Active Ravine along Technical Layout Peaceland Community in Calabar Municipal
For Mrs Ekanem Inyang, a widow in Peaceland Community, Calabar, Cross River State, every rainfall brings a fresh wave of anxiety.
Her home, which she describes as the only inheritance left for her and her three children by her late husband, who died in 2018, is now dangerously close to an expanding ravine.
Inyang said the erosion channel had advanced to within about five metres of her house, leaving her terrified that the building could collapse at any time.
“When the rain falls, I will not be able to sleep. Please, the government should help me because I don’t have any hope. We don’t have anywhere to go,” she said.
The widow is not alone in her predicament. Other residents of the community have also raised the alarm over the rapid expansion of the ravine, which they said had already swallowed or rendered several houses unsafe.
During a visit to the area, residents told The Guardian that recent heavy rains had worsened the erosion, bringing the ravine dangerously close to more homes.
Community leader, Johnson Eteng, said several properties had already been lost to the ravine, forcing some families to abandon their homes and relocate.
Eteng, a pastor and landlord in the community, said some buildings were now less than three metres from the edge of the ravine, warning that continued rainfall could trigger further collapses.
According to him, residents had made several attempts to slow the erosion using locally available materials, including bamboo and discarded trailer tyres, to reinforce sections of the ravine.
However, he said the measures had failed to withstand the volume and force of the water.
Another resident, Patrick Okon, described the ravine as “very active,” saying its continued expansion had already displaced several residents and put more houses at risk.
Okon appealed to the Cross River State Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Ministries of Works and Environment, and the New Map project to urgently intervene.
He said immediate engineering measures were needed to stabilise the ravine and protect the remaining houses while comprehensive remediation was being planned.
Okon disclosed that a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Bassey Otu had visited the community several months ago and informed residents that the ravine was among the four most life-threatening in Calabar.
He said the residents were also told that the ravine had been captured in the New Map budget for intervention.
Despite the assurance, however, residents said they were yet to see any tangible intervention as the erosion continued to expand.
