Health
Bayelsa community faces extinction as river swallows homes, livelihoods
LInus Effiong
For nearly a decade, residents of Obogoro Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have watched helplessly as the Ekoli River steadily eats into their ancestral land, homes, farmlands and public infrastructure.
What was once a thriving riverside community is gradually being reduced by erosion, with residents saying more than 200 houses have already been swallowed by the river.
A community primary school, football field, National Youth Service Corps lodge and ancestral burial grounds are among facilities that residents say have been lost to the advancing river.
The latest heavy rainfall has heightened fears, as swollen waters continue to pound the riverbank, causing sections of land to collapse and forcing more families to abandon their homes.
Recent reports from the community indicate that the damage is no longer confined to properties close to the shoreline, with residents now worried about the survival of the remaining portion of the settlement.
For those still living in the community, the crisis has become a daily battle between remaining in their homes and fleeing before the next section of land collapses.
A tenant, Janet Eseoghene, said families who previously lived close to her had relocated because of the advancing river.
“Last year, the river was still a few metres away, but now it is at my doorstep.
“We need help. I have no other place to go. It is risky living here, and I fear for my children too. We are appealing to the relevant authorities to come and help us,” she said.
Another resident, Joel Itortaziba, said the sound of collapsing earth had become familiar to residents, particularly at night.
“I have been living in Obogoro for two years now. It is terrifying living in this community. Sometimes at night, you hear a hit, which indicates that some land has caved in into the river. We really need the help of the government.
“Just some months back, a child lost his life in the erosion. The government should please help this community,” Itortaziba said.
The President of the Epie-Atissa Peoples Congress, Obesi Benjamin, said the extent of the devastation could only be understood by comparing the present community with what existed several years ago.
“The entire river you are seeing here was actually our community. If you were here a few years ago, you would have seen that the community was where this river is right now.
“Today, the community is gradually disappearing. What we are seeing is just one quarter of the community that is left. People are dying. How can a full family, mother and children, be taken away by erosion?
“People who have homes are now homeless. Some houses are at the edge of the river, and they will slide into the river any moment. Over 200 houses have been submerged into the river.
“The state and federal governments and the NDDC need to visit Obogoro community. This place needs urgent attention,” Benjamin said.
Our correspondent gathered that in 2020, residents were already abandoning homes in Obogoro as erosion wreaked havoc. Reports at the time said the St. Paul Primary School and NYSC lodge were among structures damaged.
By 2021, residents were again displaced after landslides washed away parts of the community, including the NYSC lodge, primary school and football field.
A 2022 report by Al Jazeera also described Obogoro as a community where erosion had already taken a substantial portion of the people’s homeland.
Residents say successive appeals for intervention have not produced a permanent solution.
Convener of the Save Obogoro Community Now group, Ada Gwegwe, said the community had repeatedly drawn the attention of the state and federal governments to the worsening situation.
According to Gwegwe, the Bayelsa State Government awarded a contract to Niger Green Dredging Company for shoreline protection and related work at the erosion site, but she alleged that the project was abandoned.
“Millions of naira worth of property have been washed away into the river. I am using this opportunity to call on the Federal Government, the state government and the Niger Delta Development Commission to come to the aid of Obogoro community,” Gwegwe said.
It was said that the state government had awarded a canalisation and shoreline-protection project at Obogoro to Nigergreen Dredging International Limited in 2021. A 2023 investigation found that work had been interrupted, with residents calling for government intervention to revive the project.
A House of Representatives record on petitions concerning erosion around the Ikoli/Ekoli River documented claims that homes, schools, farmlands, the community square and other facilities had been destroyed and that the shoreline around the Goodluck Jonathan Bridge was also under threat.
Residents said they had also petitioned lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives, seeking federal intervention.
They are now calling for a comprehensive shoreline protection and reclamation project rather than temporary measures, warning that failure to act appropriately could displace more families.
While residents continue to demand an engineering solution to the erosion, the Bayelsa State Government has also been carrying out a separate physical-planning enforcement exercise in the Obogoro area.
On September 15, 2026, the Bayelsa State Physical Planning and Development Board commenced the removal of structures it identified as illegal and obstructing Right of Way in the area.
The exercise, led by the Executive Chairman of the Board, Kuroakegha Dorgu, was described by the agency as part of the state’s urban renewal and infrastructural development programme.
According to the Board, the exercise was aimed at restoring order, protecting public infrastructure and preserving the Right of Way for present and future development.
The physical-planning exercise is separate from the shoreline erosion intervention being demanded by residents. While the planning authorities are addressing structures identified as encroaching on designated public spaces, residents are calling for an engineering solution to the advancing riverbank.
Residents who depended on farming have lost farmlands, while property owners have seen houses and rental properties disappear or become difficult to occupy.
They are asking the Bayelsa State Government, the Federal Government, NDDC, Ecological Project Office and other relevant agencies to urgently address the erosion.
They are also seeking assistance for families already displaced by the erosion.
Residents lamented that while homes, farms and community facilities have been destroyed, there has been no permanent accommodation or dedicated internally displaced persons’ camp for those forced to leave.
The crisis in Obogoro also raises broader questions about the vulnerability of riverine communities across Bayelsa State, where erosion, flooding and shoreline changes continue to threaten settlements and infrastructure.
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