Tears in Obogoro: Bayelsa Community Watches Homes Sink into the River

[Abigail pereowei]

...Community calls on NDDC, Bayelsa, FG to intervene

For more than fifteen years, the people of Obogoro Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have endured the slow but devastating grip of riverbank erosion. What began as a natural encroachment has grown into an existential threat swallowing homes, schools, and even a cottage hospital. Today, the community stands at risk of disappearing entirely.

A recent visit by GbaramatuVoice revealed the scale of destruction. The once-stable banks of the community are now jagged edges, collapsing into the water as flood currents devour plots of land. Buildings that once housed families and vital services lie submerged or washed away, and with every rainy season, the waters creep closer to what remains.

For residents, the erosion is not just environmental; it is deeply personal. Lives have been lost, ancestral homes erased, and families displaced. The community lives in daily fear, traumatized by the knowledge that each new flood could take more.

The President of the Epie Atissa Youth Council, Comrade Josiah Clever Osomuze, speaking on behalf of Obogoro and its sister community Famgbe, described the situation as dire:

“These communities have suffered erosion over the years, and we keep calling on government for attention, but until now, we’ve not received any genuine response. The erosion has gone so deep into Obogoro that even their walkways have been eroded. Several houses are gone, and the recent one took over three plots of land. If this continues, one day Bayelsans will wake up and Obogoro will be no more.”

Osomuze called directly on the NDDC Managing Director, Chief Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the Governor of Bayelsa State, and the Federal Government to prioritize land reclamation, warning that shoreline protection alone may not be enough.

He emphasized the urgency, even warning of possible civil disobedience if silence persists:

“If attention isn’t given, we will have no option other than to protest, block NDDC offices, and the government house to ensure genuine attention is given. We refuse to keep silent and watch our people go into extinction. Atissa has only 13 communities, and one is going down gradually before our eyes. We will use our last strength to fight this battle.”

The Secretary of the Obogoro Youth Council, Comrade Eze Samuel Izibenifiawo, echoed the pain of the people:

“The situation here is very pathetic. For 15 years we’ve been passing through this experience. Letters have been written to the state government, the federal government, and even the NDDC. Sometimes they come to take measurements, but nothing follows. We’ve lost over 100 plots of land, our cottage hospital, and countless houses. We are begging the government to help us, because we cannot do it on our own.”

Their words underline the desperation of a people abandoned in the face of disaster. Community leaders warn that without swift intervention, even the palace of the Obogoro king could soon be at risk.

The call is clear: the Bayelsa State Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Minister of Works, David Umahi, must act. Land reclamation and urgent protection works are needed to save Obogoro from vanishing.

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