Flood: States, victims decry FG neglect

By Ori Martins

It was a deluge of tears, unimaginable agony and a complete state of hopelessness as flood dealt a devastating blow to some states in Nigeria even as they lamented and decried the slow response of the federal government to attend to their plight.

In about two weeks running, flood, occasioned by various factors, has been paying a severe damaging visits to states like Anambra, Imo, Bayelsa, Delta, Plateau and few others, and the losses have been huge.

The pains are unbeatable as goods worth hundreds of millions of naira are lost just as properties and farmlands estimated to the tune of billions of naira are equally destroyed.

Over 80 lives have been lost but the worst omen are the many children, youths and women now rendered refugees..

In Imo State, the raging flood has sacked and rendered thousands of people homeless in the Abacheke community of Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area.

Addressing newsmen on the ugly incident, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, team leader and principal site and rescue officer, Innocent Nwaeze, stated that the food basket of Imo State had been sacked, houses submerged just as crops and farmlands had been also lost.

Following this untold hardship, the people of the area were strictly advised to relocate to safer places as such a devastating incident could still resonate. The people of Achebeke had therefore found refuge in some churches and schools in the neighbouring communities.

According to Nwaeze, there are going to be what is called secondary emergency occasioned by the flood incident. He therefore, advised the affected communities to quickly relocate to other places to avoid the impending danger.

When contacted, the traditional ruler of the community, His Royal Highness, Eze Ikeji Bright, lamented the doom that visited his land and subjects and called on the Imo State Government, to come to their assistance.

Almost immediately, Governor Hope Uzodimma directed that relief materials should be made available to Achebeke people while he promised to give other assistance within the financial powers of the state.

The flooding has caused a regrettable socioeconomic hardships in the community. An indigene of the area, Ngozi Okoro, said things are terribly difficult for the people of the area as a people who produce farm produce for others are now hungry even as their words could not go to school due to the flood challenges.

At the same time, at least two church buildings had reportedly collapsed in Idemilli Iyiowa Odekpe community and Obenani, both of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State due to flood effects.

The two churches were Madonna Catholic Church in Idemilli, and an Anglican Church in the Obenani area.
Besides Ogbaru Local Government Area, flood also ravaged Anaku, the headquarters of Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State.

It was really very challenging as motorists and commuters could not travel or move around effectively as flood overflow the Onitsha-Otuocha- Ayamelum Road which is the utility link to the community.

A resident of the area, Christian Okonkwo challenged the state government to the fact that the flooding had become an annual ritual and wondered why the authorities had not made any meaningful move to permanently put an end to it.

Okonkwo said life is usually unbearable for the people in the area at this time and season of the year due to the flood challenges and effects. He blamed the flooding on River Ezu which has been submerged and the entire roads in the area become impassable.

Just like the case in Imo State, the situation in Anambra is also pathetic and deplorable. It was reported that famers have lost their farm produce, traders’ goods destroyed, roads in severe bad shapes even as attending cultural, political and spiritual functions is no longer an easy task.

Responding to the challenges of flooding in his state, Governor Chukwuma Soludo called on NEMA to always respond on time each time there is such a case while he promised to find a lasting solution to the problem and equally come to the rescue of the victims.

Probably, Bayelsa State, so far, seems to be the worst hit in the list of flood challenges. The flood worry in the South – South state is so bad that the government had to direct for the immediate closure of schools, which it termed “Flood Break”.

The more than one month long Forced Break would run between October 4 and November 11. A government announcement indicated that the closure had become necessary “to safeguard the life of teachers and students as flood continues to submerge parts of the state”.

“18 schools across Kolokuma/ Opokuma, Nembe l, Ogbia and Yenagoa Local Government Areas are expected to wait untill Monday, October 10, 2022 before embarking on the Forced Break.

“The delay is of a proposed visit by the officials of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Abuja, and ministry of education personnel for a data validation exercise in the said schools”, Agala Damini, the director, planning, research and statistics, ministry of education, issued a statement on behalf of the permanent secretary.

It must be recalled that flood had recently sacked virtually all the communities in Bayelsa, killing at least three persons, including a child, destroying properties, including pulling down buildings as well as damaging goods worth over millions of naira.

It prompted the Governor Diri to make a statewide broadcast in which he called on the Federal Government to urgently come to the assistance of the state by finding a lasting solution to the perennial challenge as well as providing succour to the victims of the flood.

The other two states that harshly experienced the evil wind of flooding were Plateau and Delta. It was quite humiliating in Delta that a monarch and his people were pathetically sent packing from their community.

This sad experience took place in Abala Kingdom of Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State. The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Fredrick Egbunokonye was ruthlessly sacked by a mindless flood that took over Abala Kingdom. Majority of his subjects were pitiably affected by the merciless flood attack.

Looking like a deposed king or even an emperor without an empire, the monarch, speaking from his refuge abode in Asaba, described the flood as a cruel visitor.

“The flood has been a very big issue because the entire community has been submerged. However, the challenge is that most of our people never wanted to relocate because of their farm produce or other issues like that but we evacuated people who showed interest for such purpose”, he enthused.

He confirmed that the Delta State Government wanted to open an IDPs camp at Ashaka but couldn’t because the area was equally submerged as well.

It was brought to light that a part of what could stop further flooding in the area was the dredging of the River Niger. They blamed the government for not responding promptly to the disaster. Therefore, the Igwe called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to take the dredging of River Niger very seriously.