Bayelsa State map
By Akeem Atoyebi
Residents of Okoroba, a coastal fishing and farming settlement in Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, have lamented the abandonment of the link road to the riverside community.
The community residents, led by a nonagenarian, Madam Omiekumo Numo, a decade ago, converged on the Opume end of the proposed Opume-Okoroba Road to stage a protest to draw attention to the broken-down road and activities of sea pirates who raid the people along the creeks.
The late Oronto Douglas, a one-time Special Adviser (Research and Documentation) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, hailed from this ancient Ogbia-speaking community.
The Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is said to have awarded the 10 km road project to link the coastal town of Okoroba to the mainland Ogbia Council Area to the Mangrovtech, now known as Kakatar’ce in 2011. Sadly, they abandoned the project over an alleged disagreement over contractual terms, compensation, and the non-availability of sand.
Inhabitants recount stories of sufferings. Checks by this medium revealed villagers access the community through the endangered creeks or the abandoned 10-km Opume-Okoroba road. Most natives prefer to trek about four hours on the tortuous uneven track, which a car would navigate in 15 minutes if the road were motorable. Some people get in and out of their community with motorcycles, also known as Okada. Motorcyclists ply the route between November and April when the swampy terrain is dry, charging each passenger N5,000.
Others travel on hand-paddled canoes at N3,000 per passenger to the stabilized section before they finally deserted the road.
We travel with spare clothing because of the rickety road — Tari Tari, a native lamented: “We are worse off during the wet season, we have to wash ourselves and change into clean clothes on getting to the Opume end because of the marshy nature of the route on our way to Ogbia and Yenagoa.”
