Yenagoa—In his quest to garner support from stakeholders to mitigate the menace of coastal erosion and ocean surge, the lawmaker representing Brass Constituency II in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Timi Omubo Agala, on Thursday, visited foremost environmentalist, Comrade Alagoa Morris at his office in Yenagoa.
In a chat with newsmen, the lawmaker hinted that the visit marks the beginning of his campaign and advocacy to address the issue of coastal erosion and ocean surge ravaging communities in his constituency and state in general.
The lawmaker had during the week presented a motion before the House, calling on the government to declare a natural disaster emergency in Odioama community in Brass Local Government Area, due to the ocean surge ravaging the community.
According to him, “I was inspired by the suffering of my people, the possible threat of extinction they face triggered me to come up with the motion and gracious enough, my colleagues gave overwhelming support and resolutions were taken.
“The ball right now is passed to the executive arm of government.”
Agala further explained that Odioama was key in his motion because it is his constituency; noting that the community’s situation is peculiar, strange and about the most pathetic that he could speak of right now.
“Odioama case is so bad that some other communities may have the opportunity of shifting inwards because perhaps they have enough land behind them to do so, but Odioama is bordered by a creek, so it is pathetic that they have nowhere to run to. As the ocean encroaches, they have no land to drift into.”
While calling on the state government to synergize with relevant agencies to look into the ecological challenges faced by Odioama and other communities, he pleaded that “work should start from Odioama because the burden of the motion has Odioama as primary.”
On his part, Comrade Morris Alagoa who is the Project Officer/Head of Niger Delta Resource Centre at Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA), described the lawmaker’s visit as one of a kind.
While commending the lawmaker for the motion, he revealed that several reports have been written on the need to mitigate the spread of coastal erosion but nothing tangible has been done by the government.
His words, “We’ve written several reports. Our first report on coastal erosion was on a community in Sagbama Local Government Area.
“Right from the time of OMPADEC, the community has been battling. Although some agencies of government had visited, no action was taken. They’ve lost roads, houses and all whatnot.
“This is the situation with the people of Odioama. People can not be driven from their ancestral homes. Land is very important, so when your land is being eroded you begin to develop phobia and apprehension, even as a community.
“What the honourable member has done is a boast to do more in terms of advocacy. This is a policy issue and that is why for him to come up with the motion and to be supported by his colleagues is a great deal.”
The environmentalist who called for practical action and commitment in terms of addressing the issue of coastal erosion in Odioama and other communities, charged federal lawmakers from the state to work together towards the good of the state.
“Odioama had suffered a military invasion just like Odi community. A community that was leveled and has just started to build from the scratch is now facing another problem of ocean encroachment.
“Bayelsa lawmakers at the federal level should also do the needful. Regardless of party lines, the federal lawmakers from the state should work together towards the good of the state.”
