The people of Amazi, Umunakanu Ama in Ehime Mbano local government area of Imo State, has taken to the streets to stage a peaceful protest against avoidable environmental degradation of their community with a call on Governor Hope Uzodimma to intervene immediately.
The protest followed what the people described as unsolicited invasion of their ancestral land with the siting of borrow pit along the only major but neglected road connecting the village to the rest of other villages/communities.
Engr. Uche Okafor, a member of the community, lamented that the borrow pit from where sand is being excavated by a contractor from a neighbouring community posed a major environmental threat to Amazi.
Part of the angst of the people of Amazi was that for the past two weeks, the villagers have made spirited efforts to reach out to the chairman of Ehime Mbano local government area, Hon. Francis Uche Nwodu, by sending a delegation led by the Chairman of the village and President General of Umunakanu Ancient Kingdom, to explain to him the dangers that the excavation poses on their road, farmlands and houses and the pervasive state of insecurity in the area. However, all the efforts to get a favourable intervention have remained futile.
Consequently, the general congress of the people of Amazi both at home and abroad undertook the peaceful protest to bring their plight to all concerned authorities and people of goodwill to come to their rescue.
“We have reached out to the Local Government Chairman to put a stop to this and up till today (Tuesday, May 6, 2025) nothing has been done and we are using this opportunity to call the attention of the Imo State government led by distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma to look into our plight and intervene on time.
“The peace-loving community of Amazi has been invaded; it has been intimidated; and its people pushed to the wall. However, we have remained peaceful in the face of all these tribulations and deliberate efforts to compromise the peace for which we are well known for and thereby instigate crisis in our community,” Nze Lucius Nnorom, a prominent member of the community said.
He lamented that what the people of the community are currently going through was a double jeopardy considering that the community when compared with others, lacks infrastructure provisions, including access road, water and electricity.
“All the communities bordering us have asphalt roads and electricity. The tarred roads actually ends at the beginning of entrance into our community,” he added.
He called on Governor Hope Uzodimma to not only come to their aid in stopping further excavation and undertaking remedial actions to mitigate the danger of erosion and landslide in Amazi but to provide basic infrastructure like access roads, water and electricity to the area.