NKALAHA; THE MOST NEGLECTED COMMUNITY IN EBONYI

It is no doubt that Nkalaha has the most deplorable road in the entire Ebonyi State, but nobody passing through the incomparable road built by the executive governor of Ebonyi state, Dev Umahi will believe that Nkalaha is a part of Ebonyi State. According to the indigenous members of the community, “no community in the Igbo-Benue boundaries is as close as Nkalaha”. The inhabitants reveal that going to Benue is to them like going to take their bath in Ebonyi River, considering that it does take them only minutes to walk into Benue State. She is also bounded to Eha-Amufu, Obeagu and others.

Nkalaha is most among the remnants of the great legend, Onoja Oboni. It majors in the population of the three communities: Nkalaha, Amazu and Obeagu that comprised Ishielu North Development Centre. The community comprised eight un-autonomous communities in her hey days. Presently the population is still outrageous when men and women of the community who settled abroad return. Their roles in the politics of the entire Igbo Asa. The community had fought gallantly for the survival of democracy, having the PeopleDemocratic Party (PDP) as the dominant political party in the community. It was on this area than Late Mr. Joseph Orinya Ebe (Agu ji Egbe I) remains memorable. She is also blessed with people who had attained certain meritorious levels in academic. Prominent among these are Prof. Ogbona Idenyi (the former faculty dean and ASUU Chairman)in Ebonyi State University (EBSU)and others with Phd, masters and degrees in different disciplines.

Nkalaha is rich in arable farming. The community specializes on the production of root crops as yam, cassava, potatoes, water yam and coco yam among others. It was for this reason that the community had visited by populations who came from Nsukka areas for the purchase of palm fruits and other fruits. Buyers came from distant places like Port Harcourt in River State and beyond to purchase the highly flavoured garri processed by the community farmer. Nkalaha was the food basket of Niger Cement worker in the days before it capsized. Yet, one unbelievable truth is that this community does not have a portable road for the community goods to be accessed by the teaming buyers waiting out there. To help their frustrated state, Nkalaha farmer take the pain to carry their farm produce to Egedegede terminus in order to fare their way to Eke market square in Eha-Amufu and sometimes to Ogbete Main Market, Enugu. This shows how much and how long the community has been abandoned. The pictures above and the one below will speak for themselves what kind of situation Nkalaha inhabitants are going through on a daily bases.

Several bold steps had been made to fix the less-than-one kilomitre road. In the early twenty first century, the community and the entire Igbo Ano had taken the chance to visit the then Governor Sam Ominyi Egwu. Bur rather than step to the people’s need, he made the irredeemable promise to make Hon. Chief Obinna Ogba of Nkalagu the next governor of Ebonyi state. In his view, Ogba will give his people the road they seek. When the mantle fell on Martine Nwancho Elechi’s shoulder, the communities did not keep quiet.  In collection they visited the governor who claimed that the communities were not in Ebonyi State’s map.

The appearance of Governor Umhi and his transformation agenda targeted towards taking democracy to all nook and cranny of the state has made the communities to come back to live again. With the construction of the Abakaliki Nsukka road down to the boundary and the urgency in the building of Ochini and Ora Rivers bridges, Nkalaha heaved a sigh of relief that the governor would see the bad road and help once and for all. Unfortunately, it rather becomes too late for Nkalaha to ask if Umahi is the ‘messiah to come or should they look forward to beholding another’.          

These are the constructions of the pragnatic governor; Governor Umahi.

The pragmatic governor took just one year to fix the long road, yet Nkalaha inhabitants still suffer lack of road to their homes. Presently, the community has her mind in various questions: ‘Maybe our land is not in Ebonyi State’s map; Maybe the governor does not like us and …’ ajuede news foragers hereby seek to use this medium to call to the attention of the pragmatic governor ofEbonyi state to complete this access road to create equality and balance in his good works in the state,