By Temitope Ariyo
As the name connotes, Ekiti in its primordial semantic refers to Okiti in Youruba language which literally means hill or hills as the case may be. It is of immense anthropological interest to note quite amusingly that Ekiti as a geographical nomenclature was derived from its outrageous numbers of hills and mountains.
So , in this sense, you would expect cases of incessant erosions which could result into flooding . Without mincing words , the scourge of flooding in Ekiti has risen to an all time high due to weather and tidal changes that have seen erosions torn streets apart and made a mockery of many intimidating bridges and culverts .
Various weather reports both national and international have considered the state as a demography prone to flooding and such environmental hazards arising from heavy water oscillation. Important towns and villages such as lkere , the second largest town in the state ,Ado, the state capital Efon , Aramoko and ,lkogosi among others have strong historical link with gully erosion and flooding. The cultural implication of this trend is that government after government had been embroiled with an aquatic war of flooding facing the state.
Thanks to God, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji on assumption of office as the governor of Ekiti State, being an home based politician , took the bull by the horn by ensuring the dredging of major rivers such as Ureje in Ado Ekiti ,Osun in lkere and other major rivers across the state This singular effort did reduce the menace of flooding in the state and guided against loss of lives .
A community leader , an eye-witness of the recent flooding in the state capital ,Chief Kolawole Falajiki who also attested to the efforts of the Oyebanji -led administration had this to say during the inspection of flood -torn areas in the state capital by a team of the state executives led by the Deputy Governor ,Chief Mrs Christianah Monisade Afuye who were at Ureje riverside to assess the recent flooding event in the area . ” This governor is a prophet. I mean Oyebanji is a man who can see tomorrow. If not for the dredging that he carried out early this year, many lives would have been lost yesterday . I was here . I saw everything. I took the courage to jump into the river. I was able to rescue all the four victims . The federal government and well meaning Nigerians should assist this governor ….he passionately loves us,’ he enthused.
It is noteworthy that there have been various ecological interventions to salvage the worsening erosion condition in Ekiti. I must attest that these interventions by the federal government or to whom it may concern were just not enough to salvage this monstrous ecological challenge. The federal government may have to rejig its efforts while international partners such as the World Bank, UNESCO ,etc must also as a matter of urgency carry out further assessment of the Ekiti ecological condition.
Ekiti has a fair share of fertile land and a rainforest that could make it the hub of food production in Nigeria. In fact half of its forest could address the food needs of the entire South West , Nigeria. The state also boast of one of the fastest growing urban cities in Nigeria and has a potential of becoming an alluring business destination and a hub of Nigeria tourism considering such world tourism sites such as the cold and warm water spring in lkogosi , the waterfall at ErinJesa ,Orole and Olosunta rocks in lkere among others
No clime has been so blessed with such a remarkable proportion of natural wealth in terms of land and forest resources in Nigeria. Such natural endowments such as its beautiful hills and rocks should be sprinted to remain a blessing by curtailing the attendant ecological challenges.
The world should rise up in supporting a teething state like Ekiti with such humongous responsibility to attend to the economic needs of its surging population by dealing with its rising ecological concern which poses a major threat to the realization of its developmental plans .