By Michael Ovat
Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has declared a state of emergency on the environment, warning that worsening gully erosion, flooding and land degradation pose an existential threat to the state.
Soludo made the declaration in a statewide broadcast in Awka as Anambra marked 35 years of statehood, while unveiling a renewed Clean and Green Initiative aimed at strengthening environmental protection through community participation and individual responsibility.
The governor said his administration had made notable progress in addressing insecurity since assuming office, but described environmental degradation as Anambra’s “number one existential threat.”
He said the scale of the environmental crisis had outgrown the capacity of government alone to resolve, stressing that human activities had significantly worsened the impact of natural factors, including changing weather patterns and extreme rainfall.
Soludo described Anambra as the “gully erosion capital of Africa, if not the world,” and said more than 30 per cent of the state’s landmass had already been affected by erosion.
He said the financial burden of remediation was beyond the state government’s capacity, noting that even if the entire state budget were committed to ecological intervention, it would still be insufficient to address the scale of the crisis.
Communities including Nanka, Oko, Amaokpala, Ozubulu, Ogidi and Nkpor, as well as parts of Onitsha and Nnewi, are experiencing damage to homes, roads and farmlands as expanding gullies consume land, he said.
According to the governor, the crisis is the product of cumulative environmental pressures spanning about six decades. He identified blocked drainage channels, construction on waterways, uncontrolled runoff and soil excavation without adequate environmental impact assessments as major drivers.
He also cited farming on vulnerable slopes, deforestation and indiscriminate sand mining among the significant contributors to land degradation.
While acknowledging interventions by previous administrations, Soludo said the scale of the challenge required a fundamental shift from a predominantly government-led response to a grassroots approach involving communities, institutions and households.
“We are moving from a reactive, government-dominated approach to a proactive, grassroots response,” he said.
Under the new directives, all 179 communities in Anambra will be required to undertake daily desilting of drainage channels, while the obstruction of waterways will be treated as an offence, with traditional institutions expected to support enforcement.
Households will also be expected to maintain waste bins, manage runoff within their compounds and refrain from construction on waterways.
The government will strengthen physical planning and environmental standards, while environmental education will be integrated into civic education. Soludo also urged residents to embrace tree planting and report environmental violations under the campaign slogan: “If you see something, say something.”
Traditional rulers, town unions, churches, schools, markets and other community institutions will be expected to mobilise residents and support the implementation of the environmental measures.
The declaration comes as Nigeria faces growing environmental pressures, including flooding, erosion, rapid urbanisation and inadequate drainage infrastructure. In the Southeast, gully erosion has continued to threaten communities, transport networks, agricultural land and other critical infrastructure.
The Anambra government’s warning therefore carries significance beyond the state, highlighting the growing challenge of financing and managing ecological emergencies in a country where environmental degradation is increasingly affecting livelihoods, infrastructure and economic activity.
