Anambra widow rendered homeless as coastal erosion swallows her house

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By Madu Obi

A widow and farmer in Akili, Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State, Mrs. Eunice Ochia and members of her family, have been rendered homeless as the coastal erosion has swallowed her four - bedroom bungalow.

Mrs Ochia, amidst sobs, said she had no place to go to and called on Nigerians to come to her aid.

Many residents of Ogbaru have described coastal erosion as worse than flood that ravages the area every year because while flood would recede after some time, coastal erosion would completely swallow houses.

She said that when she returned from the IDP camp after the flood, she noticed that her house was lying less than fifty meters from the River Niger, adding that she started making arrangements to move his family out of the area, considering the speed at which the coastal erosion was approaching the houses in the village.

She said she quickly called carpenters to dismantle the roof of her house, while she managed to remove some of her belongings to a safer place. She said that barely few hours after the roof was removed, the whole house was swallowed by water.

"The problem is that we don't even have a place to go to. I can't even rent a house because I don't have the money.

"For now, a family friend has agreed to accommodate my family pending when I find an ideal place to relocate. As it stands, our future is bleak as the entire village will soon become part of River Niger", she said.