Ekosodin Community Is Drowning And We Can’t Pretend Not to See It

By The9jaTREND

When it rains in Ekosodin Community in Ovia North-East local government area of Edo State, it doesn’t just rain water, it rains frustration, neglect, fear, and helplessness. The images of flooded streets, submerged homes, and stranded students are not just disheartening, they are aloud cry for urgent attention. Every drop of rain in Ekosodin community turns into a flood of shame; a shame that both past and present governments continue to ignore like it’s not happening right under their noses.

This is not just any community, Ekosodin hosts over 80% of students and staff of the University of Benin (Uniben). It is the heartbeat of academic life in Edo State. Yet, whenever there’s little downpour of rain, it becomes a disaster zone; roads turn into rivers, homes are overrun, and young people wade through waist-deep water just to attend classes or get back home. This is not normal.

This is a slow, silent emergency that has lasted for too long. You can’t claim to support education and still let a university environment rot under the weight of floodwater.

The University of Benin is a federal institution, yet the very community that houses its students and supports its daily life is left abandoned. What does that say about our priorities as a nation? What does that say about the future we claim we’re building?

The government, both past and present, has danced around the issue for too long. Promises are made when elections are near. Visits are paid with TV cameras and empty smiles. Yet nothing is done. No real drainage. No environmental planning. No infrastructural upgrade. Just more water, more loss, and more silence.

The University authorities must rise, not just in sympathy, but in full collaboration. They must speak with one voice, call for urgent intervention, and partner with the right stakeholders to solve this once and for all.

But the situation now in Ekosodin Community is beyond the university now. The Federal Government must intervene, because this is a federal institution. These are Nigerian students, living in squalor while striving for excellence. These are potential doctors, engineers, lecturers, and leaders who can’t even get to class without crossing floodwaters like they’re going to a battlefield.

This is not a local problem anymore, it is a national embarrassment. If Ekosodin community continues to sink, then it means we’ve all accepted that the education of our youth is not worth protecting. The evidence is clear. The pain is real. The time to act is now.