Dear Honourable Bright Afure Abeke,

I write to you not as a critic, but as a concerned son of the soil—and also as a victim. I live in Amukpe, where I experience firsthand the daily struggles of our people. The floodwaters have reached my doorstep too. This is not just advocacy—it’s personal. I speak out not in anger, but out of deep love for our community and an urgent plea for help.

Right now, Sapele is drowning. Literally.

The cries of our people are rising with the water levels. Floodwaters have taken over homes, schools, and businesses. Streets like Jes Motel Road, Comprehension Road Extension (behind former Sapele LGA Chairman Eugene’s house), Ogorode Road, Community Road, Mountain of Fire Road, and notably the entire Back of Okpe Grammar School in Amukpe are submerged.

Residents now sleep with one eye open—not for fear of thieves, but because they worry the next rainfall could wash away what little they have left. Mothers are bailing out water instead of cooking meals. Fathers can no longer commute safely to work. Children are falling sick due to exposure to flood-borne infections.

This is not just an environmental issue. This is a humanitarian crisis.

Honourable Chairman, please, do not be an aloof or sleeping leader. Sapele cannot afford silence or inaction any longer. The people are weary of promises that lead nowhere. What we need now is not more visits or assurances—we need urgent, visible action that brings real relief to our suffering communities.

Even if a fully structured drainage project cannot commence immediately, it should not cost more than N5 million to deploy a swamp buggy to excavate emergency channels in the most affected areas. This simple move would create temporary relief by directing stagnant water toward Oghene Road Drainage, which connects to the River Ethiope. It’s a practical solution that can be executed within days—not months.

We know the funds are available. According to BudgIT, your office received N421,778,004.91 as allocation for April 2025 alone. That’s more than enough to start a life-saving intervention for the people of Sapele LGA.

Let history remember you not as another chairman who toured the flood areas for photo ops and left, but as the man who acted when it mattered most.

I am also calling on Hon. Ejiro German, Delta State Commissioner for Environment, to fulfill the promise you made during your visit to Amukpe last year. It has been a full year, yet nothing has changed. How much longer must the people of Amukpe wait for the help they were assured?

I write to you with a heavy heart, but also with hope—hope that this letter reaches your desk and stirs you to action.

Let’s not wait for another child to be swept away by floodwaters, or another family to sleep on rooftops before we act.

The time is now.

Sapele is watching. Delta is watching. Nigeria is watching.

With humility and pain,

Omajemite Don

Writing from Amukpe, Sapele LGA — on behalf of the voiceless and flood-affected residents who can no longer suffer in silence.

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