“We just want to reach our farms and schools”: Delta community pleads as road collapses

For the people of Onicha-Ugbo in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, what used to be a simple journey to the market or farm has become a daily ordeal. 

Their only major access road, linking them to neighbouring Issele-Uku, is crumbling, turning life in this vibrant farming community into a struggle for movement, livelihood and hope.

At a particularly bad spot opposite Gbonoza Primary School, the road is now little more than a gaping hazard. Once a lifeline for farmers, traders and schoolchildren, it is barely passable. 

For over two years, residents say, the road has been left to deteriorate, despite early signs of damage that local leaders reportedly ignored.

“We just want to go to our farms and send our children to school without fear,” says Ohai Emmanuel Chukwunweike, a resident who worries daily about how long elderly farmers and traders can keep trudging through the worsening path. 

“This is our only link between Onicha-Ugbo and Issele-Uku. Without it, we’re cut off. We’re begging the NDDC, the Delta State government and all who can help to come and fix this road properly, with drainage. Let us at least feel the dividends of democracy.”

Nearby, grassroots politician and farmer Francis Osedume shakes his head at the deep puddles and broken stretches that schoolchildren carefully navigate each morning.

“It’s painful to see young students and local farmers stranded,” he says. “This is about education. This is about food. It’s about our survival.”

For Joyce Iwelumo, the road’s decline strikes an emotional chord.

“I’m pleading with our leaders to remember us,” she says softly. “We’re part of this state too. This road connects us to everything. Without it, we suffer more than they can imagine.”

Sunday Adikwanfu calls the road an “eyesore,” warning that continued neglect could soon leave Onicha-Ugbo completely cut off from the outside world.

Yet even amid frustration, some residents refuse to give up hope or responsibility.

“This road has been like this since my secondary school days at St Stephen’s,” says Osemene Victor. “If the government won’t help, maybe we’ll have to fix it ourselves. It’s our home. We can’t leave it like this forever.”

As the rains deepen, so do the fears of residents, who dread seeing their only artery to markets and schools washed away entirely. Their collective hope is that their voices, carried beyond the muddy potholes and into the offices of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, NDDC Chairman Chiedu Ebie, and local officials, will finally lead to action that restores not just their road, but their dignity and daily peace.