Federal, State and the Igbo-Eze North Local Government of Enugu State have been called upon to quickly intervene and save the people of Olido Autonomous Community from the erosion menace which has ravaged the area over the years.
Traditional Ruler of the community, HRH, Igwe Augustine Agashi, the “Onyemachi 1” of Olido community, who made the call while interacting with newsmen in his palace, also appealed to the Enugu State Government to recruit a team to be known as “Environmental Marshals” whose main duty would be to curb the alleged dubious activities of young men in the area who allegedly connive with tipper/truck drivers to vandalise rural roads in the guise of “fetching sharp sand on the roads.”
He insisted that the setting up of the ‘Environmental Marshals’ would make the rural roads and environment human friendly, regretting , however, that the activities of the ‘sand diggers’ have had negative impact on the environment of the community.
Igwe Agashi advised the government authorities to embark on “serious lateriting and grading of link roads in Enugu-Ezike, especially the one connecting Olido-Ogbodu-Amube-Umachi inter community roads”, maintaining that the community and her people had been abandoned over the years.
The native ruler bemoaned the deplorable condition of the rural link roads coupled with the gully erosion which he said has turned the places no-go-area for motorists and travelers.
He also, appealed for government intervention in posting of qualified teachers , provision of library and laboratory facilities, chairs, desks and other reading tools/materials to primary and post-primary schools in the area.
According to him, these facilities would provide the young ones in the community opportunity to acquire sound education background as the future leaders, and advised government to create employment for school leavers in order to lessen the activities of criminal elements in the society.
Igwe Agashi, however, lauded the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led state government for reviving the Neighbourhood Watch team in all the political wards to make the state crime-free, as well as his release of N5million grant to all the autonomous communities in the state to embark on their choice infrastructure project , insisting it was first of its kind since the creation of the state.