Nigerians seem to be in for hard times as rains pound more cities and towns almost ceaselessly. From Edo, Nasarawa and Plateau to Kogi, Benue and Bayelsa states, many are counting their losses.
Yesterday, Agenebode, Edo State, was struggling to stay afloat. Roads turned into rivers and people practically swam their way home.
The weekend overflow from River Niger displaced no fewer than 3,000 persons in five villages in Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.
The flood devastated the coastal villages and destroyed food crops. Animals were washed away.
Villages mostly affected include Ekoawele I and Ekoawele II, Oguoyor, Ukpeko-Uzanu, and Ogberaya-Uzanu all affiliate suburbs of Agenebode, where the level of water compelled the use of boats across the ravaged areas.
Temporary emergency camps have been opened for the victims at Uzanu in Agenebode and the primary school at Adogu Station in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Chairman of Etsako East Local Government Area Peter Ojor Anyai described the situation as unfortunate.
Anyai advised victims taking refuge in far away Kogi State to relocate to the temporary camp at Agenebode to get assistance.
The ravaging flood is also reported to have submerged parts of Etsako Central, destroying farm lands and property.
Kingdom Heritage Academy Makurdi, a school owned by the Living Faith Church, has been shut down indefinitely as a result of massive flooding of the premises.
Parents brought their children to school only to find out that water has taken over the entire premises.
Both Winners Chapel and Kingdom Heritage Academy are located on the busy Makurdi-Gboko federal highway in Wurukum, Makurdi, the Benue State capital, where the flooding has closed down many businesses.
Many in Sagbama, Bayelsa State and Akwanga West Development Area of Nasarawa State are mourning the destruction of their food crops worth millions of naira.
Such crops include yams, rice, maize, guinea-corn, beans, soy-beans as well as sugarcane.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident occurred as a result of heavy rain resulting from the over flooding of River Lille, located at the boundary between Kaduna and Nasarawa States, which destroyed food crops.
More than 60 farmers are affected by the disaster.
The Village Head of Lille, Mr . Sarki Ibrahim, said the flood was the worst ever to be experienced in the area.
He said: “The community depends solely on farming for survival; the flood would cause a lot of hardship to the people of the area”.
Ibrahim described the incident as pathetic, calling for the intervention of concerned authorities to come to their aid and help to alleviate the suffering of the farmers in the area.
The village head called on the state government and other wealthy individuals to come to the aid of the farmers.
Rev. Jerry Modibo, a prominent indigene of the area and former Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President in the state, expressed shocked at the situation.
He said: “This incident would cause a lot of hardship, not only to the people of the area but also to outsiders, who normally buy foodstuff in the area.”
Modibo urged the government at all levels as well as worthy individuals to come to the aid of the people in to salvage them from the predicament by assisting them with materials to ease their hardship.
He also called on the government to expedite action to avert the recurrence of the flood in the area.
The Lokoja-Abuja road remains closed because of the damage done to it by flood.
Alternative to Lokoja-Abuja Road
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said it had worked out alternative routes to and from Abuja to lessen the agony of motorists, following the temporary closure of the flooded Lokoja-Abuja Road.
The Federal Road Safety Commission on Sunday had announced the blockade of the road due to persistent flooding, which has made the Lokoja area of the road dangerous and impassable as a result of the overflow of River Niger.
In a statement yesterday, the Deputy Corps Public Education Officer of the commission, Mr. Bisi Kazeem, urged motorists driving from Lagos and wishing to use Okene-Lokoja-Abuja route to divert to Okene-Ajaokuta-Ayangba-Ankpa-Makurdi Lafia-Akwanga-Abuja route.
Those coming from the Southeast should use Otukpa-Makurdi route, and those driving from Abuja to Lokoja should use Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi-Ankpa-Okene route.
He said the commission had also deployed more personnel in those routes to forestall traffic gridlock.
Over 10,000 people displaced in Kogi, Benue flood
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has deployed relief materials to the camps where over 10,000 Internally Displaced People (IDP) from Kogi and Benue states are taking refuge after they were sacked from their homes with the ravaging flood across north central region of Nigeria.
A technical team from the agency visited areas devastated by the floods along the banks of Rivers Benue and Niger and their tributaries in states over the weekend to assess the damage and identify suitable intervention required to address the problem.
According to the team, most of the affected areas remained flooded with most of the displaced persons resorting to taking shelter in four camps.
The flood in Benue State is said to affect the communities in Makurdi, the state capital, along the river belt, while about nine local government areas were affected in Kogi State, with Ibaji Local Government Area almost submerged.
Other local government areas affected as Bassa, Ofu, Kogi, Omala, Ajaokuta, Ankpa, Igalamela and Lokoja, where property, including hotels, residential buildings, offices and fishing communities along the confluence of Rivers Benue and Niger have all been submerged.
NEMA’s Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Charles Agbo, during a meeting with Kogi State Governor Wada Idris, warned of prolonged flooding as more water would be released from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon and Kainji Dam with the intensifying rains.
He urged the government to enforce the standard regulation on urban planning and development as well as permanently relocate communities in the flood plains to safer locations.
“Even after the flood, most of the submerged houses may become too weak and no longer be safe for habitation, in addition to the potential health hazards from the disaster.
“Therefore, the states governments must rise up to their responsibilities to the affected communities as the Federal Government, through NEMA, would provide necessary support the displaced persons.”
The governor expressed concern of the Federal Government towards the flood situation and requested support to reinforce the efforts by the state government to assist the displaced persons. He urged NEMA and other relevant organisations to identify measures to mitigate future occurrence of the flood.
al-Makura donatesrelief materials
Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura has donated cash and relief materials worth over N5 million to over 34,000 displaced persons ravaged by flood in some villages in Toto Local Government Area of the State.
al-Makura, while donating the money and the relief items to the victims at Umaisha village on Monday, noted that government was sensitive to the plight of the people.
“It was only right to identify with the people at this trying moment.”
He said while the government was striving to provide the people with basic amenities, the ones they had, were being destroyed through natural disasters like flood.
al-Makura urged the Federal Government to come to the aid of the people in the affected communities.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Toto Local Government Area, Alhaji Umar Bamu, said that 34,210 persons had been displaced by the flood across seven communities in the area.
He said about 9,000 houses in the area were submerged by water, among them the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) and a primary school. Crops and other property worth millions of naira were lost to the flood.
Among items donated were bags of rice, beans, gari and millets.
Other items included blankets, detergent, toilet soap, palm oil, and body cream.
The governor was also at the palace of the traditional ruler in the area, the ‘Ohimege Opanda,’ Usman Abdullahi, to commiserate with him and the people of the area over the disaster.
‘How to escape falling victims of flood’
Minister of Environment Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia has advised Nigerians to adhere to the flood alert system.
The minister explained that lives can be saved and losses minimised if the alerts are taken more seriously.
Mrs. Mailafia spoke while sympathising with flood victims .
The minister said: “The monumental losses suffered in many states, and the destructions to lives and properties call for sober reflection. It calls for review of our strategies and commitments towards mitigating the devastating effects of climate change.”
After inspecting the flood ravaged parts of the North, the minister reiterated the need for residents of flood-prone areas to heed the early warnings of the ministry on impending floods, and to promptly evacuate to avoid losses.
The minister appealed to residents to refrain from dumping refuse on drainages, gutters, and the blockage of canals which aggravated floods.
She warned against building houses in flood plains, or banks of rivers and streams. The minister said there is need to encourage planting of trees to prevent environmental degradation.
She appealed to people to embrace and adopt the use of alternative sources of cooking energy such as gas stoves, to preserve the country’s forest.
