10 years after bridge collapse, Akwa-Ibom communities still cut off from healthcare, schools

Uyo, Akwa Ibom – More than a decade after a critical bridge collapsed, residents of Ndiya community in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area and neighbouring communities in Etinan LGA including Ikot Mfon, Efa, Ikot Ibok, and Iman remain isolated from basic healthcare services, markets, schools, and economic opportunities.

The Ndiya or Ikot Mfon–Ndiya bridge, a once-vital link spanning about 120 metres, collapsed around 2011 (with some accounts referencing earlier deterioration).

It had historically connected these communities, facilitating trade, social interactions, and access to essential services across what was once part of a major route.

Today, the collapsed structure lies in the river, forcing residents to rely on unsafe, makeshift boats or risky crossings amid strong currents. This has turned daily life into a struggle, with deadly consequences.

The collapse has cut off residents from the Primary Healthcare Centre in Ikot Mfon and other facilities, even as pregnant women no longer attend antenatal care across the river.

Patients, including children with severe illnesses, often resort to self-medication or delay treatment.

Mrs. Uduak Effiong, a Ndiya resident, shared a harrowing experience: “We have a primary healthcare centre across the river, but we can no longer go there whenever we are sick. I almost lost my 11-year-old son to severe malaria last year because we resorted to self-medication due to our inability to access healthcare. We eventually had to risk our lives by crossing the river before he could receive proper treatment.”

She added that a once-thriving four-day market across the bridge where she ran a grocery shop has vanished, crippling her family’s income alongside her husband’s teaching salary.

Residents report multiple deaths from drowning attempts to cross the river, including schoolchildren.

Figures cited range from at least three confirmed deaths in recent years to as many as 15 lives lost overall since the collapse, along with property worth millions of naira swept away or damaged.

Mr. Godwin Okon Akpan, a sand dealer in Ndiya, explained the economic toll: “As a sand dealer, we used the bridge to transport sand to our neighbours in Etinan, who need the sand most because they live in a swampy environment… We have had about three instances of where people struggling to cross have drowned in the river.”

Prince Aniekan Ibok, a youth leader representative, noted: “The people here cannot access or communicate with the Iman community, which is just a stone’s throw from Ndiya… Pregnant women who used to come here to access medical care no longer come again.”

Traders have abandoned markets like the one in Ikot Mfon, leaving stalls empty.

Farmers and businesses struggle as the bridge once served as an economic gateway linking to broader parts of Akwa Ibom and beyond.

The affected communities have made repeated appeals to authorities.

In 2019, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly passed a motion on the issue. It was raised again in 2023 and cited in 2025.

Residents have written to the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) seeking removal of the collapsed debris. NIWA officials visited, and in May 2026 a company arrived with a letter of intent, but no meaningful progress has followed.

Community leaders, including Prince Udeme Nkanga of the Ndiya village council, expressed hope in Governor Umo Eno’s ARISE agenda but lamented the prolonged suffering: “We have made a gentle appeal to the State government, and we believe that our governor… will not allow us to suffer for too long.”

What was once a bustling connection between communities has become a symbol of neglect. Children trek dangerous routes or drop out of school. Families face emotional, physical, and financial hardship. Access to education, healthcare, and commerce remains severely limited more than 10–15 years after the collapse.

Residents continue to plead for urgent government intervention either to remove the wreckage and construct a new bridge or to provide alternative safe crossings and improved local healthcare facilities.

As one resident put it, the communities feel “forgotten by time,” trapped in a cycle of isolation that threatens lives and futures.

This DAILY South Nigeria report draws from on-the-ground accounts and investigations (by Punch and Vanguard newspapers), even as the situation highlights broader challenges in rural infrastructure maintenance and healthcare access in parts of Akwa Ibom State.