Residents of Obeagu, a community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, live in a state of nature where survival is a daily struggle. EDE NWA EDE reports
Obeagu community lacks access to basic necessities like roads, healthcare facilities, potable water, functional schools, and electricity. Located along a deplorable 15-kilometer road, the community is only accessible through a challenging terrain, making it difficult for vehicles to pass, especially during the rainy season.
Recently, attendees at a burial, including journalists, experienced, firsthand, the challenges of the road, spending hours trying to free their vehicles from the mud. This highlights the dire situation faced by the community, which has been neglected by the government, leaving its over 10,000 residents to suffer in silence.
Obeagu community lacks access to basic necessities like roads, healthcare facilities, potable water, functional schools, and electricity
The lack of access roads forces the community to convey corpses of their deceased relations to the morgue in Eha-Amufu and other places on motorcycles for kilometers during the rainy season, and wait until the dry season to bury them. Expectant mothers face hell due to lack of access to medical care, and children trek for hours under the scorching sun and rain to attend school.
The hardship faced by the people is akin to hell on earth due to the absence of basic infrastructure and social amenities. The community is cut off from the rest of the state, and visiting is a nightmare, only accessible by foot or motorcycle. The people live like refugees in their own land, with nobody showing concern.
When our correspondent visited the community on Thursday 11th July, 2024 the road was practically deserted like in war zone, as only a handful of people were seen trekking from Egedeged junction to Obeagu community. You can hardly get a motorcycle outside Eha-Amufu and Nkalagu if you are going to the community once is 4pm.
The lack of access roads forces the community to convey corpses of their deceased relations to the morgue in Eha-Amufu and other places on motorcycles
“My brother, that community is an abandoned community in Ebonyi state,” said a commercial motorcycle (Okada) man who was chartered to convey this reporter to the community.
“I don’t know the kind of offence they committed that made administration after administration in Ebonyi State to forget them. No access road, no hospital and no clean water. The only secondary school in the community is completely in ruins. You hardly find teachers in the school after some teachers posted to the school were massacred in April 2021 by Fulani herdsmen.
“All the teachers posted to the school from outside the community visit once or twice in a month. Even some indigenous teachers posted to the college have also abandoned the school. Most of them live in Enugu and Abakaliki and visit the school once or twice in a month.
Expectant mothers in Obeagu face hell due to lack of access to medical care, and children trek for hours under the scorching sun and rain to attend school
“The only secondary school built by community efforts was burnt, while two blocks of two classrooms each were destroyed by rainstorm. It was learnt that the incident happened over three years now without any attention.”
Our Correspondent reports that the only government health centre situated along the road has only one government staff, that hardly visits the primary healthcare centre because of security risk of coming to the community. The centre, with no electricity or water, is now manned by two community health volunteers.
“The situation — lack of basic drugs and qualified health personnel — were reasons pregnant women hardly patronise the facility. They rather patronise local birth attendants,” a resident who gave his name as Emeka Emeh told our correspondent.
Now, you hardly find teachers in the only secondary school after some teachers posted to the school were massacred in April 2021 by Fulani herdsmen
Lamenting the development, former councilor of Obeagu Ward, Mr. Ede Ejike said: “what is happening in our community is something I cannot fathom. I don’t know the reason behind the abandonment.
“When I was councilor, there was nothing I did not do to draw the attention of the council chairman then to built drainage culverts along the only road for easy access. But, like every average Nigerian politician, he promised but did nothing.
“The then chairman, Henry Eze, who is currently representing Ishielu North State constituency at the state House of Assembly on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), asked me to get an engineer to survey how many drainage culverts that will be constructed on the road. Unfortunately, after everything, he refused to fund it. You passed the road, at least you can tell our story better. Seeing is believing.”
Narrating the tortuous nature of the road, Ejike said that 10 residents of the community had been killed along the road by Fulani herdsmen and seven kidnapped because of the near impassable state.
“Herdsmen routinely lay siege along the road and kill and abduct residents and take to Benue State for ransom. Politicians from this community are seriously lobbying those in authority to look our way, but nothing is forthcoming,” former councilor Ejike said.
Herdsmen routinely lay siege along the road and kill and abduct villagers and take them to Benue State for ransom
“My community is like an orphan that has nobody to speak or intercede for her in the government. Our neighbouring community, Nkalaha, is suffering from the same situation. The two communities are boundary communities. During the administration of former Governor David Umahi and the current Federal Minister of Works, our people made several entreaties to the administration to at least construct the only access roads to the two communities. But as usual, after promises, nothing happened.
“We are now in a new administration; we hope that this administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru will not look the other way, like the previous administrations had done. The more years pass by, the worse our situation becomes.
“There’s no electricity in the community because the two transformers in the community have spoiled. For four years since the first transformer spoiled, that section of the community has not had electricity supply. The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EEDC) has asked them to buy transformer to replace it. They have paid close to N1.5 million to the DisCo. Now, the second transformer supplying electricity to the second part of the community has spoiled. For over eight months now, EEDC hasn’t repaired the transformer.”
There’s no electricity in the community because the two transformers serving the community have spoiled
The immediate past councilor of the community, Casmir Eze, said that what is happening to his community, Obeagu political Ward, “is a very bad omen,” adding that the worst that has befallen the community is incessant herdsmen attack who take advantage of the deplorable road to cause havoc.
He said that because of lack of access road, bandits masquerading as herdsmen attacked the community and killed 18 young men in March 29, 2021.
“In October 13, 2022, they returned and killed one young man, kidnapped three and injured two. After collecting ransom, they released the three. This year, June 17, they attacked again, killed one and kidnapped a 12-year-old school girl.
“It has become a routine. The local vigilantes were dislodged by Nigerian military when they invaded the community in the guise of flushing out members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).”
“So our problems are numerous. If it is only carrying a corpse on the head and walking several kilometers or conveying a corpse to the morgue on a commercial motorcycle, we will be hoping that one day the government will remember the plight of the community.”
herdsmen attacked the community and killed 18 young men in 2021. In 2022, they killed one young man, kidnapped three and injured two. After collecting ransom, they released the three. This year, June 17, they attacked again, killed one and kidnapped a 12-year-old school girl
On why the community carries corpses on bike, Ezeh said, “The reason is that the road is not passable and most of the people that die, the families usually take the bodies to the morgue and wait till dry season when people can access the community with vehicle.
“Otherwise, if you try it during the rainy season, your vehicle will spoil on the road, or get stuck in the mud. So, because of mud, nearly all through they can’t bring their dead ones to bury until when the road is dry; maybe from the middle of November, December and January, they start bringing their dead ones to bury. Within this period, you see a lot of burials here. So that’s what we do.
“Our youths are trying. Sometimes, they go and dig gutters in all the places that are terribly bad to create water ways. So, these are what the youths have been doing. Sometimes, they clear the road and make it passable, they will create a channel where the water will pass and that is what we have been doing to alleviate problems.”
when then vice-president Yemi Osibanjo came after the first Fulani herdsmen attack, the then governor of Ebonyi State told him that the road needed to be constructed
He added, “Our people have pleaded with the government at both local and state levels. Even when then vice-president Yemi Osibanjo came after the first Fulani herdsmen attack, the then governor of Ebonyi State told him that the road needed to be constructed, that the road was bad.
“That road is about 10km from Egedeged junction to the railway crossing in the heart of the community. It is not much, but it is not what the community can do on its own. To construct drainage culverts and gutters cannot be done by manual labour. It is not what the community can handle. So, we beg the government to help us do something about the road.
“You can imagine carrying a corpse on the head or conveying a corpse with a motorcycle to the morgue for several kilometers because of bad road. This is the reality we faced every single day.”
The President General of the Obeagu community, Kenneth Okoh, also described the development as painful and difficult.
“In fact we have been suffering a lot right from the inception because if you come to our road it is the worst road in Ishielu local government area of Ebonyi State. And because of the bad road our people were slaughtered like goats on the road. Because of the deplorable state of our only access road to the outside world, during rainy season you will find it difficult to come to the community.”
Fixing the road Okoh said is not what the community can do on its own adding “it is not what the community can do, the road is about 10km and every year we clear the road but during rain season water will destroy it. We are begging the government to come to our aid because most of our boys are being wasted, killed, and slaughtered like goats on the road.”
Okafor Nwa-Ogenye, motorcycle rider who also specialized in carrying corpses to morgue told our correspondent that the business is not a tea party. Not every bike man can carry a corpse.
“Our road is bad, it is giving us headaches and concerns. Whenever it rains people complain so much about high transport fares because of bad roads. A road that is less than minutes drive if it good is what we spent 30 minutes to one hour because of bad road. During dry season we collect N300 and N500 depending on the time but now because of bad road we charge N1500 and N2000 per a passenger.”
the business is not a tea party. Not every bike man can carry a corpse -okada rider
“If someone dies, before you convey it to the mortuary located in our neighbouring community Eha-Amufu, we charge relations between N18,000 and N25,000, depending on the state of the road. At times, if it rains, we charge N30,000 to convey the corpse to the morgue. Cars don’t come here when it rains and more especially during the rainy season. For those who die in the city, if their people want to bury them, there is a spot where they will get to, they will need motorcycle or wheelbarrow to take the corpse down to community.
“Apart from the bad road, kidnappers are taking advantage of the bad road to kill and abduct people along the same road now,” he said.
There is no hospital in the community. Private individuals who attempted to open hospitals in the community didn’t last because there’s no supporting facilities like electricity, water and worst part of it, there is no access road
Corroborating Okafor’s submission, Okechukwu Anyanwu another commercial motorcyclist, described carrying a corpse in a motorcycle as a most difficult job in commercial motorcycle riding. “No matter how bad the road may present, you cannot fall with the corpse or bring it down until you get to the morgue.”
Narrating the difficulty they face now, Okechukwu said, “Because of the bad road and insecurity, we don’t stay in Nkalagu and Eha-Amufu beyond 4pm. Nobody wants to fall victim of herdsmen attack. Once it’s 4pm, every commercial motorcyclist will be running back home. We have discovered that all the attacks that had happened occurred between 4:30 p.m and 6:30 p.m.
Giving insight to the plight of the community, Elder Olinya Abaru, an octogenarian, said that the people are suffering because of lack of basic social amenities, describing a community with over 8,000 population without a functional hospital as a tragedy.
“There is no hospital in the community – private individuals who attempted to open hospitals in the community didn’t last because there’s no supporting facilities like electricity, good water and worst part of it, there is no access road to the community. If you are a doctor operating a hospital here, will you be trekking for over seven kilometers to go outside to buy drugs especially in during rainy season? This our story my son.
“When I was a little boy I worked on the road about 65 years ago. I didn’t expect that I would leave this world without that road being constructed. Vehicles didn’t ply the road then and my community tried very hard to even put the road to the state it is now. We laid the foundation of the road. We shared the work on the road village by village. I felt that by now the government would have looked in our way and constructed the road but we are still suffering.
“You hear anything about government only when elections are coming close. They will come and promise heaven and earth, thereafter you won’t see them again until next four years, during another election. The government of Ebonyi State has rejected and abandoned us but we don’t know what our offence is.”
The community has been plagued by regular attacks from herdsmen, who escape with impunity due to the lack of government presence and supporting infrastructure. The absence of telephone network coverage in the community means that by the time news of an attack or kidnapping reaches the authorities, the perpetrators have already escaped with their victims.
The road, which was supposed to be constructed under a Federal constituency project, has been abandoned despite contractors receiving funding from the federal government. Our correspondent’s investigation revealed that signs of abandoned projects are scattered along the road.
Under the tenure of former Senator Obinna Ogba, who represented Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone, and Anayo Edwin-Nwoñu, who represented Ishielu/Ezza North federal constituency, the road was captured and funded under constituency projects, but nothing was done to actualize the project. The community remains neglected and vulnerable to attacks.
