Zik roundabout stripped naked by iron scavengers: A wake-up call to preserve our monuments

This past weekend, I was stunned into disbelief as we drove past the iconic Zik Roundabout in Onitsha, located just beside the Zik Mausoleum. This once-grand structure, arguably the largest and most strategically placed roundabout in Anambra State before the completion of the Ekwulobia flyover roundabout, has now been reduced to a shadow of its former self.

To my utter shock, I discovered that the heavy wrought ironworks that once gave the roundabout its aesthetic appeal and historical dignity had been systematically dismantled and looted by scrap metal scavengers, popularly known as “ndi akpakara” or “iron kwandem”. The same fate that befell the beautiful metal perimeter fence of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, before Prof. Ikechebelu replaced it with concrete, has now befallen the Zik Roundabout.

The most astonishing part is that this desecration happened under the noses of those tasked with maintaining public order. With police checkpoints stationed on both sides of the roundabout, traffic wardens manning the three intersecting roads, and dense vehicular and pedestrian activity, one is left wondering: How could this happen without anyone noticing?

This is more than vandalism. It is an insult to our collective heritage. If this level of looting can occur at such a prominent location, then what is to stop these scavengers from eventually targeting the Zik Mausoleum itself, a federally erected monument built to immortalize one of Africa’s greatest sons, the Right Honourable Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Zik of Africa?

Should that happen, it would not only be a sacrilege but an irreparable dent on our image as a people.

This level of attack on our cultural legacy is a troubling metaphor that must be resisted at all costs. What exactly has come over us? Have we become so desensitized that we no longer know any boundaries?

There is no excuse for this kind of impunity. It is high time we took the security and maintenance of our heritage sites seriously, whether state-owned or federal. Across the world, monuments that are centuries old are preserved and protected, serving as points of pride and tourism. When we travel, we’re eager to take photos at these sites to show off. But here, we treat our own with casual disregard and disdain, leaving them vulnerable to destruction and theft.

It is worth recalling that the Anambra State Government had, at some point, issued a ban on the activities of these metal scavengers. So, what has happened to that directive? Who is enforcing it?

If we must continue to spend public funds replacing vandalized infrastructure, then we are simply pouring water into a basket. Without a system of enforcement and community vigilance, we will keep rebuilding what should never have been destroyed in the first place.

The desecration of Zik Roundabout should be a wake-up call. We owe it to ourselves, to history, and to future generations to protect what remains of our cultural landmarks before more of them are lost to mindless scavengers.