My names are Sunday Ovia, I am from Abare community and have been a past secretary and the past national secretary of this community. Talking about infrastructure, we have in this town, by the grace of God we have some infrastructure standing, standing infrastructure like the primary school, we have a primary school named Ayeama Primary School, it was formerly this Roman Catholic School it was founded 1923, if am not mistaken. So we have a primary school, we have a secondary school namely Abara Junior and Senior Secondary School. It was founded about 10 years ago or more, then we still have a health centre built by the delta state government. We also have a civic centre of which we hold our meeting, national meetings on some occasions. It was built by Shell for us then recently we were not connected to the communication, there was no communication system in the town, for some while but thank God recently the global communications installed the Mars in Abare not quite two months ago, it was commissioned and for now we have Glo Nigeria Limited, moving on in Nigeria, so we are connected to the world through this things.
Well so far so good, though we have our challenges, but we still thank God that the Federal Government has been assisting us. The State Government too has been recognizing us, but later on we will still come to the one or two of the challenges that we are facing. Thank you and God bless you.
Elder Frank: Now Abare is composed of sedering and pereware.
Elder Frank: My name is elder Frank Akeptijp
Elder Frank: Well, am a son of the soil, I work in the federal service after so many years, after thirty one years I retired as senior inspector in the prison service and I came home straight. Since then I’ve been at home since 1995.
Elder Frank: yes, Abare is a son of Kabouwe, but not the name Asideni, pereware the sons of kabouwe, we decided to call it Abare because we were at the other side of the river when we came from kabulu.
We call it kabulu all kabouwe children all of them migrated inside from there, the only town that is there is only koloware. Later Aven came to join us, they were now adopting them. Now when they came, we spread along the river forcados, you can see that Elewebri is very far from here is a kabouwe son, ekpeleware is very far from here is kabouwe son, then asamabri the same thing, so we spread all over the lake.
When we came, we first settle in the eastern side of river forcados, pereware Asideni which is now Abare because of the erosion, after some years, erosion was just, we could not bear it erosion and flood, so we decided to cross to this place because we felt that this side was higher. So we cross to this place.
The first family that cross was Asideni then pereware now wanted to cross then one of us say well this people have crossed they are our brothers, let us cross we and Abarekure that time Ijaw language, Abarekuru means to go and follow them to stay that’s why the name Abare came about.
So people will ask you, say Abare is not a name of kabouwe. How did you come about Abare? That’s how we call Abare. Two brothers who has stayed here call it Abare, Asideni and Pereware, that is how it is, and we have been living here for centuries ago because my father, my grandfather did not know when we came from inside the other place, it was my great grandfather who know that we were in Kabulu.
Then my grandfather lived up to hundred and twelve or hundred and ten years before he died, then my father Akpeti was the oldest man in the whole clan and also stayed up to hundred and five years before he died. Therefore, Abare has been here for over two hundred years.
Elder Frank: Yes, we have at the moment we have up to two main quarters Asideni and pereware that the two main quarters, then with Asideni they have some quarters like Adazi, Abazi and so on, then pereware we have Alouwizi Ekapize but if you talk of families we have twelve families in this town.
Elder Frank: Should I name them?
Elder Frank: Okay, we have ekpitibremu, yawarelaro, eseleware that is family, they have Edi, they have perebo they have Opuware, then we have kalakeme which they say is now opukeme now, then you have sezibon, then you have ogbokan family, you have apian family, you have torla family, then you have nimi family, how many have I got now?
All: Twelve they are completed
Elder Frank: correct now, that’s alright.
Elder Frank: In those days you know family makes a quarter, and quarter makes a town and so on, those days in pereware my family in pereware, we are not as many as this. As we are growing, second cousin, third cousin, fifth cousin and so forth we begin to srepad other wise so many families, I am calling it one.
Like Ebinibremu, Esele, kolarelare, Edi perebo were all called Ewurewu, Ewureware, Ewure familt but as we are growing, we separated ourselves that’s how it is and we did everything together, but if you talk of family matter, we separate, every family has its own meeting, like every quarter has its own meeting then the whole town has its own meeting. We have one chairman controlling the whole community but every family too have their own chairman and their secretary.
Elder Frank: yes, when we migrated from inside kabulu, it was the eastern side we migrated to because of the erosion and flood made us to cross we felt that this side was higher but unfortunately, now erosion ahs found this place now that’s why we cross to this place.
Elder Frank: no, they are still living there, that’s why we say we have Aduku Abare, we migrated to Aduku infact the spot we are living is called Asima in Aduku people are still living there now some of our people are building houses there till today. So we have two towns.
Elder Frank: yes, so many of our kabouwe children are in, the ones in bayelsa, kabouwe children that are in bayelsa, you have Elumebri, you have pereware, you have Asamabri you have trofane, you have Aduku and Adagbabri then the other side.
Elder Frank: Abare yes.
Elder Frank: Abare yes
Elder Frank: Okay, the last census well about fifteen thousand, let me tell you why am telling you we are fifteen thousand, those days, Abare, Aven, Koloware, we have one ward, after the population census, they saw that the population of Abare is too much so we have two wards now in Abare. Abare alone has two wards that will tell you alone that we are well populated so we have fifteen.
Elder Frank: it’s fifteen thousand from that time that is why we are given two wards from that time.
Elder Frank: Well our Chief occupation is farming, when I say farming, fishing too is farming, fish ponds and all of that but our chief occupation is farming generally.
I was a good farmer when I came home, I ahd plantain plantation, cassava farms, fish ponds and all that, will am old now, my duty is just to sit down then allow my federal government to feed me.
Elder Frank: Culture, well our culture you know because of this modern life, we don’t actually believe on our culture, those ones but when I was small this Abare here you see that dances like dances like masquerade were the most reigning dance at that time, culture when you talk of culture but now all those things have been taken away because of Christianity, you see and the whole kabouwe clan we have one culture, we have one custom.
Elder Frank: when it was introduced to Abare, well christinaity has been there for time memorial but recently when there are so many churches, nobody is ready to dance masquerade dance, they feel that masquerade dance is juju dance, and there are certain dances that they feel is masquerade dance that is why. It has been a long time, a long time since we stopped.
I grew up to see this masquerade dance very well but after some years, no masquerade dance in Abare because of the Christianity, this is about eight years ago.
Elder Frank: Yes
Elder Frank: Like us, the old men like us we are not happy about it, we are not comfortable about it, but there is nothing we can do about it, it is the youth who supposed to hold this culture very well, if they want to dance masquerade dance, I cannot dance, is the youth who is suppose to dance, all this other dances like this pot dance it is the youth who is suppose to dance but we are not happy about it, but there is nothing we can do about it because no youth is really want to do all those things and not only Christianity, I think hustle for money are making all this things to die, all this youth this wrestling we don’t even do it again, those days when I was at home before went away every four days, we have three big fields in this town koloware field, fidini field and so on every Akamie that is every four days we wrestle but now nothing like that, not Christianity that stop that one, the youth hustle for money everybody always think of hustling to get money so they forget bringing out this wrestling and so on. You see that this modern time, during our days when we were small when two people quarrel or fight, they will say if you are men, you will wrestle three times, if it is women its four times, don’t carry bottle, don’t blow but this time any little thing why I say is hustle for money, as big as we are, we get on its own any little thing they do, they want to spend on their own, you see that is why the culture is dying.
Nobody is bothered to say this is what our fathers were doing, let us continue to be doing it.
Elder Frank: Okay we had a conflict with trofane, it started from 1992 land case for this Aduku but unfortunately last year, we won the case in the high court Sagbama and not only that, recently, airpere with their pere, the pere there the grandmother and my father, the same mother, the same father the one in trofane that tall boy so recently the settled us again, so the conflict the way I look at it that’s the end of the conflict.
Elder Frank: Well on our little way there is nothing we can do about it, the government has not done anything to help us, there is no project like cassava grinding engine, there is no industry in our little way what we get we go and sell in the market to manage our life that is how it is, it had got, to say government had brought is grinding machine for cassava and so on, it would have been better.
So these are the suffering we have in this town, no little industry for us at all, so our farming is only to feed you cannot do much about it because the reservation to preserve it is not easy, to carry it out to sell is not easy that’s how it is.
Elder Frank: They definitely want a land definitely, we can give them land for rice planting.
Elder Frank: yes, good for cassava, plantain plantation, if really they want cocoa this time well we have land for cocoa.
Elder Frank: and we have land for rubber, those days my uncle get so many, one of the poor men get rubber plantation in Aduku very big land, they have rubbers there but they have not been using it, we have a land, land is no problem for farming, our land is very fertile and little thing you grow, you put it will grow well when you harvest it you know.
Now the Ibo’s Anambra people they are the best farmers, now they have filled everywhere they are the people supplying yam now, farming when you talk of farming we do a little bit of it, the Ibo’s from Anambra state they are the farmer’s, if you see the yams they have is very long and big.
Elder Frank: yes they brought them from our village camps here they are very close to this place, why is it that they don’t bring the yam is that we have no market, markets we had about two markets that have eroded away otherwise its here that could have been the market.
Elder Frank: No market, it has been eroded so all of them go to Asaba market.
Elder Frank: I will say no industrial level.
Elder Frank: They pay the tenant fee too.
Elder Frank: you told me what is our chief occupation, I said farming not so, okay but we are not the type of farming we are doing most of this yam we are planting is only water yam, then we have plantain plantation, this one this people are doing, the Anambra people are doing is a very tedious job, you know Ijaw man, comparing Ijaw man with an Ibo man, you see that is why, otherwise we have land, is our land that they are planting, that they produce all this yams but we cannot do it ourselves, we cannot.
Elder Frank: Yes, especially rice.
Elder Frank: Oh yes, is always Aduku Abare
Elder Frank: yes, the Amadawe house is there now, Amadawe in Aduku his house is there when it was not recognized as an autonomous community, he built a house here now that it is recognized as an autonomous community, he has built his palace in Aduku most of us who have houses there are having houses here too.
Elder Frank: okay, now you know we have been a riverine area but not every year the flood is the same thing but the one of.
Elder Frank: 2012, the flood was unprecedented, when we counted the houses that collapsed, it were forty houses that collapsed, my mothers house was one of them and not only that, all the fish ponds, if you look at my fish pond, I was making a lot of money from there, all the fish walked away, even some block houses collapsed. Then crops, cassava farms, plantain all fell, so there was heavy hunger the year 2013, it was a serious case.
After the flood of 2012, 2013 before you plant things and they grow before you harvest them there is a lot of hunger. The government could not help us, they came to make announcement that federal government has brought five million, five hundred million, it is million we didn’t see kobo, no relief materials, nothing, this is my house I spent a lot to bring it up to this day, this standard after the flood, so many challenges, infact Dr. Abire I know, but we suffered a lot from that flood, the whole community was flooded, no house was left.
Elder Frank: Now the lake is jointly owned by Ogboluma family of Ase and Abare community, what happened is that when he came back, when we came out from Kabulu, they were the people we met there, os we gave them forty bags of cowries then allowed us to stay there, later they crossed to Asabase that’s why they call it Asabase it is Ase people that have that land you see, so when they wanted to go finally, when they wanted to leave finally to inside the creek, they called us Abare people now we are leaving you, we are leaving that place now, now we allow you to enjoy everything both lakes, lands and everything but the lake Opuduno, we have many lakes there, but lake Opuduno you should not feed there alone anytime you want to go and fish there send for us, and that’s what we have been doing for time in memorial, this Ogboluma family of Ase and Abare are the owner of that lake. All the time that trofane people took us to court, they have been our witness, they have been going to court with us too to regain judgment in the high court.
Now we even consulted them that well after everything has been finished, that if these people don’t appeal or after we have won the appeal, this lake would hand over to Bayelsa government, then the government will take over, and we get a lot of money from them every year. That Arigugu they are talking about they are small this things now, but there was a lake, there was a time we had fish there, there was a year we had two hundred canoes, Samagria, Odi, Pokuma, Kayiama all finished then this side Agolomria all this towns on this side finish we have two hundred canoes, if you see, the rule is that when you take over the canoe, we enter the canoes oh, everybody will go there with canoe, then when we want to start fishing now all the villages, alsl the camps around lake we’ll be on one side, now if they want to fish they want to start 7 o’ clock in the morning all will be on one side they will now cross over to that side, you wouldn’t put net until you cross over to the other side then everybody will peel and then pull their net back, if you see the race, when they are going, if you video them, oh its wonderful, see the race this canoe race who want to get there first, everybody will be hustling at the end of the day, every camp before you finish pulling your net as they are coming back fish has, their net has float, you cannot even pack all the fish those days that is how it has been on, but we come to see that each time we give rent to people to fish like that we have not been getting money, our youth, Ogboluma youth, they all, stood up people’s fish they stood the nets and so on, so we decided to lease it out to people, I think this is the third time we are doing it, the first year we lease it out at the rate of 2million, the second year 2.5 million, this year now is 4.5 million which I said the lease to our investors.
Elder Frank: The size of the lake, what I will say, is wider than this river, the width, the length is like from here to Asaba, Ase the length but the width is wider than this river.
Sunday Name: The width should be about 800 between 800 and 1000 metres, the length should be about 2 kilometres.
Elder Frank: It’s a wonderful lake because all water ascent have spoiled our lakes, everywhere other lakes that we have there but this lake you can never see any water ascent inside the lake, very clean so when people go there, they are always surprised saying so this kind of lake is here, so that is how it is as have told you very near future, we hand over to bayelsa government.
Elder Frank: When the government take over, then we improve on it, why am talking of government in those the lake was very deep but now its getting shallow, if we hand over to bayelsa government before they do anything they will have to dredge and make it deeper to get bigger fishes. Those days Ikrika will reach this table high up, although this time too Ikrika is big but those days we call those ones kina, we had even crocodile that is in that place, some are long from here to that place, but the wonderful side of it is if we want to go and fish there all this their juju priest they speak to the crocodile all we walk away to the forest.
We gave law, we tell everybody that anyone they see in the land, they should not kill them but those greedy ones who don’t go when we are fishing, if you cut your net, they will shoot it. There was a year we had hippopotamus there when it was very deep they shot it, it later walked away, if you come to the river, nobody saw it you see, so if you give it to government, our aim is that if we give it to government they will improve on it, they will dredge make it deeper to get bigger fishes you see, it is not easy to give to private people such things because we have not known people who can help us is not easy, so let us give it to government first.
If government say well they will not do it, the way we want it we can take it back from them, that’s how it will happen.
Elder Frank: Erosion has been a age long problem when I say age long problem, so many years ago, erosion started, I was very small when erosion started and till now that is why I was telling you that Abare at the other side of the river you see that up to 2 kilometres now eroded away, houses have been eroded this man was my secretary when I was chairman, you can tell them up to date now there are hundred and twenty houses permanent buildings which we say is block houses, twelve of it, the fathers we will take you there, the fathers house now has gone but a little bit of it is still on the land, so erosion is the worst challenge we have.
Then after that, you know when there is erosion we have two markets all have been eroded away now. Abare has no market, we are suffering. We cannot tell the government that come and build market for us where will you want them to build market, we are in the riverine area, they have to build market very close to the river, there is no place canoe can come and berg here the river is very bad the land, to climb up is a problem and all this things we are talking about they cannot bring them to sell here because there is no place to go up. If you are building a market, it must be very close to the river and that’s how it was, all have been eroded away.
If they quicken the dredging of this water side according to what we are hearing, so we are trying to make sure that it is done, if it is done now we will apply to the government or shell to come and build a market for us. They will do it because we are like an oil producing community.
The pipeline trans pipeline passes here.
Elder Frank: You cannot build market because our market must near water side, where will you put it so market is not what we are talking about now, erosion is the worse problem we have, but secondly I could have talked of this road first but water, we are very lucky that we are not sick always since after the flood, there was solar water I think pipe was laid not the whole community but at least two third of the community, we have water before, during the flood all the pipes have been washed away and since after the flood, nobody bothers about it, so we have been suffering.
Now do you know the water I drink is river water, I boil it then when there is rain I drink rain water, at times I will fetch my well water when it is clean, I boil it and drink it. So many women, so many men they drink from this water, this river where you see dead bodies floating you see rubbish going on, we are lucky. I believe we have been immune to all this type of things because is where we grow up now go and bring Yoruba man say, come and stay here two days, he will say belle belle, he will just die, you see is not easy at all, water is the worst problem now as far as life is concerned.
Drinking water, nobody bothers about it, the council cannot help us, I have informed Asaba, they promised that they are coming now, since 2012 till now they have not done anything. We have representatives here, our own son is now a commissioner there, Toyetimi, last time he came I reminded him, that look you have to do something about this thing, he said I will do it, I will do it since he went, we have not heard anything.
Elder Frank: Then you talk of challenges then the road, this road if I tell you, I have a petition here if I tell you bendel state they awarded this road contract to our own son, one Brezba who is now in Aduku here, build house there all are claiming that place, at the time the work want to bring progress, they divided, it was Yerowo was now the governor Yerowo been an Ijaw man not only being Ijaw man, is a son of Kabouwe he wanted to help us at the end of the day, they divided the state, we got Delta State and Yerowo was in Edo he has no power for this place, that’s how that cancelled.
Then again, they awarded this contract to one Yelowe one senator who is a late senator in river state to come, it was a political contract, I don’t know at the end of the day, he could not do anything, he sold it to commissioner Chief Odebo who is also a barrister, he was then the commissioner of works in Delta State, now he gave this contract to Chinese people, they came here, they pegged round, took visibility, studied after some time we did not see them and at the end of the day it came to square one.
Again when barrister Agona’s father died, he was a commissioner that time, he was a commissioner or adviser?
Crowd: Commissioner
Elder Frank: Okay Ibon came here, Uduaghan came here, Otuahan came here, and they saw that this road was so bad, they said what, so this your town is still like this, this your road is still like this so they decided to award the contract, according to what Uduaghan told me when after I have sent him a petition, he said he called barrister Agona that “please this contract, give it to any company of your choice”, then he called RCC he gave it to RCC they did it for two years what we saw the company spread, sprinkle sand on the road and bury culvet, this rings meant for wall they buried them in that ground at the end of the day they ran away.
When we found out that the road has been completed they have paid all the money, six hundred and one million to the company, so when this our new commissioner took over he told our Ijaw boy is nowa commissioner for works, I think that boy is from Ozobo he brought him here to the hall, the whole community were there, he made it very clear to us that he did not know that there is a road contract here, it was timi who told him that there is a road contract here, he say no record in the office, ministry of works to know that there is road contract here after that he left them toyetimi now the commissioner brought a surveyor on his own I know that is on government expense surveyor, the road do everything he went back and met Uduaghan say well the one you said have been completed the road has not been completed, so I want you to still help me, Uduaghan told him that he can never vote any other money for this road anymore and when they were announcing when the new commissioner took over the commissioner of works took over he said all the abandoned project all the contractors should go to the site Abare own was not mentioned that is how this road has been here like this. It was recently we went to Warri stakeholders meeting, I was delegated to see manager, senator manager, when we got to his place, I told him that we are coming to meet him because of this road, what help can he give us, he made it very clear that the road project was in budget that what we are going to do because the problem of this Nigeria is implementation so we should not say because its in the budget. We should sit down, we should have to move to meet our people to tell us that he will also in his own part he will try to remind them. It was recently we heard that they will do it. So we are hoping that they will come to do it.
Elder Frank: Well the moment is 6 kilometres from Asaba Ase to our boundary with Erewa one Isoko village, they are not talking of patani now so it’s only 6 kilometres that they voted six hundred and one million which nothing was done. I personally chattered motor myself and one Chief was his dead, to the company in Warri, we saw the engineer, we said what is happening to our road, he said he has, they have finished work, he said they did not tell them to tie the road, they told them that was the answer he gave me so there is nothing we can do about it but they have promised us that this year they are coming to do it, so we are waiting for them now.
NDDC has taken over it, that’s what we heard from them apart from all these challenges I mentioned, there are other ones, small ones.
We have health centre that is true, but the workers where you have health centre, anytime you go, you won’t see any nurse, we appeal several times to their authorities in Patani, nothing is done, there are three nurses or something either two nurses and ward huglies each time you go you won’t see anybody, we are praying that this cottage hospital manager is helping us to get if we get it, I know there will be permanent doctors and nurses here for us. Abare is a lucky place but unfortunately there are some forces that draw us back but God’s will now help us one day, we are going to conquer all those forces.
When our boy who took over the contract of this road bezebe he graded it to patani and since then nothing has been done, during dry season, motorcycle run to patani to erewa, they fare you down to that place, if they actually wanted to help Abare we have a local government headquarters, you have to go to Ndokwa Local Government after Ndokwa Local Government, we have to go to Isoko Local Government, after Isoko Local Government, we are going to Urhobo Ughelli Local Government before we get to patani but if there is a road here, straight we go straight from here, it’s only 11 kilometres away from here to patani, 11 kilometres and its only one bridge, only one major bridge no other one all the ones will be culvet, so all this sickness we are talking about, its age long sickness, I don’t know what is happening. God will save us one day, perhaps not in my lifetime, yes I am very close to my grave.
Guono Bernard: My name is Guono Bernard, am the youth president of Abare Community, so the challenges we are having in this Abare is that we don’t have industries or personal industry to take the youth unawares, as in lack of job make the youth to misbehave, so what we are appealing is that government should bring industries or skill acquisition to Abare community to enable the youth to participate in life doings for instance, like Army form that do come out we didn’t have any opportunity and the rest are barred out of service, you understand, so the challenges we are having now is for the government to do the road so that youth can have awareness on what to do you understand, like the skills acquisition is very important, no skill job like the welding, carpentary, there is none in this town, anything we have to do, we have to go to the Isoko or Ughelli to do it, so we need government to assist us to bring skill acquisition to Abare Community to enable the youth to participate in life doing, because nobody can go to school for now because of the money expenditures now, so we need skills acquisition in Abare Community like the one they have in gbolangiama so many youths or girls have hand work to do in Abare case, there is nothing and no job nothing in the Abare Community, so our challenges is for the government to do skills and acquisition in Abare.
So no other one for now but the most important thing is the road, the road is more important to us because we cannot do anything.
Okubere India: My name is Okubere Dindia, in this Abare town, Abasabare woman, we the women here, we farm, we farm in yam farm and cassava farm and we have children that are going to school, so this children, we still need support from you people in the government schools so that this children may feel happy and other ones they will hear there is a good school and good support, they will like to be coming more for us to have more population. And this is our women farming, we still need help too like farming tools, if you can support with money, cause we buy bags of yam, Hausa yam with our native yam. We will plant plantain farm, some of the women will float net in the river too then after all those things, we need good market, we don’t have market here, so when we have market we will bring these food items, they will sell some, then we will eat some to support our living here, then road we don’t have road, if you can support you make us to have a good road, we will be very happy.
Then like the women need, the really important is the marketing and the farming support and they still train we the women fish farming, if you can make a place of fish farm, we can still do that, they bring all those opportunity as you people come to help those things to help, so any support to improve those our living here as women you can support so that we can have good living and good health here.
Okuberedindia: The hospital, the hospital we have here we have a health centre from Patani Local Government, they bring it here, sometimes the nurses are here, but sometimes no nurse. They transfer them to other place, sometimes we have here like yesterday, the town crier made announcement that we should go and take treatment the doctor from patani local government, we came and he started giving us treatment that he send them here to come and help us, but after that day, you pay money before you take your treatment, that is the health centre we have.
Elder Frank: very lucky community, I told you we have two wards not so, town like this in patani areas, some of them two quarters have only one ward but we have two wards here and each given time, the government, the government of the state, the government of the federal airways give us appointment, each given time we have a commissioner in Asaba, so there is no challenges at all.
Politically, we have no challenges, we are a very lucky village have told him that we have no challenge politically but each given time they appoint a commissioner from this village and a town like this, we have two wards, so every time we are satisfied and each time two counselors are representing this community, they are still now in patani.
Elder Frank: I want to confess to you we are not treated kindly out all am not talking about political appointment have counted so many problems we have in this community if really he’s a governor of the people, this road could have been done before this time, is one sided so am not satisfied with his performance, that’s why am campaigning strongly for Okowa, Okowa will go there and liberate us, he will transform us especially, we have been overdue for transformation, we have been overdue for liberation, Okowa is going to do it, Uduaghan has not done anything to satisfy us here, I told him in a meeting that am not going to tell my people to vote for you. Now you said I should now write the petition, if I show you, the petition is very alarming, have sent a copy, I don’t want to go too far at the end of the day, let esemunity finish it we’ll know what will happen.
Guono Bernard: This is the Abare Community and this is the river that’s the land was beside that floating water lettuce there because of the erosion, we are now up to this level and we are afraid by due season, this place will fall away like now, this house is already gone and the one left here maybe by next two months, it will fall away, so we are praying to government that he should come and assist us to do some water protection, river protection and shore protection for us and Jehi so that boat an step in there by due season, all this place will fall away like this way now, you can see the boat coming, if not the boat could have been that side, so we are praying for government to do something about this river erosion.
Guono Bernard: when we get to that side, you will still see more houses that have been encroached.
Guono Bernard: This is more than two hundred and thirty houses that have been taken away by the erosion and if not now the land, the land scale is more than this place because many houses has fallen, the churches, the market houses already in the river, what we need now is for government to come and assist us to take care of this place because many houses have gone more than two hundred houses and market where children use to place are already in the river, nowhere to stand now, this is just only the mass map here that am standing now.