Residents of Awlaw community in Enugu State, have raised fresh concerns over 55 years of alleged federal neglect, maintaining that key infrastructure destroyed during the civil war has remained unrepaired, cutting the area off from neighbouring towns.
The residents added that critical structures damaged during the conflict – including bridges linking Awlaw to communities in Enugu, Anambra and Abia States – were never rebuilt, leaving residents isolated and slowing the pace of development.
Speaking in Abuja, a community representative, Chukwunenye Okpara, Esq, informed that Awlaw served as a major military location during the early phase of the war, pointing out that the bridges were destroyed by Biafran forces as a defence strategy to slow federal troops.
According to him, the failure to reconstruct the links has kept Awlaw disconnected from towns such as Isuochi, Owere-Ezukala, Ogbunka and Ufuma, despite the community’s historical significance and early adoption of western education and Christianity.
Okpara recalled that despite that the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, introduced the reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction (3Rs) policy in 1970, Awlaw did not benefit from the programme, emphasising that major infrastructure damaged during the war remain abandoned more than five decades after.
The community urged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to revisit post-war reconstruction efforts and prioritise roads, bridges and other infrastructure that would restore connectivity and support economic growth.
Okpara said renewed federal attention would address long-standing exclusion and help Awlaw overcome the lingering effects of the war.
Enugu Community Decries 55 years of Federal Govt Neglect
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