either abandon their vehicles or motorcycles along
the expressway to criminals or other hoodlums or have to navigate
through very dangerous but narrow road paths in adjourning
communities.
The Umudim community is in dire need of government intervention
from the menace of erosion, which occurred following a torrential
rainfall that left the community in a state of hopelessness, Barr. Chidi
Onuorah, the President-General, Umudim Development Association,
stated.
Similarly, Mr. John Nebeife, a Youth Leader, explained how the youths
have been working on failed portions of the community roads, carrying
laterite, mixing sand and cement to erect several culverts and clearing
weeds from the gutters every raining season for over 30 years to ensure
that rain water finds easy access after every rainfall.
He lamented that all their efforts “have been laid waste by the last
rainfall, which totally damaged everything we have been doing all these
years”.
Our reporters observed that there is no government presence whatsoever
in the community, as every developmental stride ranging from roads, to
provision of water (borehole), schools and church building, were
shouldered through communal efforts.
Meanwhile, the only primary school in the community, Community
Primary School, Umudim, Imezi-Owa, since taken over by government,

is totally dilapidated and not fit for learning any longer as it resembles
an abandoned school after the civil war without any physical
infrastructure in place.
According to the community folks, efforts to get the Chairman of
Ezeagu Local Government, Dr. Vitalis Ndu, to assist put up stronger
remedial support on the road have met brick walls, the same with the
Enugu State government.
“We are calling on relevant government machinery at the Local and
State levels, including the ecology office to rescue the community from
this dire situation.
“Communal efforts have been on-going in the maintenance of the road,
but the current level of devastation has gone beyond us,” said some of
the leaders.