In a bold effort to combat a decades-long scourge, the World Bank injected N9.8 billion (approximately $24 million USD) into an erosion control project in Urualla, Ideato North LGA, Imo State, with the Imo State government adding N500 million in counterpart funding. Overseen by the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) and executed by Arab Contractors, this initiative promised hope for a region battered by a monstrous gully—1.7 kilometers long and 7.5 meters deep—that has plagued the area for over 30 years. But over a year ago, the project was abandoned, leaving the Urualla Clan teetering on the edge of disaster.
This isn’t just a gully; it’s a gaping wound in the heart of Urualla Clan. Homes have been swallowed, economic life choked, and families displaced. Environmental studies tie the erosion’s ferocity to intensifying rainfall, a relentless force that deepens the crisis with every rainy season. What was meant to be a lasting solution—halting the destruction and inviting development partners to invest—has instead become a symbol of neglect.
The human cost is staggering. Last year alone, three children from a single family perished, victims of an erosion menace that spares no one. Chief A.C. Nwosu, President General of the Urualla Clan Assembly, calls it an “existential threat”- a danger that grows more menacing as rains pound the region. Desperate, the Clan turned to the Imo State government, pleading for intervention. Chief Nwosu laid their anguish before Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Ejikeme Emenike, while praising Governor Hope Uzodinma as a “listening leader” renowned for infrastructure triumphs. “We pray he hears us now,” Chief Nwosu urged, his words heavy with hope and fear.
Commissioner Emenike offered reassurance: the Governor is aware, the state is mobilizing, and measures are underway. Yet, as the rains fall and the gully widens, urgency is non-negotiable. This crisis demands not just state action but a unified response from Federal and State governments and renewed international support. The clock is ticking.
Neglect spells catastrophe. Without the World Bank’s backing, Urualla faces heightened vulnerability—more homes lost, livelihoods erased, and infrastructure crumbled. The ripple effects threaten the ecosystem, degrading natural resources and slashing agricultural productivity, the lifeblood of the Clan’s economy. What began as a $24 million lifeline now risks becoming a legacy of devastation.
The Urualla Clan stands at a crossroads. The abandoned project isn’t just a failure of engineering—it’s a failure of promise. Federal and State leaders, alongside global partners, must act swiftly to resurrect this effort. The alternative is unthinkable: a community washed away, one rain at a time.
