Torrential rain has continued to wreak havoc in the Federal Capital Territory and its environs owing to man-made factors. Correspondent SANI ONOGU reports that the situation has left a good number of the residents in tears, even as the authorities plan to approach the Ecological Fund for remedial measures that bring succor to the residents
For humankind, rain is usually a source of blessing, as it serves several purposes. It boosts food production and enhances the exquisiteness of the environment when lush vegetation sprouts from the earth.
It also calms nerves after hot weather must have become restless as a result of heat waves. Water is also used in cooking the food we eat, among other benefits of rain.
However, there is ambivalence in the minds of residents of a particular area where there is torrential rain. People’s minds will be in a flux as to whether rain is a source of blessing or curse as a result of the havoc it wreaks.
That was the situation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) when there was downpour which inflicted harm on some residents.
In the circumstances, residents of the FCT seem to regard the blessing that is usually associated with the rainy season as something that brings pain with every rain drop. The ceaseless torrent which has become a daily occurrence seems to conspire with the elements in making life miserable for those living in flood prone areas.
August 2, 2019 was one of those turbulent days for the hapless residents. It was reminiscent of the deluge recorded in Noah’s time, as captured in the Holy Scriptures. That day, the downpour claimed the life of one of the residents, Mr. Tony Okecheme who died as a result of the flood that engulfed parts of Apo, Galadinmawa and Lokogoma Districts. The death of Okecheme was fallout of an early downpour which astronomically increased the volume of runoff water in those areas.
The late Okecheme, a Finance Director with the FCT High Court, left his home in the company of his driver. They were on their way to the Abuja Airport through the Galadimawa Roundabout to catch a flight. He did not make it to the airport, neither did he return home to his family.
The Toyota Corolla car in which he was being driven was swept away by the violent floods a few metres to exiting the interchange on the outer ring road that links the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Expressway, leading to the airport.
Eyewitness account had it that his effort to escape the raging waters was frustrated by the unwavering turbulence. Okecheme’s bloated corpse was found after three days of frantic search by rescue workers.
His driver was, however, lucky, as he was rescued and taken to hospital where he was promptly treated.
A paramilitary officer, who took part in the rescue operation, spoke to The Nation in confidence narrated how the incident occurred.
He said: “What we found out was that it was like they (Okecheme and his driver) saw a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) moving through the floods ahead of them. They followed through, using the tail lights of the SUV as guide. The SUV was able to navigate its way through the flooded road, owing to its weight and higher suspension. But the floods knocked off the engine of Okecheme’s brand new car and it was submerged in the muddy water. They managed to climb to the roof as the car was being tossed back and forth.”
Okecheme, said to be in his late 50s, must have been exhausted from the struggle, making him vulnerable and thereby succumbing to the raging floods while his much-younger driver got rescued at the point of getting sagged. The driver was found on a tree several metres away from the road where he was rescued by emergency workers. The car was later pulled out of the muddy water.
Like Okecheme, many lives have been lost and property destroyed due to flooding in the FCT in recent times. In 2016, a man, with his three children was swept away in similar circumstances at the Lokogoma District.
Floods also claimed the lives of four residents, including a man in the Dei-Dei area and another one in Lokogoma who died alongside his two kids, way back in July and August 2017 respectively.
The recent death of Okecheme has, however, re-awakened residents in Lokogoma and the FCT authorities to the danger posed to lives and property in flood-prone districts, particularly Lokogoma.
The FCT Department of Development Control has also responded by pulling down unapproved structures it claimed were built on waterways within the district and has equally marked several others for demolition.
But why have many districts in the FCT become synonymous with flooding, with Lokogoma District its epicentre? Chief Lance Nasiru Momodu, a Real Estate Developer who also resides within the district, blamed it on lack of basic infrastructure and the selfish desire of some developers who go for the money by selling every available space on their plots to unsuspecting subscribers. He said some developers do not stick to approved designs and the need to give streams that flow across the estates the necessary right of way.
In a chat with The Nation, Momodu, who is a Quantity Surveyor by training and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (FNIQS) said: “Now we know that Abuja is a large construction site. Even though we are all here now, it is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa.
“So, there is a lot of construction work going on. There are a lot of uncompleted projects- particularly road projects-which are intra-city roads linking one place or the other or providing access roads to various parts of the main city. These have not been completed and while work is in progress, there is bound to be some distortion in the movement of water that would create discomfort for the people. That is what is generally happening in Abuja.”
This corroborates the position of the FCT authorities that have continually blamed developers for not sticking to approved designs. Momodu: “To some extent, they (developers) are responsible.
“There is what we call green lands – places that you are not supposed to build anything on. But some desperate developers often connive with some members of staff of the FCDA who regrettably, turn a blind eye. These unscrupulous developers would then develop on such lands that are clearly along waterways, principally because such areas have not been fully developed. “They don’t know that FCDA has a master plan. Any area you think is not developed now has a plan for either a green area or a drainage or right of way for pipelines, cables or sewers. Whatever it is, they have their engineering drawings for these areas but most developers don’t stick to that. That is on the part of developers.”
He added that after development, the beneficiaries of those structures – those who buy houses – do not know that they were built on waterways. As long as a developer gave them land, they build. Unfortunately, they end up falling victim.
The penchant for grabbing reserved areas by some developers has stalled the construction of a water pipeline from Gurara Dam through the district. In Lokogoma, laying of water pipeline has been stalled because some estate developers have built on the right of way.
He added that lack of approved engineering drawings from the FCDA at the inception of the district contributed to encroachment into supposed green areas and waterways by developers. “To be fair to some developers too, before we even started development in Lokogoma, we insisted that they give us engineering drawings so that we can properly be guided. But we know also, that engineering drawings take time and at that time, the FCDA said they have not been able to put the engineering drawings together.”
On his part, the Director of the Department of Development Control of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Mr. Murktar Galadinma said Lokogoma District is one of the districts where the FCT authorities are experimenting with the concept of mass housing.
On whether engineering drawings for the district are now ready and equally made available to developers, Galadinma answered in the affirmative.
On allegations of connivance among developers and some members of staff of the Development Control in distorting approved drawings and encroach on green areas. Galadinma said as a human organisation, bad eggs are certainly in the system. He, however, declared that a day of reckoning is coming where they would be held to account.
“No society is perfect. No institution is perfect. And we are not 100 per cent perfect. Definitely there are bad eggs among us. But as I always say, these people will not go scot free. Lives are being lost. Properties are being lost. So, who are those responsible? Who is supposed to act but failed to act?
“So, definitely after the whole thing, we will sit down and give our own account. This is what happened and these are our recommendations”, the FCT Director said.
On why Lokogoma is particularly susceptible to flooding in time of downpour, Chief Momodu attributed it to a river traversing most of the estates.
He said: “What I observed about some of those estates is that there is a small river in Lokogoma that passes through several estates and those estates have land on both sides of the river. So, they developed both sides.”
He added that flooding in the FCT and its environs such as Apo, Galadinmawa and Lokogoma may not be solved until ongoing construction works in the area are completed. He said the social and economic cost of flooding in Lokogoma has negative implications for the economy of the FCT in particular and the country in general.
“Nobody can tell you precisely now what is the level of economic damage it has caused but it is colossal”, Momodu said.
Continuing, he said: “The losses are colossal because many houses have been destroyed. Now, when houses are destroyed, it’s economic waste because those houses were built with money. So, when you destroy, that fund is lost from the economy.
Now he is homeless with his family and you know the social effects of that homelessness. He becomes a liability entirely. That is the other side of it. So, you cannot pin any cost down in naira and kobo right now. The loss is human, social, economic and political to the nation.”
Momodu observed that residents have been moving in droves out of the district while rent and cost of houses have significantly plummeted in value.
On how to put a stop to flooding in Lokogoma, Momodu said developers in the area would be willing to partner with the FCDA authorities in the provision of infrastructure to mitigate the often perennial problem.
“I think generally, government has the intention to put infrastructure in place but they are limited by fund. The other thing is that if you tell people what you want to do, they are willing to support you to do it. If government comes around to take inventory of all those network of roads and the roads that lead to particular estates, you come and engage the estates themselves and say ‘we want to do this your road, it is about one kilometre long, it would cost us maybe N25 million.
“For us to hasten this job, we would want you to contribute maybe 30 per cent or 40 per cent of this money, and if you do that within a period of six months, we will come and do the job for you’, many estates will be willing to do so.
“I think that is another approach because the enormity of the work is one that if you leave it for the FCDA, in the next 10 years most of those roads would not be attended to because money is a problem now,” Momodu said.
To address the challenges posed by flooding in many parts of the capital city, Mr. Galadinma said the authorities may seek assistance from the Ecological Fund.
“We will try out some solutions. We are looking at maybe collaborating with the Ecological Fund so that we can do first things first. We may try to come up with a flood-hazard map so that areas with this characteristic can be identified or mapped out so that no further development can take place there.
In a related development, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has called on government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to urgently put in place measures to prevent loss of lives and property in flood-prone areas across the country.
Reacting to this year’s flood warnings issued by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Omo-Agege expressed deep concerns over the frightening flood signals from the NIHSA.
In a recent call on stakeholders, the Deputy Senate President canvassed sensitisation of residents ahead of disasters, instead of offering condolences after the damage had been done.
NIHSA, in the said report, had warned that federal and state governments might need to tackle likely re-occurrence of deaths and displacement through flooding in several parts of the country.
“NIHSA’s 2019 flood warnings indicate that there is crucial need for adequate early flood prevention measures, mitigation and preparedness by federal and state governments.
“It also indicated that coastal states such as Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ondo and Rivers states are very likely to experience heavy coastal flooding due to rise in sea level and tidal surge.
“Indeed, severe flooding has occurred in several parts of the country, causing loss of lives and property but if appropriate and early preventive measures are not implemented on time, this could lead to high records of deaths, destruction of property, family displacement, disease outbreaks, agro-economic down turn and other negative effects associated with flooding.
“In accordance with this warning, all states and Federal Government agencies, non-governmental organisations and all others who can play positive roles in mass sensitisation and other relevant activities should play active roles.
commence early flood preventive measures before heavier rains commence in a few weeks”, Omo-Agege said.
Omo-Agege, however, pledged full backing for all government agencies and aid partners towards ensuring that all necessary support is given to flood victims and their communities.
He also advised people living in flood-prone communities to heed government’s flood warnings and be prepared to evacuate once such directives are given by their states’ emergency management authorities and other relevant authorities.