Nigeria is ravaged by flood as victims count their losses

By Anayo Ezugwu

ISMAILA Ayuba, a farmer and resident of Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State did not expect the devastation the torrential downpours across Nigeria between Friday, July 13 and Sunday, July 15, would have on his family. And neither did many Nigerians who were caught in the vortex of flood that followed the rains that sacked many people from their residences.  Some persons were forced to relocate, while others were simply trapped in their houses fearing to go out.

In the case of Ayuba, on Monday, July 16, he vacated his residence with his wife after the flood swept his two children – Rabi, 7, and Muhammad, 3,  to squat at the Muhammadu Rabiyu Model Primary School complex along Kaura Namoda Road, Jibiya.

“I am now left with nothing. I lost a house, two goats and everything I had in the flood. Only God saved me as the flood overtook the whole house before it collapsed at about 3 am. My wife and I had to swim through the flood. Unfortunately, the children could not and they were swept away. Till now, we have not seen their corpses,” he said.

Ayuba is not alone in this predicament. Hajiya Badiya Ashiru, a 70-year-old woman, said in addition to losing a house to the flood, she also lost money kept in her care which she put at N3 million. “My house collapsed about 2.30 am. It was sympathisers, who came to rescue me from the flood. People kept money with me; traders, businessmen, politicians, etc and I keep the money in my house because they trusted me. I give them their money whenever they need it. Everything has been washed away. Look at the clothes on me, sympathisers gave them to me,” she lamented.

So far, the state government has confirmed that 44 people lost their lives as a result of the rainstorm, while more than 200 houses were destroyed and over 260 livestock also died. But residents of the local council have faulted the figure giving by the government.

Balarabe Yusufu, a resident, said many people were swept away by the heavy flood. “The 44 people being claimed as the number of casualties was the official figure and it was based on the number of bodies recovered. The heavy flood swept away several people while they were sleeping as their houses collapsed on them.

“It was a real calamity and we have never witnessed this Jibiya before. Look at the number of houses affected too. Personally, I counted close to 1000 at both sides of the drainage either partially damaged or totally collapsed now,” he said.

As a result of this flooding, 15 communities have been completely cut off after a bridge linking them collapsed on Sunday, July 15, in Dandume Local Government Area of the state. The bridge located at Kirkijim village collapsed after hours of rainfall on Sunday.

Sani Hamza, village head of Kirijam, gave the names of the villages cut off by the disaster to include Kauran Fawa, Unguwan Tofa, Unguwan Dakare, Unguwan Fulani, Katoge, Sako, Unguwan Sarkin Rafi among others. “The collapse of the bridge is causing us serious hardship as people now have to go through very long distance to get out of their villages for their day-to-day activities and the situation is already affecting social and economic activities,” he said.

Apart from Katsina , States like Ogun, Ondo, Lagos, Sokoto among others have witnessed different degrees of flooding this year. John Ekoko, environmentalist, said Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMET, had projected that 384 communities would be flooded across Nigeria this year but government is doing nothing to avert the occurrence. He said it is not enough to release statistics. He challenged government agencies to show Nigerians the actions they are taking to avert flooding in other states.

He urged them to engage other arms of government and the civil social organisations. “For example, Lagos State government has a programme for the five divisions of the state which if they are consistent should to an extent mitigate the effect of flooding,” he said.

Ekoko advised the federal government to connect the drainage systems from the cities to the rivers and to the ocean. According to him, government must build effective walls around the river coasts to prevent the water from overflowing. He said that one of the things the nation enjoys is the height that is above the sea level. If you build walls to keep water within its coast, the few that will flow over could be easily managed.

“And of course, we know about climate change, we just have to take action to reduce the effect of climate change. What flood has done to America shows that nobody is isolated. We need to build on that also. Our carbon dependency is still unusually heavy. I read a lot of things being done to encourage renewable energy, which is very good.”

Similarly, Mustapha Maihajja, director general, NEMA, said the admonition became necessary in order to build the capacity of Nigerians to enhance their resilience against the adverse effects of rain storms and flooding. He advised states and local governments to take proactive measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the rainstorms being experienced.

“From the end of July to August, we usually experience heavy rainfall with its associated consequences like flooding. Therefore, there are needs for checks and re-checks of the flash spots of flood plains, drainage, emergency flood spillage channels in urban areas and continuous sensitisation and awareness creation towards mitigating the effects of heavy rainfall,” he said.

It is heartening to note that  the federal government has commenced the construction of dykes to protect the nation’s river bodies and minimise risks that could arise from flooding. Elijah Aderibigbe, director, irrigation and drainage, federal ministry of water resources, said this became necessary to curtail water levels to prevent them from overshooting their boundaries. River dykes are artificial slopes or walls erected to regulate water levels to reduce the risk of flooding by getting water away from an area facing the risk of flooding as quickly as possible. The overall goal is to prevent a build-up of water that could wreak havoc on the environment.

Aderibigbe said that the construction of dykes would protect farmlands, farm produce and livelihoods, while enhancing the people’s well-being. He said, for instance, the ministry had constructed a 32-kilometre dyke at Tada-Shonga Irrigation land in Edu Local Government Area, Kwara, with funds from national budgets and support from the Natural Resources Fund.

Like Ekoko said flooding in Nigeria is not an isolated case, it is a global natural disaster. So far this year, countries like Turkey, Japan and some other Asian countries have witnessed flooding. The latest being in Japan were more than 155 people died in floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain in western Japan. It is the highest death toll caused by rainfall that Japan has seen in more than three decades.

– Jul. 20, 2018 @ 15:35 GMT