Fides Media Living the Faith
The traditional ruler of Nimo, HRM, Igwe Maxi Ike Oliobi, indigenes and residents of Ezira Community, Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area, have called on the Anambra State Government, as well as philanthropists, to come to their rescue over the deplorable state of the road leading to the Ezira Village, Nimo, reports Precious Ukeje.
The Secretary General, Nimo Town Development Union and Chairman, Ezira Village Union, Mr. Patrick Egbekpalu, who spoke on behalf of Igwe Oliobi at his palace, said the road which stretched to the primary health care centre and the only community school in the town, was last constructed by a Nimo philanthropist 15 years ago.
Egbekpalu said that since then, the village had tried to maintain it but the road continued to wear out and had now gone beyond what the village could handle.
The road, Fides gathered, leads to the town’s only Community School which is now on the brink of being cut off from the rest of the community to which it is connected. Also Fides learnt that they had several times unsuccessfully attempted to draw the attention of the government to help them fix the road.
‘Anambra is currently known for construction of good road networks and we expect to benefit from that, especially when this road connects other communities and major roads.
‘Our people now find it difficult to move to and from their various houses, as well as accessing their farmlands and market,’ Egbekpalu said, further noting that it hampered response to emergency situations.
He said the community had before the COVID-19, tried to draw the attention of government and philanthropists to the road, including making representations to the Ministry of Works.
For her part, the Principal, Community Secondary School, Nimo, Mrs. Ngozi Mbele, said the condition of the road affected the progress of the school, with most teachers transferred to the school leaving for other schools.
‘Some of our teachers have fallen from motor bikes several times and some of them sought transfer to other schools,’ the principal said while noting that apart from the exorbitant cost of getting to the school from Eze Elias Junction, Enugu-Ukwu, there was difficulty finding a motor bike person who would accept taking teachers down to the school.
‘This has led to a horrible ratio of teachers to students. We have only ten teachers and over 600 students,’ she lamented, even though she said the students performed well in their academic work, making 100 percent in the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) since 2017.
Likewise, the Secretary General, Ezira Youth Forum, Mazi Okafor Chidubem, said the road was last constructed 1991 by one Peter Atupulazi, and reiterated that the road connected other communities like Neni. He called on the government to intervene on the road.
‘Our youths have tried to do palliative work on the road, using sand bags to wage the road from being entirely washed away.
Chidubem regretted that politicians often used the road to campaign, only to abandon it after the elections. He said they had also written several times to Works Ministry, but got only promises and called on wealthy individuals to assist.
Pastor Stanley Chigbogu Akubilo, the Public Relations Officer, Ezira Youth Forum, as well as Prince Tony Ezeimo, popularly known as Ikenga, a stakeholder in Ezira and Nimo, both joined the call for intervention on the Ezira Village Road.
They called on Senator Uche Ekwunife to remember her campaign promises, as well as the state government to have pity on the children who were studying in the community and hearken to the cries of the community.