Showers of agony,ruin and death

In Bayelsa, streets and roads became
rivers and people had to use boats.

The recent flooding in various parts of Nigeria has led to fears that if care is not taken, the nation might be totally submerged in water. Ayo-Lawal Gbenoba relays the lamentations of victims and the way out of the present precarious situation.

BEREAVED mother missing after flood claims four children
Flood destroys 560 farmlands in Taraba
Overflowing river sacks Bayelsa communities
Flood submerges 50 houses in Delta
Flood destroys 500 houses in Yobe
Floods dislodge 1,000, damage 400 houses in Ogun
Flood sacks Lekki/Ajah residents
More deaths as flood ravages Plateau...

IN 2007, during the rainy months, such were the screaming headlines in Nigerian newspapers. In all, over 200 people were killed, hundreds were rendered homeless, while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed by the rampaging floods. In Amakor Village, Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, things will never be the same again for 75-year-old Elijah Ezekeke. During the August 8, 2007 flood which swept through his village, all his four children died in the flood! All boys, the oldest was 12 years old.

A week before that tragic incident, Pa Ezekeke’s house had collapsed due to a flood-induced erosion which ate away the foundation of his building. He was forced to move to his younger brother’s house where he was when the flood swept away his children. Pa. Ezekeke is no longer himself while his wife, Joana, has been missing since the ugly incident. In the throes of grief, she just left home for an unknown destination and nobody knows her whereabouts till today.

While lamenting his fate, Pa Ezekeke, in tears, said: “I have not been able to do anything since that day, everyday, I sit here, believing that the children are on their way back home. We are paying a heavy price for flood in this village”. Igwe Gilbert Nwabueze Ofomata, the traditional ruler of Nanka Village, disclosed that 15 lives were lost in floods in recent times in the area while he also lamented that the death of the four children was one of their worst experiences in the village.

No fewer than 560 farmlands were overrun by floods in five local government areas of Taraba State, raising fears of food shortage in the country. Crops destroyed included rice, maize, sugarcane, cassava and yam worth millions of naira, while the local government areas affected were Karin Lamido, Ibi, Gassol, Ardo Kola and Lau. Several houses were also destroyed but no life was lost. Apart from the torrential rains, the River Benue was said to have overflowed its banks due to the release of excess water from the Laddo Dam in Cameroun Republic.

It was a tale of sorrow, tears and blood in Bayelsa State as major rivers overran their banks, especially River Nun and other creeks in the area. From Yenagoa Local Government Area to the far end of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, the story was the same. Flood washed away farmland, fishing nets were lost in transit, shanties were pulled down, while lives were lost. The most affected communities were in Ekeremor Local Government Area and they included Aleibiri, Amalka-Zion, Letugbene, Angalaweigbene, Obriegbene and other neighbouring communities in the local government area. People were rendered homeless while their sources of livelihood were destroyed by the flood. The living are still counting their losses.

Spokesperson for Obriegbene community, Binama Wukwa, described this year’s flooding in the area as unprecedented in the annals of the state. He said the losses could not be quantified in monetary terms, saying: “ How do we quantify the loss of lives? “Though the 2007 rainy season started late, we did not anticipate what we are experiencing. Over 80 per cent of the people in this state reside in coastal areas and with this year’s experience, many landlords are now tenants in their own communities.”

Wukwa stated that many parents could no longer pay their children’s school fees. While the people of Obriegbene and other neighbouring communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area are yet to come to terms with what befell them, the people of Angalaweigbene have accepted their fate.

Angalaweigbene is another coastal community in the state. The people are predominantly farmers, but where they would do the farming next season now remains a question begging for answer. Part of the farmland has been submerged by flood, leaving the people hopeless and helpless. Narrating the ugly experience, the Community Development Committee Chairman for the area, George Freetown, described it as a natural disaster, saying, “who are we to query God? He works in a mysterious way. Nobody had the premonition that there would be flood this year and if at all we have, are there measures to be put in place as an individual or group of people?

“As peasant farmers, what do we do than to rely on God and the people? We are riverians and as a result, such things should be expected, but the magnitude was too much this year”. To cushion the effect of the hardship, he called on all the tiers of government, as well as intervening agencies, to come to the aid of the affected communities.

The community of the erstwhile governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was not left out. In spite of all the barriers, River Nun overran its bank, dealing a devastating blow to both the farmers and the people in the area. As if the people had the premonition of what would be the effect of this year’s rainfall, an iron barrier was erected to prevent the river from over-running its boundary, but this was not enough, as not only the farmlands were overrun, some communities as well were submerged.

While some people lost their means of livelihood, others lost their lives. The fear now in the community is about the outbreak of epidemics. A spokesperson for the community and a chieftain of All Nigeria Peoples Party, Chief Douye Naingba, said people from the affected communities in southern Ijaw local government area had started experiencing strange ailments, attributing it to flooding.

Even the House of God was not spared by the
raging flood, in Lagos State.

According to him, if the situation remains unchecked, it might lead to an outbreak of epidemics that would spread across the entire state. To prevent this, he called on the Federal and state governments, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to look into the matter by not only providing relief materials but also medical assistance.

While that of coastal areas could be referred to as natural disaster, the experience of the people in the state capital, appears to be man made. The city is not planned, coupled with the fact that people are putting up structures arbitrarily with no recourse to the laid down plan of the capital city development authority. During the rainy season, whether there is flooding or not, most of the areas in the city are not accessible. It has even deteriorated to a stage that some people are now using canoe to get to their houses. Also, there is no effective drainage system.

With this development, one was not surprised when the flood took over places like Ovom, Amarata and some areas in Akenfa Igbogene inYenagoa Local Government Area of the state. On its economic effect on the people, Mrs Ebi Tari, a trader, said it would have grave effects on food production in the state. “Prices of farm produce will definitely be on the increase and if care is not taken, it may end up in famine. God forbid!”

Reacting to the development, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr (Mrs.) Bolere Ketebu Nwokeafor, during her visit to some of the affected communities, expressed shock at the level of destruction, describing flooding as a natural phenomenon, while she promised that government would rise up to the occasion by assisting the victims.

Also, the State Commissioner for Environment, Elder Bethel Amabebe, reassured the people of the present administration’s commitment to assisting those in need, saying that he had seen things for himself and necessary measures would be taken to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.The commissioner said that relief materials had been sent to the affected communities while government was in constant touch with both NEMA and other agencies so as to find lasting solutions to the incessant cases of flooding, not only in Bayelsa State, but the entire region as a whole.

Many villages were submerged by flood in Delta State while 50 houses were swallowed in Oko community of the state. The people of the area, who are mainly farmers and fishermen lost their means of livelihood to the flood. Schoolchildren could not go to school because there were no buildings to use, all the school buildings in the area were covered by flood.

Member representing Oshimili South Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Mr. Eugene Okonji, described the experience as a colossal loss and pointed out that the area should be declared a disaster zone. The mostly affected area, Oko-Odifulu, has been completely deserted while the Oka Akwu (Community Leader), Chief Onyeka, called for assistance to bail the victims out of their precarious condition.

In Ngelzarma town, Fune Local Government Area of Yobe State, 500 houses were submerged after a downpour in August. The first time the town was hit by flood it claimed over 100 houses. The Emir of Ngelzarma, Alhaji Mohammed Maiyeri Ibn Isa II, said if not for the timely intervention of the state government in bringing relief materials to the victims, they would have been exposed to harsh conditions and economic hardship. He disclosed that the flood damaged “ a lot of houses and property worth millions of naira which included farm produce.”

July 2007 was the turn of Ogun State to witness monumental losses due to flooding. After a 14- hour rainfall, the Ogun River overflowed its banks. Four hundred houses were wrecked while about 1,000 people were rendered homeless. There was chaos as almost all major roads leading to the capital city, Abeokuta, were flooded. In other parts of the state, the story was the same.

According to the Midweek Tribune findings, nine out of 20 local government areas in the state were affected. In Abeokuta alone, areas like Oke- Lantoro, Oke-Sokori, Totoro, Idi-Oparun, Ijemo, Mokola, Lafenwa and several others, were submerged by the flood. Outside Abeokuta, headquarters of local governments areas like Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Ogun Waterside, Sagamu and others in the Yewa Division of the state, battled with this problem.In all, about 37 communities were affected.

In Yewa North Local Government Area, the flood destroyed houses and farmlands in Egua and Igan Alade. The Onigua of Egua, Oba Adeleye Dosunmu, revealed that the flood that ravaged his community was due to the fact that water from Ogun Dam was released because the dam could not contain the water surge which resulted from the downpour. In his own comment, the Alademeso of Igan Alade, Oba Gabriel Olalowo, also made the same observation, pointing out that the flood also wreaked havoc in his domain. A victim, Mrs. Modupe Adebari, bemoaned her losses, saying she lost all she had laboured for to the flood.

In Lagos, the story was worse as man-made obstacles colluded with natural downpour to compound the flooding problem in the state, especially in the Lagos metropolis, where one finds it difficult to differentiate between terrestrial and aquatic living whenever it rains. Areas mostly affected in Lagos were Agege, Ojo, Okokomaiko, Bariga, Oworonsoki, Yaba, Surulere, Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki/ Ajah, Ojuelegba, etc.

One of the worst cases was witnessed in Owode-Ajegunle-Ikorodu axis where thousands of people were rendered homeless while properties worth billions of naira were destroyed. The heavy rains led to a rise in the water level of rivers in the state and this situation remained for two months. The devastating effects of the flood compounded the problem of the people living around the collapsed Ikorodu bridge while many roads were completely destroyed.

The sudden opening of the River Ogun Water Dam was said to have compounded the crisis while many residents of Lekki and Ajah in Eti Osa East Local Government Area were sacked from their homes. A middle-aged lady was killed while several others were injured when two houses collapsed in Karaole Estate, Ogba.

Narrating his ordeal in Apapa Olodi of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr. Omoremi Olopade said: “You won’t believe it that during the downpour around June and July this year we were practically sleeping inside the water. When the rain started we thought it was a child’s play until my room and those of my neighbours in this area of Olodi were taken over by water and you need to see how we were living then! All our property were placed in our cupboards, while my wife and children were distributed among my extended family members in Lagos.”

Mr. Boniface Icheagina recalled:”The situation in this part of Ajegunle Boundary, in Ifelodun Local Government Area, could best be described as man-made because the government had elected to help re-build the whole area in a more befitting way, but the people, due to the fear of the unknown, chose to misinterpret the gesture of the government.

“Rainy season in this area, especially the Baale area, is always an eyesore. I would say we in this part of the state are just too dirty, may be it’s due to our state of poverty. The coming of the rain has become a curse for us here, the stench that usually accompanies the dirty water which is visible every where during the rainy season calls for concern. Most of us are planning to vacate this area before the next rainy season, what we have lost cannot be quantified. I would want the government to revisit their earlier plan which I think was dropped for political reasons; that is government coming to develop the entire Ajegunle and its environs, I think this would be more beneficial to the people in this community.

On his own part, Mr. Festus Acholonu, another victim, revealed: “My fear since I came to Lagos was confirmed this year, I suffered for being poor. The house I rented here at Achapo, in Ajegunle, was cheap compared to other locations in the state and I only knew what I have led myself into when the rain started. I practically lost everything I have ever laboured for in life.

“As it is common here, you can hardly find a water system lavatory in this area, this has helped to increase the health problems of the inhabitants of this area and as you well know, life here is always on the fast lane. Our drainage system, if any is made available, is usually blocked by pure water sachets, nylon and other materials.”

In Kogi State, residents of Felele, a suburb of Lokoja, Ogwolawo and other communities in the Eastern Senatorial District of the state also had tales of woes to tell. Mrs Gloria Uche, a resident of Felele in Lokoja went Biblical when the Midweek Tribune accosted her: "Is it not the Bible that says there is time and season for everything under the heaven? For us, now that the dry season has come, it is business as usual. It is not up to three weeks that some of us have to return to our base here.

“It is an annual thing that we have to relocate to the town during the rainy season to avoid being washed away by flood that has become a monster to the residents of this area." There is no doubting the fact that Felele in the capital city is always the worst hit by flood during any rainy season, a situation that has rendered so many homeless. Residents of the area, according to them, hardly sleep with their two eyes closed. Most of them always take refuge in the town at the peak of the rainy season only to return when it ceases. The flood also caused a heavy traffic disruption along the Lokoja-Abuja Road.

A journalist, Mr Timothy Ajiboye, a resident of the area, lamented the ordeal the people of the area pass through every rainy season, adding that there was no season that property worth several millions of naira were not washed away by flood. Ajiboye ascribed the problem of the area to its topography, explaining that the community is in a valley which exposes the place to flood during rainy seasons. In his words: "During rainy seasons, the area, being in the valley, is always submerged in water due to lack of drainage that could have allowed free flow of water and besides, the area also lacks proper layout."

At Ogwolawo in Ofu Local Government Area of the state, flood has cut off the people of the area as the major road linking villages to one another has been washed away. According to one Sam Akor, who claimed to be the leader of the youth wing of the community, the damage on the road was caused by erosion occasioned by flood, stressing that efforts by youths to salvage the road by sandfilling the place could not yield any positive result as the flood needed to be controlled.

However,the state government had contracted the road to a construction company which the state commissioner for works said would cost N3.3million. While the residents of Felele appealed to the state government to come to the aid of the people of the area, Governor Ibrahim Idris promised to assist in the control of the flood by ensuring that good drainage was constructed in the area while sandfilling would be carried out in areas where there were serious threats to the highways.

The Coordinator of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Mrs Rhoda Momoh, described the menace as a serious threat to the state. She noted that officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, had once visited the state, with a promise to assist, but regretted that nothing had been heard from them.

Mrs Momoh, again, explained that the agency had embarked on enlightenment campaign to educate people on the need not to put up any structure on the river bank and that people should learn how to construct drainage around their houses to allow easy flow of water.

Two thousand people were displaced while properties worth several millions of naira were destroyed by floods in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State. The persistent flooding in Ilorin was attributed to the Asa River. While some said it was caused by the drilling of the river, in a bid to supply potable water to the homes of Ilorin people, the Technical Adviser on Water Turn-Around in the state, Mr. Brian Bradley, said the flood occurred as a result of dumping of refuse into the Asa River which obstructed free flow of water.
How do we end the flood of tears?

The general view in Lagos, where the flood was pumped up by the sudden discharge of water from the River Ogun Water Dam, was that the situation was aggravated by indiscriminate dumping of refuse into water channels and canals, construction of buildings on water channels and road setbacks. All these illegal acts contributed to blockage of drainage systems and thereby, diverting the normal flow of water.

The Assistant Director in Charge of Public Relations Department, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, attributed the incessant flooding in the state to lack of discipline and the non-chalant attitude of the people, saying the state government had embarked on enlightenment programmes towards attitudinal change. Apart from that, Governor Babatunde Fashola has approved N1.12 billion to re-dredge 15 tertiary canals across the state to curb the menace of flooding.

However, Adeyemi pointed out that “if people dump refuse in the appropriate locations, drainage will not be filled up with refuse and flooding will reduce. The community people are to monitor that the money paid for the drainage construction projects does not go down the drain, they are to monitor that wastes are not dumped in the drains and they are to protect major government investments in their localities.”

The South West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr. Mike Adeyanju, who corroborated Adeyemi’s position, listed Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Kosofe, Alimosho, Ibeju/Lekki and Ajeromi Ifelodun as local government areas most prone to flood. He said if people could stop their attitudes leading to the man-made disaster, it would save government the huge cost of aid to victims of flood.

Also, a flood victim in Abeokuta, Alhaji Adesina Aribidesi, said there was an urgent need for the government to provide more channellisation in the areas badly affected. Yet another victim of the menace in Ijebu-Ode, Mr. Leke Ajibola, called for a good network of drainage systems. He said in his Degun area, the flood wreaked much havoc because there was no drainage system in the area.

The Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, disclosed that six billion naira would be needed to tackle the problem, pledging that a large chunk of the money would be devoted to channellisation in all the flood-prone areas of the state. The flooding of parts of England when the River Thames burst its banks, flood disasters in other pasts of the world and the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, made the United Nations to go back to the drawing board to fashion out ways of giving timely and effective disaster relief and recovery in affected countries. Except for the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, there is no coherent regulatory agreements on disaster management and humanization assistance among UN countries. The United Nations recommendations to strengthen national disaster management frameworks in respective countries include:

• That disaster-affected population should have increased access to information sharing and radio and telecommunication tools to have adequate humanitarian information.

•The TTVI (Thai Tsunami Victim Identification) operation, which has been approved as a good practice of a disaster management mechanism, should be emulated.

• UN member states should establish standby arrangements among their national civil and military aircraft services to enhance the efficiency of relief operations, especially in large-scale disasters in the country or other countries.

• Include experts capable of carrying out scientific assessments of the impact of disasters, prevention procedures and early warning systems, so that their findings can serve in planning the preventive, recovery and reconstruction phases.

• Establish minimum baseline indicators to ensure relief materials effectively reach the affected population in adequate quantity and standards.

• Relief efforts should always be need-driven and not supply-driven as the case was in the tsunami operations.

The United Nations document further emphasised the need for local governments / authorities to have legal and institutional national frameworks dealing comprehensively with disaster preparedness, early warning and disaster management plans. Supporting the call by the wife of the President, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, that there should be permanent camps for disaster victims, the UN underscored the importance of having transition framework for recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction, in affected countries.

However, one of the major preventive measures listed by environmental scientists to stem incessant flooding, globally, is the preservation of forests. It was discovered that deforestation is mainly responsible for the increase in the frequency and severity of floods in developing countries, after researchers studied links between native forest cover and flooding during the 1990s in 56 developing countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
According to a EARTHtimes report, 100,000 people in the developing world were killed, and another 320 million displaced by floods, with economic damage exceeding one trillion dollars over a period of 10 years — Every figure and amount would have doubled with recent calamities.

The study, led by Corey Bradshaw of Charles Darwin University, asserted that “removing a tenth of the existing forest cover would increase the frequency of floods by 4-28 per cent and lengthen their duration by up to eight per cent. Nigeria would do herself and her teeming masses a lot of good by emulating countries like Bangladesh, India, China and Nepal, which often face severe flooding, and have already invested actively in forest protection and reforestation projects.