Category: Weekend Treat

Taiwo Alimi chronicles the challenges faced by SME owners in the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway’s traffic gridlock triggered by the ongoing reconstruction by the federal government. They lament losses in business and revenue, rising cost of production, increased in expenditure, and health challenges, among others.

SMALL and Medium Enterprise (SME) owner, Mrs. Taiwo Ogundipe (50), manages a restaurant in a bottling company in Ikeja. She lives in Arepo, one of the highbrow communities along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and her daily routine is moving an assortment of ready-to-eat food from her home to Ikeja, Monday to Friday. She has five people working for her: a driver, two caterers, and two service girls.

Her monthly revenue is not bad. When she removes her outflow such as workers’ salary and cost of production every month, she has a sizable profit margin to smile home with. Within two years of handling the eatery, she bought an SUV and was looking forward to expanding her business.

Her high hopes were, however, shattered in July 2022 when the federal government commenced reconstruction on the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at the OPIC Long Bridge-Kara-Berger axis.

At first, Ogundipe thought she could cope. After all, she has a driver to take her from Arepo to Ikeja, she thought. Ordinarily, the journey from home to work – a 16.7 kilometres drive- takes 30 minutes at most, but she started spending two hours on the same route.

She readjusted her routine, leaving her base at 5.30 am, but the gridlock became complicated. Sometimes, she would spend four hours in the traffic jam to the vexation of customers, who had waited endlessly for her services.

Narrating her frustration, the mother of two said she began by losing income, then her health worsens. “It became problematic going to my restaurant when the road reconstruction started. Sometimes, it would take four hours to get there. I would be tired and frustrated. My customers would have gone elsewhere to buy food.

“I began to lose income and my overhead cost doubled. This is coupled with the high inflation trend. I could not pay my workers on time. My Blood Pressure (BP) shut up. That was when my husband advised me to shut down to concentrate on my health. I stopped operation in August. I was afraid it could have cost me my life.”

Mrs. Ogundipe had to lay off her workers, among them a woman with three children, whose husband had recently lost his job. She said she had lost income to the tune of over N1 million in the time she had been at home.

If the entrepreneur thought she would return to work by December, which is the projected completion date of the project, she may be disappointed as the time is no longer feasible.

Partial closure

The partial closure of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from the OPIC Long Bridge-Kara-Berger axis commenced in July 2022. The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing supervised by the minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola, had announced that the diversion would last for six months with the rehabilitation ending in December.

The expressway is one of the oldest in Nigeria. It was commissioned in August 1978 during the military era, under the administration of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo.

Due to the diversion, the four-lane road was narrowed to accommodate two vehicles, resulting in traffic congestion and inconvenience to motorists and commuters. Business owners with offices in Lagos and living around Mowe, Ibafo, Arepo, Magboro, and as far as Sagamu, among others, no longer find it amusing to attend to their respective businesses.

A 20-minute trip from Mowe, Ogun State to Berger, Lagos State is now taking over four hours. Therefore, it has been tales of woe for road users coming into Lagos.

Six-month completion date not feasible

A visit to the rehabilitation site during the week revealed a chaotic situation.  Hundreds of motorists were stuck at one spot for hours.

Findings revealed that on a bad day, the congestion could extend to Magboro, on the Ogun State axis, and end at Lagos Secretariat. On a day like this, motorists could spend four to five hours in the lock-jam.

What is considered good on the road is a trip of two hours to two and a half hours from the two-kilometre-long corridor.

It can be worse on a rainy day or when an articulated vehicle breaks down along the strip. It is established that drivers have experienced six hours or more in gridlock.

Effects on SME owners

Typically, the effect on SME owners — businessmen and women, one-man business owners, traders, artisans, and commercial motorists — is catastrophic. It has led to job and business losses, revenue loss, health issues, high cost of living, general disorder and chaos in the environment.

Ademola Kayode, a certified estate valuer, who lives along the expressway in Magboro with his office located at Ikeja, said the gridlock and hours spent on the road was impacting negatively on his work.

He said: “I missed a lot of scheduled meetings and opportunities to conclude transactions I have with my clients. Going to the office every day is no longer a possibility. I have to resolve to work from home.

“At times, if I need to go out for inspections, I have to contact a colleague around the area to represent my interest, if not I will get there late.

“The diversion is not helping any businessman. Some of my friends have had to leave their houses to stay with friends or family members in Lagos because of this problem.”

The foregoing is the case with Anuoluwa Olusanya, a banker and entrepreneur working on Lagos Island, but lsiving in Magboro.

He said: “Since the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway started, I have been experiencing avoidable hardship on the road. In the last four months, my experience on the road has been hellish.

“For me, work resumes at 7.30 am Monday to Friday. To avoid lateness, I leave Magboro at 3.30-4 am, and I don’t get home until 10 pm, which leaves me with about four hours of sleep daily.

“Meanwhile, leaving that early is not a guarantee that the road would be free. You will still spend between four and five hours to get to work. Most of your productive hours are already spent on the road.”

Olusanya also spends more money than is necessary.

He said: “I spend an average of N20,000.00 weekly to fuel my car. My health situation is not better either as weekly medical check-up is compulsory.

“We have had various incidents of death as a result of residents riding on okada (commercial motorcycle) to work to beat the traffic snarl. Some people have slumped and died as a result of stress on the road.

“On weekends, I have cancelled all ‘side hustle’ and social activities as a result of the traffic. Once I am at home, I don’t go out until the beginning of a fresh week.”

Like Kayode and Olusanya, Toyin Oresanwo, a graphic designer and printer (Tastegraphics Computer) with an office located in Somolu-Lagos State, has lost considerable business income and his health has suffered badly. He lives in Magboro and is obligated to go to the office six days a week.

He said: “First, I think the government can’t control their contractor, Julius Berger, in spite of peoples’ complaints on social media over the slow progress of the reconstruction. They are not working at all.

“I missed several appointments due to the gridlock. There was a day I couldn’t alight from the bus due to pains in my back and waist, having spent hours in the traffic. I was lifted out of the commercial vehicle by people, as I could not walk unaided.

“I spend an average of N3,000 to and from work daily on a route that ordinarily goes for N1,500 or less. I don’t take okada. I love my life.”

Declining income

Oresanwo considered a decline in his monthly revenue as he cannot function optimally.

“My work and health are failing. I can’t function at my peak. I’m losing money and spending more. I can’t put a cost to it now, but things are no longer the same,” he said.

Opeoluwa Feyitimi, a clothing and printing industry businessman, said he has been unable to meet up with several business appointments due to the gridlock.

“Seeing the difficulty the construction and gridlock have posed to the people in this environment is disheartening. It has caused me business disappointments because of the inability to get to a place of work or business appointments at a given time.

“Since the unending rehabilitation of the road, hours spent are much more than the normal minutes on the road which also resulted in rise in the cost of transportation and fuel. My coping mechanism is to wake up very early or stay with a friend in Lagos.”

The implication is that Feyitimi only sees his family of four every two weeks.

Malik Adeshina, the CEO of Malicomp Computer Limited with an office in Ogba-Lagos State, must leave his house at Magboro and endure the horror road for hours to get to work daily. Sometimes, he leaves his car behind and hops on ‘okada’ to avert the trauma of getting trapped in the gridlock.

He said: “Spending three hours every day to get to work is not something I can cope with, so I just go once or twice a week as the work demands.

“It has affected our operations negatively because part of production time is being wasted in traffic, not to talk of the cost of fuelling for a longer journey.

“I know a friend that has developed hypertension as a result of the everyday gridlock. I hardly attend functions in Lagos now in order to reduce the stress. So social life is zero for now.”

Health failure

Iku Maxwell, CEO of Agir Technic Limited, a Dopemu, Lagos-based roofing and fabrication company, said his expenditure has shot into the roof since the road reconstruction commenced.

“It is affecting my business. Assuming I have to be at work by 8 am, if I leave home at 6 pm, I will end up getting to work at 12 noon.

“I’m losing both human and financial capital. At one point, I was almost having high blood pressure because of what I passed through on that road.

Iku lives in Magboro, which is ordinarily one-hour drive to Dopemu.

“It is really sad, and I will advise that the federal government should do something quickly to make the job move faster. I hear that they have not paid Julius Berger, hence the delay.

“There are days that they would be away from the site, yet the demarcation is there. Government should mobilise them so that they can finish the job.”

At the commencement of the project in July, the federal government had put the completion date at December 2022. From assessment, this is no longer feasible, as it took the construction firm four months to complete a portion of the road along the end of the Long Bridge to Kara inbound Lagos.

As of the time of filing this report, work has not fully commenced on the other half. It is easy to hazard a guess that it will take another four months to complete the second half.

Aside from income forfeiture, Iku said road users have been robbed in the gridlock and, in the process, lose valuables in cash and materials.

“There is one day that we were in the traffic and armed robbers came out of nowhere. We had to abandon our vehicles and run for our lives.

“More motorists now use the one-way with the support of police and other traffic officers. They collect money from them and allow them to go. It has led to accidents and loss of lives.

“It is very sad. How long are we going to go through this? It is frustrating,” Iku lamented.

His expenses have also increased. “On a weekly basis, I spend N45,000 to fuel my vehicles, a 300 per cent increase from the N15,000 I expended before now. I go to Lagos every day, even, on Sunday, if we have a job to deliver. I’m losing money daily.”

Damola Oluwasegun is into hospital services in one of the communities on the Expressway. He said the logjam had affected his practice and patients directly.

“As a medical practitioner, a lot of times when we have cases that need referral, we find it difficult. Even with an ambulance, they have been unable to get to the place that we have referred them to in Lagos.

“Eventually, we had to resort to sending them to two hospitals in Sagamu-Ogun State. Sometimes, when some of the specialists concerned are not available in Sagamu, it is really a dilemma.

“Recently, we experienced a situation where space was no longer available in the Sagamu hospitals, which I can say had never happened before. The reason is that a lot of people from this axis have to resort to going to Sagamu.

“People have had to change their appointments with their practitioners and specialists. So, in a way, it is affecting the continuity of care and management of patients.

“You can imagine a patient that needs something and the only place you can get it is in the Lagos area, and you get trapped in that traffic. It has cost a lot of lives.

“Recently, I was to attend a seminar in Lagos, and another time I had to meet with some pharmaceutical equipment distributors, but I couldn’t make it because the traffic was hectic.

“Personally, there was somebody that was scheduled to meet on his international flight and I was taking her. The gridlock almost prevented her from going. In fact, she had to alight and use a commercial motorcycle to get to the Airport.

“She had to leave with only her hand luggage and we had to look for means via courier to send the rest of her luggage to her.  And, that cost us more money.

“We know that some of those things we are meant to endure, but this is getting too prolonged and it is as if those in authority do not care whether we survive or not, and how it affects businesses and the health of the people.”

Commercial motorists, commuters lament

Commercial motorist, Adisa Lukman, who plies the Mile 2 – Mowe route, says he is losing income even though he has jerked up bus fares on several occasions.

“Before, I used to complete 10 trips (to and fro) Mile 2 to Mowe on a good day, and for each trip, I made between N8,000 and N10,000. If I removed fuel and ticket money, I would still have about N5,000.

“It is now difficult to complete four trips. I waste hours in the traffic and I have to stay for a longer time in the garages because commuters are looking for a cheap fare.”

Lukman hinted that motorists are losing a staggering amount of money to the partial closure of some sections of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Taoreed Muda, a mechanic, and commuter living in Mowe, said going to Lagos to buy vehicle accessories, which is common in his line of business, has affected him negatively.

“I spend more now on public transport. There was a time I had to bring a refurbished car engine from Lagos to my workshop in Ibafo. I was charged N40,000 for something I would have paid N15,000. It is affecting our work negatively.”

Experts speak

Taiwo Salaam, a former Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Transport, has estimated that if the traffic congestion in the densely populated Nigeria’s commercial capital city of Lagos should continue unaddressed till 2030, the city is estimated to lose as much as $21 billion every month.

Salaam, now a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Transport Technology and Infrastructure at the School of Transport and Logistics, Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, quoting statistics of the socio-economic consequences of traffic congestion across various cities globally, said Lagos is currently growing at between seven and eight per cent yearly, adding that the population growth percentage rate is 10 times faster than those of New York and Los Angeles cities in the United States of America.

“The city had an average of 224 vehicles per km in 2006 as against the national average of 11 vehicles per km. Nigeria’s national average in 2009 was estimated at 30 vehicles per km, Lagos had moved to 300. In addition, the city has over 1.4 million registered vehicles, and approximately 2.5 million vehicles are on the road daily, weekend inclusive.”

Similarly, Psychiatrist Dr. Jibril Abdulmalik, said the gridlock creates mental stress for many people. “Gridlock also causes irritability and stress; it is stressful because you have to be alert to prevent someone from crashing into your car.

“Looking left, right and centre while driving for hours every day increases stress, which causes our body to release stress hormones.”​

David Moxon,​ a​ psychologist in the United Kingdom’s Peterborough Regional College, identified a new disorder in drivers called “Traffic Stress Syndrome (TSS).”

TSS is a form of psychological anxiety that manifests in certain drivers while stuck in traffic. Drivers who deal with this condition have headaches, sweaty hands, and an increased heart rate. In extreme cases, they experience dizziness, stomach pain, and loss of concentration, which results in poor navigation skills and, sometimes, accidents.

The gridlock reality is that millions of naira is being lost daily in income and more Nigerians are going into the poverty index, which is estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to be 133 million by the second quarter of 2022.

Similarly, more Nigerians are in dire health conditions physically and psychologically. The result is that in general, the government will have to spend more in the area of health and lose more in the labour sector.

To avert these catastrophes, Iku said the FGN should consider constructing alternative routes in the event of any major reconstruction.

“For example, there is an alternative route by Long Bridge that the government ought to have put in good shape before commencing work on the expressway corridor.

“If that road was working, it would have alleviated the suffering of the people and as well shorten the time wasted and improve their economy,” he added.

• Crazy world of s3x clubs where fun-seeking Nigerians waste millions on open s3x, hard drugs, booze daily

•Poverty drove us into flaunting our nakedness at night clubs —Strippers
•Patrons: we do it to kill depression, emotional stress

 

THE effervescent night was fast dovetailing into the wee hours. The fast pace of Lagos life was receding into a dreary, sleepy state. The whines of automobiles on the highways could be heard occasionally, as they were already thinning out. The full moon looked like a big ball as it roosted on the horizon, its hazy rays doing a feeble battle with the ubiquitous street lights and powerful beams festooned on the skyscrapers that lit the city into thrilling effulgence.

This particular back street on Lagos Island, however, refused to wind up into sleep. The day had just broken, as they say. This is one of the busy enclaves that give the city its ‘sleepless Lagos’ moniker! Life here is a nightly fever pitch, roistering din.

The barely translucent fluorescent lights oozing from every angle of the popular club arena cast the neighborhood into grotesque shadows. And the loud music blaring from huge loud speakers placed in strategic corners sliced deeply into the eerie stillness of the ambience.

Paradoxically, however, in spite of the cacophony, you could notice a semblance of order as you inch into the premises. Nobody was allowed to mill around aimlessly. Some fearful-looking thickset, macho, broad-chest guys manned the entrance of the restricted ‘VIP’ haven. Welcome to a typical Lagos s3x club!

Often, people see crowded places as an opportunity to do illegal activities such as have s3x and perform drugs, while others pay little attention.

It is widely accepted that strip clubs offer many individuals relief from everyday life problems as they use strip clubs to satisfy fantasies, kill boredom, have fun, and secretly perform the most unimaginable acts, including drug abuse and live s3x. A common occurrence at many adult entertainment shows, particularly in high-energy venues.

At deadly hours, young adults – male and female- find their ways to strip clubs and entertainment shows where expensive alcoholic drinks, drugs and live s3x are the order of the ‘night’.

Millions of naira goes into these illegalities every night, even as this lifestyle gradually threatens a healthy living as ailments such as STDs, lung cancer and depression are in sight.

“You no smoke, you no drink, you no still carry olosho (prostitute), wetin you wan use dey reason? Life is meant to be enjoyed-o! You only live once; so flex,” Dorathy, a 24-year-old student and club goer said.

“Instead of wasting your time and effort on some kind of relationship that will end up shattering your heart, is it not better to come here, get high, have s3x with any girl of your choice and go home? At least, you don’t have to worry about ‘breakfast’ (a euphemism for breakup).”

 

 Open s3x in the club

Just like reverend institutions do to first-timers, at any stripper’s club, naked young ladies between the ages of 18 and 26 would welcome everyone who comes in a very polite and civil manner, accompanied with a warm handshake most times, as they lead you to your seat. They warmly ask if you’d want a lap dance or s3x. Just before getting access into the club, you are required to part with N5, 000. Some clubs charge more while some charge less depending on standards. However, it is mandatory to buy drinks after gaining access to the club. Once inside, it is an entirely different world of obscenity, drugs, alcoholism and s3x. On this day, no fewer than 40 girls were on parade in this particular club, with over 100 men going in and out for different needs.

Seated on a four-foot high desk was a naked stripper, who spread her legs wide, facing a client who then inserted his left hand into her private part, while the other hand grappled her breasts as they openly engaged in s3xual activities there and then. That done, she dictated her account number to the s3xually satisfied young man, who then made a transfer of N10,000 to her.

In a brief chat with Lizzy, one of the strippers, who thought she had found another client in our reporter, she confided that stripping and live s3x were her escape valves from poverty.

“Everything is for the money even though a lot of money goes down here every night. As for me, fun aside, I make nothing less than N100,000 per night.  If you wan touch and caress me, na N3,000 you go pay. But if you want live s3x for open bar here, na N10,000. If you dey shy, we fit go inside VIP, but that one na N15,000,”one of the strippers advertised.

Without a whimper of remorse, she explained why she opted to ply the delicate trade. The graduate of Office Technology Management (0TM) recalled that after searching for and trying her hands on some jobs upon graduation and getting peanut offers for the efforts, she found herself in the strip industry.

Lizzy said: “I have a family to feed. I am the first born of my parents. My dad is late and my mother is helpless in the village. So, what do you expect me to do when I have five siblings also looking up to me?

“In fact, dem don beg me say dem wan come meet me for Lagos. But I no gree because I no wan make dem do this kind job. There’s a lot of money but it’s risky in many ways.

“These things don become normal to me, even though sometimes I dey feel bad say no be here I suppose dey. But I do it for the money, and whenever I remember say na  for the money,  I go just get high and forget any other thing.” she said.

Asked what she uses in getting high, the light-skinned pretty striper with some colorful tattoos on her shoulders, boldly said, “Weed na.”

“I dey smoke Loud, Arizona and anyone. Once I do am like this, I no dey see anybody again; na to dey do my work dey go.”

 

Expensive alcoholic drinks

Expensive cocktails worth hundreds of thousands of naira are carefully stacked behind the bar’s corners where patrons may see them. The least costly drink one can find costs no less than N40,000, while more expensive cocktails might cost up to N350,000. Due to the intense competition among the “ballers”, the abuse of these hard beverages is unparalleled, even if they sell faster than the inexpensive ones.

While the strippers become the main attraction, wealthy men can be seen “tackling” one another over who has more money and can afford more costly drinks.

“Na those ballers dey make this place sweet,” a security guy in one of the clubs told our reporter during an innocent conversation. “No club can survive without them because they spend a lot of money when they come.

“The most interesting days are when opposition ballers come on the same day. Omo! Na that time you go know say money dey this country.

“One baller fit spend N3 million for one night. Na the girls and the owner of this place know how much dem dey make per night.”

Before consuming them, club goers were observed blending various beverages and dumping some on their pricey Rolex wristwatches as they made money rain.

Some of the expensive booze include Ace of Spades priced between N300,000 and N800,000 per bottle in top clubs; Dom Perignon, between N350,000 and N500,000; Luc Belaire priced between N92,000 and N100,000 per bottle; Hennessy XO – N80,000 – N100,000 and Clase Azul Reposado which costs more than N300,000.

 Drugs abuse

Some people enjoy having s3x and drinking booze, while others prefer to use drugs as the night wears on. After using drugs, some people can be seen acting strangely and slowly. Indian hemp, commonly referred to as “weed” by users, is wrapped in a brown paper called rizla. After taking a drag, both men and women pass the stick to the next person until it is reduced to “Claro.”

“Drugs are the easiest thing now. Normally as you’re coming in, you already know where you’re coming and you know it is available in excess here unless you don’t have your money.

“Me I don dey okay already, even before coming here. Na only Loud I dey take because na Loud dey work for my body but e dey expensive small,” said John, who also just had a s3xual intercourse in the public space.

Among the narcotics frequently seen at clubs are marijuana (weed), codeine, tramadol, skunk, Loud, Colorado and refnol. Drug sales are thought to be more profitable.

‘Why we patronise strip clubs’

“I would say everyone has something they fantasise about. There’s this feeling when you see girls naked dancing around the pole. It’s such a beautiful feeling.

“And what makes it more beautiful is that it is mostly done in an enclosed place where only those who enjoy such fantasies get to patronise such places.

“I would say fantasy and nothing more than that,” said Alex, one of the patrons, during an interaction with this reporter.

He added: “Sometimes I wear two or three condoms in order to protect myself. So I think with that there’s no way I could have a s3xually transmitted disease.

“In terms of satisfaction, the fact that you fantasise about something and you are able to experience it is a very different feeling.

“It’s quite satisfying because you get several s3x styles that you might not get from your wife of girlfriend, and she might be having s3x with you while twerking at the same time.”

Another patron, Adedayo, revealed that he once contracted infection after having an unprotected s3x with a stripper.

“God saved me it wasn’t HIV. What would I have done?” he wondered.

“It was just one of those days and I and my guys went to the club and I didn’t have condom.

“Although I no plan s3x any girl that night, but as I reach there that stripper enter my eyes and I had to do it like that.

“After a few days, I discovered I wasn’t myself health wise so I went for a check-up. Bro, I had STI.

“The last time I went there, I didn’t have s3x. I only received oral s3x.”

 

The health risks

The World Health Organisation claims that alcohol use causes three million deaths annually, as well as millions of disabilities and bad health across the world. Overall, 5.1% of the world’s illness burden is attributed to excessive alcohol usage.

“Harmful use of alcohol is accountable for 7.1% and 2.2% of the global burden of disease for males and females respectively. Alcohol is the leading risk factor for premature mortality and disability among those aged 15 to 49 years, accounting for 10 percent of all deaths in this age group. Disadvantaged and especially vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalization.”

The National Health Service of the United Kingdom also advised against regular alcohol consumption, while noting that those who regularly consume alcohol run the risk of developing at least six different illnesses, including cancers of the mouth, throat, and breast, stroke, heart disease, liver disease, brain damage and nervous system damage.

BARELY a week after a chemical explosion rocked the Science and Lab Line of Ogbo Ogwu, Bridgehead Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, shop owners in the market are still mourning and counting their loses from the mishap.

About four persons were said to have lost their lives while scores sustained varying degrees of injury in the incident that occurred around 12.45 pm, which reportedly led to a stampede as traders scampered for safety. More than N850 million was said to have been destroyed alongside 80 shops in the disaster.

One of the traders, Nweke Uchenna, said majority of them had opened their shops for their daily business activities when they heard a loud explosion like a bomb blast. He said thick smoke was coming from many shops and pandemonium ensued as the chemical products were highly inflammable.

He said: “We were in our shops as usual when we heard a loud noise like a bomb blast and we saw thick smoke from some shops upstairs and everyone started running for safety. While some others shouted for help, we saw people carrying bodies from those shops on fire and some were badly burnt while some seemed to have suffocated from the smoke and the stampede.

“We don’t know how much have been lost to the fire but it can be estimated to be between N850 million and N1billion because the goods are strong chemical products that are highly inflammable.”

Reacting, the chairman of the market, Chinedu Ezekwike, told newsmen that the explosion emanated from one of the chemical shops along Progressive Science Union line.

He said: “The chemical explosion that started from one of the shops even collapsed the building and in the process sent four into early graves. We still want the dust to settle so that we find out from the debris if there are more deaths. But scores were injured.

“The explosion caused thick smoke and used iron and stones from the shop where it exploded from to hit some people also. We fear the casualty figure may increase. As you can see, we are putting up efforts to protect the market from the fire and two trucks of the fire service men are fighting and have succeeded in putting off the fire.”

A member of the caretaker committee of the market, Comrade Peter Okala, while lamenting the deaths recorded in the incident, stressed the need for those who have knowledge of chemical substances to be dealers of such. He also accused the immediate past regime of the market led by Chief Sunday Obinze of not procuring fire fighting trucks for the market despite the huge amount generated.

“Most traders who deal in chemical products in the market do not know how to handle them. Besides, if the former executive of the market had procured fire fighting trucks, it would have helped in a situation like this. Unfortunately, the huge sum they generated went into their private pockets,” he stated.

On his part, the Chairman, Onitsha South Local Government Area, Mr Emeka Orji, who stormed the area with members of his staff on hearing the news, described the incident as unfortunate, regretting that the decongested market almost made it difficult for fire fighters to put out the fire.

“We are happy that the Anambra State Fire Service came on time to prevent the inferno from spreading. Our proactive measures about fire outbreak also paid off because we had put in place fire fighting gadgets in some lines and that was what the traders and market task force team used to fight the fire before the arrival of the state fire service,” he said.

Orji, who noted that the number of casualties could not be ascertained, expressed joy that the injured who were rushed to nearby medical facilities were responding to treatment.

He said: “I contacted the state fire service chief, Martin Agbili, who deployed his men that battled the fire in collaboration with their counterparts from Asaba, Delta State.

“I also contacted Divisional Police Officer, Fegge, Rabiu Garuba, who deployed officers and men to guarantee security of goods belonging to the traders.

Director, Fire Service in the State, Engr. Martin Agbili, who confirmed the incident, said the fire outbreak was caused by a heavy chemical explosion at Ogbo Ogwu Market.

“Immediately, we deployed our firefighters and fire fighting trucks to the scene of fire. During the fire fighting operation, firefighters from the Federal Fire Service attached to Anambra State were also there fighting the fire.

“The explosion which led to the collapse of part of the market building and fire outbreak caused the loss of life of some people. The total number of casualties have not been ascertain as the time of this report.

“The cause of fire was an explosion which emanated from a chemical stored in the market. You know there are inflammable materials you don’t just store anyhow. There are designated places they’re meant to be stored. Besides, there must be enough ventilation in the place. Otherwise, it will heat up to a point it will expand and lead to explosion. That was what happened.

“But before fire started, there was a vibration that caused the collapse of the building. A lot of safety measures have been taken to protect the entire market. There are casualties but we can’t ascertain the actual number of death and the injured.

“There were about 80shops affected in the incident. It was however a section of the market, where chemical equipment including acid are stored. Some of these materials don’t like water. But we were able to manage the situation with our chemical foam compound.

“Some persons were trapped in the debris. It’s after excavation that we’ll know the actual number of casualties. They were complaining about a woman whose whereabouts were yet unknown.”

On how to prevent a reoccurrence, Agbili said: “Such inflammable materials are not meant to be in such confined space where there is not much ventilation and air. Those items are supposed to be stored in warehouses where they can conveniently take their customers to. The traders can have their offices in the market.”

Police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, while corroborating the Fire Chief, said the situation was handled following the arrival of the deputy commissioner in charge of operation and operatives of fire service.

The Nation however gathered that barely 24 hours after the inferno was put out by the fire fighters, fresh fire broke out at the same market early Wednesday morning. But for the intervention of the fire service that remained at the market since the Tuesday incident, the inferno would have continued at the market.

According to the Publicity Secretary of the Bridge Head Market Traders Association, Sir Peter Okala,”we came to the market this morning and discovered that the fire had started again, and because the fire service men were there since yesterday, the fire could not continue and the fire service had to fight it to the end.

“The problem we have in the market is that past leadership of the market did nothing to protect the market despite the huge revenue that they were collecting.

“Also, all the exit routes in the market have been blocked with the construction of illegal structures and shops. Hence when incidents like this happen, people are trapped. That explains the number of deaths and casualties during the fire incident”

Okala urged Governor Charles Soludo to expedite action in improving fire facilities around the market and other markets in the state.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with families of those who died in the explosion. Buhari, in a condolence message by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, said he shared the pain of loss with those who had investments in the market. He also prayed that almighty God would grant the injured quick recovery, just as he urged all emergency, humanitarian and security agencies to provide all the necessary support for the victims. He also urged security agencies to ensure thorough investigation into the incident.

Also, Governor Chukwuma Soludo sympathized with traders who lost their wares and families of those who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident. He commended the gallantry and quick response of the State Fire Service personnel who were on hand to extinguish the fire and prevented it from spreading further and causing more havoc.

He called on the market leadership and traders to support the effort of the present administration to relocate the market from such an enclosed location to the ongoing ultra modern pharmaceutical hub in Oba.

He assured of working round the clock to deliver on his mandate of achieving a livable and prosperous homeland where everyone will live, work and enjoy.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, during a visit to the victim in nearby Asaba, Delta State where they are being treated, pledged government’s continued assistance and visit to the victims with provision of medical services.

Obidike said: “I was in Asaba with my medical personnel and the victims are responding to treatment. We shall continue to assist and visit those victims and provide medical services for them, because it is an unfortunate incident.

“Preliminary findings revealed that some containers of chemicals exploded at the Government Line in the market and unfortunately, many people got injured while some lost their lives. Goods worth millions of naira were damaged in the inferno.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives, many injuries and material losses recorded as a result of this unfortunate incident.”

•Elders flay alleged invasion by security agents

PENULTIMATE week, Ndon Owong, a community in Odukpani Local Government Area, Cross River State, consisting mainly farmers and fishermen, made the headlines as some youths allegedly marked 15 women accused of witchcraft for killing.

It was gathered that five of the accused women were eventually killed and buried in a forest; a development that provoked outrage within and outside the community and caused the police to wade into the matter.

The irate youths reportedly abducted three of the police officers whose intervention prevented the youths from killing all the 15 women marked as witchcraft suspects.

The abducted police officers  including an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) serving under the Odukpani Divisional Police Station, Cross River State Command, were eventually rescued from their abductors while some elders and chiefs in the community invited by the police were detained and set free after a few days.

According to a source in the community, “on the same day the police freed the chiefs, six police vans loaded with officers entered the community and started destroying things.”

Confronted with the fact that he was merely making an allegation, the source sent pictures of the alleged destructions.

He also disclosed that the community was irked by the destruction and had chosen five chiefs to take up the matter and defend their interest.

On the issue of witchcraft allegation and killing of five persons, another source from the community who identified himself simply as Paul, said that no one would say anything about that.

“The only thing the chiefs can talk about is the destructions carried out by the police in the community,” he said.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Irene Ugbo, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the killings over allegations of witchcraft, adding that they had two suspects in their custody and are already making progress in apprehending others fleeing suspects.

“Nobody can take the law into their hands. Our constitution does not recognise anything like witchcraft.

“If they had a case, they should have taken the appropriate channel to address them; not taking innocent lives in cold blood.

“Five person were gruesomely murdered in cold blood and buried in shallow grave inside the forest over what I described as unfounded allegations.

“It is barbaric, it is unacceptable and we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring they face the full weight of the law,” SP Ugbo said.

It was gathered that the alleged police attack on the community followed the incident where three police officers, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) serving under Odukpani Divisional Police Station, Cross River State Command, were rescued from their abductors.

The Operation to rescue the three law enforcement agents was carried out by SP Awodi Abdulhameed’s Anti-Cultism and Kidnapping Squad (ACKS), following directives from the Commissioner of Police. The squad recovered a service pistol during the rescue operation, it was gathered.

The incident Which occured at Ndon Owong, Odukpani Local Government Area on October 13, 2022, followed the hacking to death of five women out of the 15 marked for killing by village youths over allegations that they were witches.

A security source who pleaded anonymity, told The Nation that this was not the first time irate youths would hold policemen hostage in the same community.

The source added that after the killing of the five women, 10 others were let off the hook while the five killed were buried in a shallow grave in the “evil forest.”

 “It was on the strength of this information that the police swung into action and invited the village head.

“Our men from the division where the incident occured went to deliver an invitation letter that the youths of the community held the three officers hostage.

“They formed a mob and disarmed an ASP with a service pistol. They started beating and cutting the trio with machetes, inflicting various degrees of injuries on them.

“It took the intervention of the Anti-Cultism and Kidnapping Squad to rescue the officers and also recovered the service pistol and arrested two suspects.

Amomg those arrested are Etim Effiong (34), and Micheal Etim Udoh (32)

“They have made useful statements and we have already launched a manhunt for other fleeing suspects involved in the killing of the five women as well as those that held the three police officers hostage,” the source revealed.”

•Say climate change forced their migration from North to Southwest

Taiwo Alimi captures the heart-rending tales of Nigerian farmers rendered homeless, farm-less, and now begging for a living.

FASASI Awodiran (45) was born on the farm and he is still living there. He farms during the day and hunts animals at night in the bushes of Obafemi Owode LGA of Ogun State. He is knowledgeable about all kinds of weather conditions and how to grow all kinds of cash and food crops. Yet, the weather condition of 2020 left him reeling in confusion.

“I’ve been in the business of farming since I was born. I worked on my father’s farms and began to cultivate my own farms as a teenager.

“I can smell the coming rain, and can read the colours of the sky when drought is coming,” he said.

For Awodiran, who looks older than his age and could pass for a 60-year-old with the way he carries himself, the climate disorder in 2020 left him puzzled and topsy-turvy at the same time.

He recounted his experience: “By March, I smelled the rain would come on schedule or even early, and I started preparing my farms in earnest.

“I have three farms for different crops, so I had to engage extra hands to get it ready.

“I brought in Hausa farmhands to clear a fresh land for tomato and pepper, and waited for the first rain.”

The first burst of rains came by early April as he had anticipated. By the time the second rain dropped, he gathered more hands to sow tomato, pepper, maize and cassava.

Then, the unexpected happened. “The rains stopped, and for weeks I was left wondering what was happening.

“I knew that whatever happened, it must rain heavily in May and June. It was not to be, and that was how I lost everything.”

Awodiran had exhausted close to N150,000 in proceeds from the 2019 farming season on the farmlands.

“It was after that I started hearing about climate change. I was told that rain can no longer be predicted. That it can delay, and elongate, and the pattern can change from year to year.

“I was told that we no longer predict the longevity of the rainy and dry seasons.”

Finding the new notion difficult to comprehend, the old-timer has not gone back to farming since then. Instead, he operates a commercial motorcycle, popularly called ‘okada’, to feed his young family. The hundreds of hectares of family farmlands lie unfarmed and wasted.

“I’m looking for whoever will buy it. I will keep some till I’m ready to go back to the farm,” Awodiran concluded. 

Facts about climate change

The United Nations (UN) described climate change as “Long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the nullar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.”

For Awodiran, and large numbers of farmers in the rural areas of Nigeria, who eke out a living from the ground, climate change is still alien to them, though they have experienced its devastation, such as extreme heat, flooding, and drought, which has led to soil degradation, resulting in low crop yields.

Mass Communication graduate turned farmer, Dele Awoleri, said, climate change has sent many farmers out of work. “Decline in agricultural productivity discourages farmers and may lead to change in livelihood, especially in the rural settings.”

Another farmer from Awa Ijebu in Ogun State, Yemi Ogunyemi, narrated how climate change changed his life negatively.

He said: “I am a leader in my community because of my experience in farming. Other farmers come to me for advice from time to time and I do my best to solve their problems based on my experience.

“The weather condition of 2020 was beyond my mental image. I suffered heavy losses because of the rain pattern.

“I borrowed money for expansion but ended up losing my capital and loan. I also lost my cassava crops to drought.

“I have never seen anything like it in my years of the farming business.”

Ogunyemi, who is a specialist in tomato and pepper cultivation, added: “I rely on tomato and pepper for the most income every year. In 2020, I did not get up to two baskets which, of course, we could not sell but consumed at home.”

Due to the huge loss, the 69-year-old farmer lost his confidence and stayed away from his farm for one year.

“I was in debt and angry. I only regained a little confidence to return to farm this year (2022).”

Sadly, the climate change problem is not abating as 2021 and 2022 have proved to be even more disastrous for farmers in the country.

Ogun State 

Two hundred fish farmers in Ikangba/Agoro-Odogbolu LGA of Ogun State, are counting their losses after a deadly flood hit their clusters of fish ponds on July 8, 2022, washing away an investment they put at over N500 million.

According to Lazarus Okole, who spoke on behalf of the affected farmers, said five fish farmers clusters of Ifeoluwa, Asejere, Progressive, Joye, and Kajola, had been experiencing mild flooding, but the magnitude and impact of the losses suffered could not be compared with that of the latest disaster.

Kogi State 

Toyin Ajisafe, a civil servant and farmer in Kogi State, had a personal experience with climate change last year (2021).

“Though a lot of people were affected by the drought of 2020, I was not badly affected because I did dry-season maize and they came out well.”

It was the following year that disaster struck like lightning. She was optimistic that she would have a better yield than in 2000 because the rains began on schedule  But then, the flood came.

“I knew Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) predicted heavy rain that year, but I did not see it happening in my area. It came in July when my three hectares of maize and cassava were ready for harvesting.

“All the corns were swept off. For a month I could not enter the farm, and by that time the cassava had rotten. I lost everything.”

It is more story of woes from the northern parts of the country; from Nasarawa to Kebbi and Katsina states.  

Nasarawa

Olam Nigeria Limited, an agric business company, paid heavily after its multimillion-dollar rice farm in Rukubi Doma LGA was overrun in the latest of floods that ravaged the country this year.

Ade Adefeko, the firm’s vice president, said the incident affected the company’s $20 million investment.

Olam produces about 25 percent of Nigeria’s rice needs.

Adefeko described the situation as “very terrible”, adding that climate change is real despite all efforts put in place to prevent the damage.

“The entire team from the farm worked very hard to prevent the colossal damage that arose, but River Benue burst its banks,  broke the dyke of the farm and overran an investment of over $20 million.

“Of course, we are insured, but you can insure crops, you cannot replace crops. So, you have to grow again. So, we are talking about 4400 hectares of farmland submerged due to climate change. So, it’s very serious.

“When they say it rains, it’s not raining, it’s pouring. It’s terrible.

“For example, we have been battling this water in the last two to three weeks. But finally, the water pressure from the dam took over and broke the dykes and multiple spots, which we couldn’t control. It was the burst from the seams of River Benue and River Niger.

“Doma, where we are, is where we have the largest facility. We have the largest rice farm and mill on the continent. It is a $140 million investment, the national $20 million investment, which brought everything to $160 million.

“On our journey to the communities where we operate, it is terrible. I mean, you need to come and see what is happening.

“We have over 57 kilometres of dikes surrounding the farms. The farm was built 12 kilometres by 7 kilometres and 57 kilometres of dikes were meant to stop the flow from entering but this was made after the 2012 major crisis.

“Based on that, we put a lot of things in place, but you know what? Climate change is real,” Adefeko said.

Katsina State 

Dr. Abba Abdullahi, Special Adviser on Agriculture to Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, said no fewer than 60 per cent of farmers across the 34 local government areas of the state lost more than 1.7 million metric tonnes of grains as a result of drought orchestrated by climate change in 2021.

Abdullahi said that 500,000 hectares of farmlands were also affected by the drought within the period under review.

He explained that sorghum, millet, cow beans, rice, soybean and maize were among the worst affected in the southern part of the state, while maize and rice were mostly among the crops that were affected in the central and northern zones.

Abdullahi said that 20 per cent of the farmers in Daura, Kaita, Mashi and Dutsi local government areas lost 70 per cent of what they planted, mostly millet and sorghum, while others lost about 40 to 90 per cent of their crops due to shortage of rainfall.

According to him, based on the data that was collated from the field by the Katsina State Ministry of Agriculture, 60 per cent of the farmers across the 34 local government areas experienced one crop loss or the other during last year’s farming season.

He said: “Farmers lost 158,000 metric tonnes of sorghum; 761,000 metric tonnes of millet; cowpeas, 200,000 metric tonnes; rice 92,000 metric tonnes; soybean 105,000 metric tonnes; maize 137,000 metric tonnes, among others.

“In all, there was a total loss of 1,754,000 metric tonnes of grains in the 2021 wet season cropping due to drought across the 34 local government areas of the state,” Abdullahi added.

Reality bites

The reality is that whatever economic policy and measure may have been put in place by the Nigeria Federal Government (FG) to alleviate the soaring food inflation and food insecurity, has been rubbished by the colossal loss to man-made disaster occasioned by climate change.

As a result, economic experts have predicted that Nigeria’s poverty index will rise, unemployment and underemployment rates will soar, inflation will not abate, and the figure of out-of-school-children will jump up.       

Influx to Southwest

More worrisome is that many farmers have lost their main sources of livelihood and now have to beg to feed. Their children can no longer go to school but join them on the streets to beg. The spiral effect is that more adult and child beggars are springing up in the more stable Southwest Nigeria.

Abdullahi Musa, a beggar, was sighted under Arepo Bridge in Obafemi Owode LGA of Ogun State.

He sat astride a rough tent built out of old cellophane, nylon, clothes, and carbon papers. The tent is not for him, and other male beggars, as he later explained, but for their wives and children.

“The male adults are responsible for the women and children. We sleep in the open under the bridge, but the shelter houses our women and children.”

Musa hails from Katsina State where he grows grains (millet, maize, and soya beans) on a farm he inherited from his father.

He said: “I’m from Kaita and I have a big farm which I’ve been cultivating from infant under the tutelage of my father.

“It is a family land and my children also work with me on the farm. We had enough to eat and we sold the leftover in the market.”

He said their problem began in 2020 when the drought began to bite hard. The following year, it was the turn of torrential rain to wreak havoc on their farm. 

Musa said: “It was last year (2021) that flood sacked us from the farm and our home.

“One of my children had come to Lagos in 2020 during the famine period. Sometimes, he would come back home with money to help us on the farm.

“He advised we should all move here after the flood.”

Musa and one of his wives and five children made the journey to the Southwest stopping at Arepo, with some of their friends. He said they have been living a beggarly life.

He said: “My wife and I stay under the bridge, begging motorists and pedestrians for money and food.

“My oldest son and his two brothers live in the nearby community. They ride okada (commercial motorcycle). Sometimes they bring food and money for us too.”

As for their youngest daughters, he said they are mostly with them, helping them to beg.

Communities along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway are inundated with hundreds of teenagers whose daily occupation is the okada business. They collect the motorcycles from their owners and pay a fixed sum daily. The surplus is what they take home for the day.

Badamosi is one such. The 17-year-old is among the growing number of okada operators plying the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, due to the gridlock recently experienced by travellers and residents.

He moved to the Expressway, despite the risks, to make more money on the job. Badamosi speaks passable English; a virtue that makes him very proud.

He said: “I am from Nasarawa State. We have a big farm there where I work with my parents. I also have a smaller one for myself.

“Drought made me to come here in 2020 and since then, I have been doing this work.

“I used to ply the Magboro route, but since the gridlock on the expressway began, we have more customers ready to part with extra money on the Expressway.

“I run the Arepo to Berger route.”

He said he would leave his present position to return home when things return to normal. Normal, to him, means when their farmlands can yield good crops again.

He added: “Life is difficult here. I don’t have a decent place to sleep at night.

“My friends and I (mostly Northerners) sleep in an open space let out to us by a community leader in Magboro. We have to pay him an amount every day to sleep and use the convenience room.

“Most of us sleep on our motorcycles because the space cannot accommodate us all. Once we get a space for our motorcycle, we sleep on it.”

He said scores of boys from his area have joined the ‘army of fortune’ since he arrived two years ago. “Though some people have left, they are always coming back. Sometimes, they come back with two or more of their family members or friends.”

Aminu, 20, who is from Katsina State and also a farmer, has found solace in tilling the ground as he moves from one farm to another as a farmhand or labourer.

He also lives in a better environment than Badamosi.

“I live in an incomplete building in Arepo. The property belongs to a man I work for.

“I clear weeds on his compound and other landlords for money, and once in a while, I work in farms to make a living.”

Aminu goes back home whenever he is needed at home or on the family farm.

“My wife and child are in Katsina, so I go there to give them money and farm when I can.

“Most of the farmlands have been eaten away by drought, so I spend most of my time in Arepo and its environs doing whatever I can to make money.”

Badamosi and Aminu represent hundreds of young exuberant farmers displaced by climate change who eke out a living in their shadows surging into the already overpopulated cities to multiply poverty, crime, and dirt.

It will interest you to know that Musa, Badamosi, and Aminu don’t have any idea about climate change, though they have been farming for many years.  

Way out

According to a 2022 report, ‘Assessing Climate Change, COP26 Commitments in Africa: Case Studies of Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda,’ put together by The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), and South African Climate Action Network (SACAN), the African governments need to stop further policy summersault on climate change issues and articulate the project properly with clarity, to attack the scourge that has come to their doorsteps squarely.

The report’s release coincides with the COP 27 Climate Summit in Egypt, following a year of climate-related disasters and broken temperature records. 

It appealed to African leaders to leverage Green Economic Opportunities including increased demands for electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, and so on, which are produced with critical minerals, some of which are sourced from Africa.

This, it argued, puts Africa at a vantage point to renegotiate its position on the global stage while stimulating inclusive economic growth.

Other demands include: Removing barriers to renewable energy technologies in Africa; such as Import Tariffs to make renewable energy accessible and affordable to most of the energy-poor African population, while, withdrawing support for heavy-carbon projects. 

The report further called on African govern ments to harness the capacity to secure funding support to finance Africa’s climate ambition: “The Africa Group of Negotiators has called for $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance to be made available from 2025.

“There is a need to utilise the global stage afforded by COP 27 to campaign and secure commitment to this as well as a strategy to follow up and net in the commitments after the conference and increase climate change education and awareness.”

Mayokun Iyaomolere, an environmentalist, believes the Nigerian government is not doing enough to tackle climate change.

“We must begin to put preventive measures in place rather than corrective measures and reduce our national contribution to climate change or the effects we feel from contributions from other countries,” he said.

Desmond Majekodunmi, Chairman, Lekki Urban Forest and Animal Initiative, said education and awareness are key to reversing the environmental degradation in the country. “Nigeria must create more education and awareness among Nigerians to the extent that ordinary people know what to do to mitigate the impact of climate change.

“We can’t afford to do things the same way and expect different results,” he said.

•Inmates faint as hunger ravages IDP camps

•Victims lament failed monetary promises

•80 per cent of IDPs left to fend for themselves despite donations- NGO

AFTER managing to survive the flood incidents that ravaged their communities recently, many flood victims in Bayelsa and Delta states are now plagued by hunger and myriads of other challenges that compound their woes.

One of the inmates at Ox-Bow Lake IDP camp, in Yenagoa. Bayelsa State, Mrs Rosemary Sampson, who is with her three kids, said all is not well in the camp as inmates are fed very late in the morning and at night.

She said: “They give us food here two times a day. The first meal is served at 12 noon while the second food is after 9pm.

“Before the food is served, we are already weak and tired, and when it eventually comes, it is usually too small and not properly prepared.

“Many people have been fainting here because of hunger. My children have fainted many times. “Also, there appears to be discriminatory treatment by those managing the camp. For instance, some persons have mosquito nets while others don’t.

“We are really suffering. I have mosquito bites all over my body. So also do the children. We use our bare hands to pack feaces.

“The other time, we were told they were going to give us N20,000 each to augment us, but none of us has seen the money.

“It was only N1,000 that was given to each person. We have yet to receive the promised N20,000.

“To be candid, Governor Douye Diri is doing his best but the people coordinating the work are the ones spoiling things for him.”

Another inmate, Faith Saturday, corroborated Sampson’s statement, saying that her own situation was so precarious that in the midst of their travail, her children would be crying for food and she would not be able to provide for them.

Saturday said: “The government has done well to relocate us to this place. I want to implore the governor to ensure that the people running the camp give us food at the right time so that we can be spared of different agonies.

“For someone like me, I don’t have any food to give to my children. The way we starve at times is not good enough.

“Another aspect is that when certain necessities are shared, some persons have more while others don’t get at all.

“As I am talking to you, there is no foam for me and my children to sleep on.

“Even the mosquito nets I brought from my place, I do not have where to pin them.

“We are not able to have good sleep because of mosquitoes. I am always awake fanning my children and killing mosquitoes.

“The money they said they would give us as pocket money, we have not seen anything apart from the N1,000 that was given to me some weeks back.

“If you go to the coordinators to inform them about your plight, they chase you away, saying they have given out what was available.

“We do not have money to feed our children. Before the food is ready, it takes a pretty long time.

“I always feel very bad seeing my children hungry but unable to do anything about it.

“I am appreciative of the government’s gesture but the problems we have are those people taking care of us here.

“They are not doing what they are supposed to do.”

Patience Nelson, who said she had been in the camp for more than two weeks, also sang the same song as other inmates.

Nelson said: “They are trying their best. They give us food, but the time we get the food to eat is too late.

The morning food is served by 12pm while evening food is served at 9pm. Some persons don’t even see food to eat at all.

“I am really missing my house. I won’t lie to you, there is no life here. “I am suffering from malaria and there is nowhere to pin the mosquito net I brought here. Some persons have more than 10 foams while others do not have any.”

A male inmate by the sobriquet Governor Alamco, said flood took over his house and because he did not want to inconvenience any of his friends or relatives, he decided to go to the IDP camp.

On his observation at the camp, Alamco said: “The way the food is coordinated is not nice. We have older people, breastfeeding mothers and children here.

“If they want us to be on a queue, then they should separate us and not pile all of us together. Some persons eat while others do not see food to eat.

“In the area of medicals, they are doing well. We are given drugs every day.”

Victims left to fend for themselves

An advocacy group, Bayelsa Non-governmental Organisations Forum (BANGOF), alleged that a greater number of victims of the 2022 floods, which ravaged about 80 per cent of Bayelsa, are left to fend for themselves in spite of the huge support the state has received from sympathisers.

The position is contained in a report issued by BANGOF in Yenagoa after monitoring the flood situation and its impact as well as the response from the government.

The group said it observed that the government had no dedicated camps to support persons displaced in coastal communities, except for those resident in Yenagoa.

The report signed by the Transition Committee Chairman of BANGOF, Dauseye Torki, further noted that persons in charge of relief materials and flood impact mitigation, both at national and state levels, were economical with the truth over relief materials they had received from the government, individuals or organisations.

The statement reads in part: “We visited several IDP camps, especially the Ox-Bow Lake in Swali, Yenagoa.

“The Ox-Bow Lake camp with about 3,500 IDPs is, so far, the only camp where state attention is focused.

“It is the only camp where they cook food for IDPs, provide mosquito nets, mattresses or mats.

“The government also provided medical services, water and security, both police and Bayelsa vigilantes in this camp.

“Meanwhile, at the Igbogene camp with about 550 IDPs, the government has only provided medical services and water as well as some presence of the police.

“IDPs in the Igbogene camp are fending for themselves with support from public-spirited individuals, churches and foundations (NGOs).

“It was only on Monday, October 24 that the state government began to construct a kitchen for the camp. “There are several other IDP camps within Yenagoa and its environs. A few other camps visited include Mother and Child Camp at Bayelsa Palm Road with over 62 IDPs, including newborns, mothers, caregivers and older children of newly delivered women.

“We also visited St.John’s Catholics Church, Igbogene which has over 300 IDPs including women and children, and Bozi Water IDP camp with over 350 IDPs.

“Besides the OXBOW LAKE and the Igbogene camps, there is no government presence in all these other camps.

“They are self-funded and only sustain themselves through communal efforts and support from public-spirited individuals.

“And we observed that a greater number of victims are left on their own to weather this great challenge.”

BANGOF claimed there were no dedicated camps to support persons displaced in various communities and LGAs, stressing that persons in charge of relief materials and flood impact mitigation were very economical with the truth in terms of relief materials received from both the government and other individuals or organisations.

It said the state government was inadvertently encouraging rural-urban migration by concentrating support for IDPs in only one or two locations in the state capital to the exclusion of victims in rural areas.

Lamentations in Delta IDP

Over 500 victims of flood-ravaged Otu-Jeremi community located in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State have for almost two weeks been camped at Jeremi Primary School, Otu-Jeremi.

The Nation had reported that no fewer than 40 displaced persons were put together in most of the classrooms. One of the visited rooms reportedly had 30 children and 17 adults. Another one, as revealed by one Beauty Samuel with six children, had 20 adults with more than 20 children. The victims lamented inadequate meals and the terrible sleeping conditions in the camp which is yet to get recognition or any form of support from the state government.

On arrival at the camp on Thursday morning, our reporter observed that most parts of the school compound were flooded. Children were seen playing with sand near the entrance, while others played in the corridors of classrooms. Some women stirred big cooking pots on fire. Some elderly men who sat idly looked forlorn and lost in thoughts.

As the reporter took steps towards a dark complexioned man in the midst of a group of persons seated in one of the corridors, about four elderly men approached him. As they conversed in the local Urhobo dialect, our reporter observed  that they had come to appreciate the man for his efforts in catering for everyone in the camp.

Our reporter would later find out that the man in question, Michael Oghenegueke, is the President-General of the community.

According to him, the community took the initiative to set up the camp after floods sacked most persons from their residence. He confirmed that the Delta State Government was yet to identify with the camp by way of providing relief materials.

But he said some non- governmental organizations had assisted them. He also disclosed that about N300,000 is spent daily to feed the flood victims.

He said: “From the beginning, the community sponsored the care for the people. That was about two weeks ago. No assistance came from the government. It is non-governmental people that assist us. In a day, it costs almost N300,000 to feed the people.”

Some elderly people who spoke with The Nation called for urgent government assistance.

Seventy-six-year-old Simeon Makava, a cassava and plantain farmer, said: ” Our houses are flooded, so we came here. We didn’t even know how we would get food, but the chairman has been making provision.

“We sleep on bare floor, no mattress, mosquitoes bite us daily and there is no special medical care.”

Pointing at his feet, he said they were swollen as a of walking about in the flooded camp. “To go to where I sleep and come out, I have to wade through water. We need the government to help us,” he said.

Robinson Obiyovwi, 77, said he had been involved in an accident before the flooding incident.

“The flood covered my house. I couldn’t pick anything. Before I left, the water there was up to here (he gestured at his waist). Government should help us”.

A builder, Robert Ogboru, 66, said: “We need government support in terms of food items so that we can have enough rations. We need as much help as we can get.”

middle-aged man added that some of them were commercial motorcycle riders but the flood “has spoilt our Okada”.

In another block of classrooms, many women and children were seen. A woman identified as Onome, was seen washing beans for moi-moi. Others sat attending to their children or engaged in some other things.

As the reporter tried to take pictures of the scene, they demanded to know why they were being filmed. But an exchange of pleasantries, they opened up, saying there were 30 children and 17 adults in the room.

Ifogbe Gloria, 61, said she was in the camp with two children. She said due to the flooded environment and accompanying mosquitoes, she was feeling feverish already.

Joy Pala, a mother of two-year-old twin girls, said: “We eat twice here and it is not enough when it (food) is served. There is no medical care. They only checked the blood pressure of old people yesterday (Wednesday)”.

Providence Abel, with four children, said: “Our community chairman really tried. Government has not given us anything. See, these children are yet to eat and it is almost noon.

“Our husbands’ can’t go to work because of the flood. We are stranded. We need government’s aid. Because we sleep on the bare floor, we are infected with cough and catarrh.  Physically challenged Emmanuel Dogho, who appeared to be in his early 20s, said prior to the flood, he used to dance at parties to eke out a living. But since the flood disaster, he has been solely dependent on the provisions made in the camp.

Baby Kitona is 70 years old. She had made her own small fire, cooking pepper soup for herself and her five grandchildren when she was spotted.

Speaking in her local Urhobo language, she disclosed that they were very hungry and could not wait for the general food to be ready before having breakfast, so she used a small amount of money to get ingredients for the dish. This was at about 11:17 am.

Kitona also complained about the lack of mattresses and incessant mosquito bites, just as she begged the authorities to come to their aid.

According to records obtained from the National Senior Citizens Centre in the camp, as of Wednesday, the total number of children were 385, women were 127, while aged men and women were 43 and 65 respectively.

The record showed that a 93-year old was the oldest in the camp. But when asked to visit, an agent at the centre explained that some of the very aged people among the victims were moved out of the camp for health reasons.

Earlier, Oghenegueke had revealed that though health workers visit the camp, they  never have drugs to administer to victims in need of them.

The President-General further added that in their own little way, to avert health hazards, “every morning we ask them to put the place in order, pick up the refuse; as you can see the place is not rough. We caution the people, especially the children, against entering the water.”

Task force allays fears

The Chairman, Flood Management and Mitigation Task Force, Hon. Iselema Gbaranbiri, while receiving some trucks of food items and relief materials for the IDPs, reassured the people that the distribution of relief materials to impacted communities in the state would be continuous until Bayelsans were satisfied.

Gbaranbiri, who is the state Commissioner for the Environment, said the state government was providing two square meals per day to displaced persons in various IDP camps in the state apart from providing medical services, water and other emergency aids.

Speaking with reporters on the cost of food and other items in the state, the commissioner said Governor Douye Diri had inaugurated a committee to interface with marketers in the state to bring down the cost of food items.

Gbaranbiri hinted that so far, no relief materials had been received by the state government from the Federal Government to alleviate the plight of the impacted local governments and communities in the state.

Rector, monarch build IDP camps, supply palliatives

Worried by the unabating flood that has destroyed properties worth several millions of naira and rendering hundreds of people homeless, the Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, Bayelsa State, Dr Agbabiaka Adegoke, in collaboration with the Paramount Ruler of that community, King Toboro Andy Godwill, Epete XI, has erected camps convenient for habitation by the displaced indigenes.

The flood has hindered the people who are traditionally farmers and fishermen from their livelihoods, as their farmlands have been submerged and crops swept away by the volatile flood.

King Godwill commended the magnanimity of Engr. Adegoke, who is just four months in office at the Federal Polytechnic, for identifying with the people of the community during the trying times.

The monarch said: “I, on behalf of the Ekowe community, whole-heartedly appreciate the efforts of the Rector who is not even an indigene of the state for his show of love and care for our people.

“The Rector collaborated with me to build the camps and provide relief materials such as rice, beans, garri and cooking ingredients for the impacted people who have lost their hard earned money they invested on their farmlands as well as personal belongings worth millions of naira.”

He called on representatives of the community at the state and National Assembly, private investors and humanitarian organisations as well as multinational companies operating in and around the community to come to the aid of the devastated people.

Displaying photographs of some houses that have been submerged by the flood, including his palace, King Toboro encouraged those who are displaced to have solace in God, believing that the situation would soon become a thing of the past.

A resident of the polytechnic town, who gave his name only as Ayibatari,  thumbed up for the rector and the monarch for building the IDP camps in the area to help the indigenes and residents displaced in their hundreds.

Ayibatari said: “We are excited at what these two leaders have done for us. Our area is heavily flooded and hundreds of people have been displaced.

“At some point, there was a serious humanitarian crisis in the area before the Rector and the monarch in their magnanimity provided the IDP camps.

“If not for them, our displaced brothers and sisters would not have known where to go  or what to do. The two did what the relevant authorities haven’t done or planned to do. We are so happy with them.

“Besides that, they provided relief items worth millions of naira to the inmates at the camps.”

Sympathy donations to victims

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri set the ball rolling by approving initial N450m for the State Flood Mitigation and Management Task Force to provide more relief materials for the increasing number of flood victims across the state.

On Tuesday (this week), the governor approved another N450m, bringing the total amount approved and released to the committee so far to N900m.

Speaking on behalf of Governor Diri, the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ayibaina Duba, reiterated the administration’s commitment to providing succour to the victims of devastating flood and give lifeline to those who have lost everything, including houses and businesses, to the flood.

He said that the N900m would go a long way in procuring food and medicines for distribution to many citizens in the eight local government areas of the state who are running short of the initial basic provisions and food supplied to them by the state government.

He assured the people that government would also sustain the effective management of the IDP camps with about 20, 000 inmates. Azibapu, donated N350m worth of relief materials to alleviate the losses, pains and discomfort suffered by victims in the state.

The relief materials include food items, mosquito nets, mattresses, medicals and cold protective gadgets.

Eruani made the donation during the week when he paid a courtesy visit to the Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri at the Government House, Yenagoa.

The foremost Bayelsa industrialist empathised with Governor Diri over the devastation inflicted by the high tide of the flood on roads, public and private properties, farmlands, among others.

Eruani decried the tragic loss of lives, missing persons and the untold hardship faced by Nigerians, especially the people of Bayelsa State who had lost loved ones, properties and their means of livelihood.

He lauded Diri for the proactive measures deployed in handling the situation in the state.

The Azikel Chief Executive submitted that though the state witnessed floods in 2012, the current flooding was unimaginable considering the landslides and erosion that had washed away most coastal communities, with attendant high cost of goods and commodities caused by the ravaging flood.

Eruani advised that the immediate and post-flood challenges should not be left to the government alone and called on the federal government, international community, corporate bodies and donor agencies to help the state government overcome the present unfortunate situation.

He, however, urged families and victims impacted by the natural disaster not to dispair amidst the difficult moments, assuring them that the Azikel Group would stand with them in this trying times.

Also former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, former Governor Seriake Dickson and other organisations have donated money and different types of relief items to the victims through the state government.

While Atiku, who is the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), donated N55m, Emmanuel gave his government’s sympathy donation of N100m and Senator Dickson donated over N100m to flood victims.

Also, the Central Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy  donated food items to flood victims worth millions of naira to Agudama community, its hosts in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.

The donation of the food items was done by Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), CNC.

The items donated were cassava flour (garri), sachets of water, noodles, bread, rice, beverages and others.

The FOC said the donation was part of the Navy’s statutory responsibility to care, support and sympathise with the host in their trying times.

Diri urged to deploy ecological funds to help victims

A former Security Adviser in Bayelsa State, Chief Perekeme Kpodoh, has called on Governor Douye Diri to deploy ecological funds that accrued to the state to help victims of the ongoing floods in Bayelsa.

Kpodoh said it was time for Diri to utilise the billions he had so far collected as ecological funds to mitigate the damage done by the flood and to sufficiently ameliorate the suffering of the people.

He described as unacceptable the repeated call by Diri for federal government’s assistance, saying the governor should first show capacity with resources within his disposal.

He said: “People should hold Governor Douye Diri responsible and compel him to account for all the money he had received so far as ecological funds. Such money is meant for a time like this. It is not sufficient to be crying foul and seeking external assistance. What have you done with the resources available to you?

“Diri’s intervention was first belated and insufficient. There were warnings that Bayelsa and some other states would be flooded. But the governor went about his business without making provisions to mitigate the floods.

“Nothing was done. All the drains were not cleared. People were not sensitised and prepared to face the disaster. No higher grounds were built. We saw how the Kaduna State Government prepared its citizens before the floods.

“We also saw how the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, immediately set up a task force and released N1bn for only four local government areas affected by the flood. But the Bayelsa State Governor waited until the floods overtook the entire state killing helpless people before he released paltry N450m for relief materials”.

Kpodoh complained that the governor embarrassed Bayelsa following a viral video of people he sent to distribute relief materials dishing out one cup each of rice, beans and garri to the suffering and traumatised flood victims.

“We saw that video and we were embarrassed. It was unimaginable that an oil-rich state like Bayelsa would deepen the pains of its traumatised citizens in the time of disaster,” he said.

Kpodoh said Diri’s capacity in governance had been tested by the disaster but regretted that the governor had failed woefully by playing to the gallery and presenting himself to the world as a helpless weeping child.

He said the governor through his poor leadership style bungled a great opportunity presented by the floods to redeem his image and advised him to bury any thought of seeking reelection.