Recently, a mudslide in Calabar, Cross River State, wiped out a family of eight. To Mr Amos Akaniyene, a native of Ikono in Awka Ibom State, fate dealt his family a heavy blow, and he would not forget the afternoon’s mudslide which followed a downpour in a hurry. By the time the mudslide subsided, Akaniyene had lost his house and eight members of his family. The victims included his pregnant wife, his mother-in-law, his children and the unborn twin babies his wife was carrying when the tragedy struck.
According to reports, the family members were relaxing in the house located at the bottom of a
burrow pit when, suddenly, the mud started rolling down the hillside, collapsed on the building and subsequently submerged the house, with trees also rolling down from the top of the hill. We commiserate with Mr Akaniyene, a poor bricklayer, for this monumental loss. We wish to observe, however, that this is a preventable environmental tragedy in a country which boasts a full–fledged Ministry of Environment. The environmental problems in the country range from erosion, deforestation desertification, water pollution, oil and noise pollution, oil spills and now mudslide. This is very unfortunate.
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