As flood continued to wreak havoc on residents, motorists and passengers in Anambra State as well as the Lokoja – Abuja highway in Kogi State, farmers, residents and business operators in the state have continue to count losses due to the natural disaster.
The unfortunate incidents have wreaked havoc on several communities living on the bank of River Niger and River Benue.
Specifically, in Anambra, a substantial part of eight local government areas in the state are currently under water.
The local governments are; Ogbaru, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Anambra East, Anambra West, Awka North, Ayamelum and Oyi Local Government Areas.
The floods have cost indigenes of the area their crops, homes, livelihood and even lives.
In Ayamelum, Anambra East and Anambra West, houses have been submerged totally, while residents have fled, taking refuge in school facilities in the upland ares of their various communities.
In Ogbaru, last Friday, two boat mishap happened on the same day claiming lives.
While one of the boats, a big sized boat was carrying 85 passengers when it capsized, a smaller one said to be a flying boats which capsized as a result of engine failure had five passengers in it.
Sources said all five passengers in the speed boat lost their lives, while only nine people out of 85 were rescued from the bigger boat, leaving as many as 76 dead.
Last Sunday, sources within the community confirmed that 16 dead bodies have been recovered, while 60 were still under the waters. In all, 81 persons lost their lives in one day in the area.
A rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) has called for enquiries into the circumstances leading to the death of the victims.
In a statement signed by the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the group, Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi, he said the incident was beyond issuance of press releases by government to condemn the incident.
“The tragic mass deaths are beyond a mere statement of expression of sadness or shock and extension of condolences to the bereaved families by the Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo led government of Anambra State.
“Losing 81 defenseless and law abiding citizens of Anambra origin and residency in a day in such preventable or avoidable boat mishap is enough to fly flag at half mast or declare a state of mourning and public holiday if the authorities of the government of Anambra State are truly sensitive to the safety of the citizenry and conscious of the sanctity of human lives.
“The mass deaths also ought to invoke the setting up of the Government ‘Expert Enquiry’ to ascertain what truly happened, how it happened, why it happened, where it happened, when it happened and who died and who survived.
“It is not enough for the present government of Anambra State to issue sympathy message’ or ‘offer bread and butter and blankets and mats’ to flood victims and go home and rest.
“The 81 deaths recorded in the two boat mishaps would have been prevented if the failed portions of the Atani-Ogwuikpele and the Ozubulu-Atani Roads had been timely rehabilitated and proper water channels provided and drainages, gutters and other waterways unblocked.
“It was the inability of the government to ensure the above that made it possible for River Niger to bust into the left side of the residential areas of the Ogbaru interior and urban-thereby blocking and cutting off vehicular movements along the Atani-Ogwuikpele Road, forcing most of the passengers to use boats as the only alternative means to their destinations.”
The group called for the rehabilitation of the roads linking the areas, saying doing so could avert such occurrences in the future as the people can use roads, instead of water, especially during this period of flood, when water travels are dangerous.
Meanwhile, The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Disaster Response Unit (DRU) of the Military have commenced Aerial view operation to rescue persons displaced or trapped by the rising floods in Anambra.
The Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, South-East, Mr. Thickman Tanimu, told journalists in Awka on Monday, that it would aid the airlifting of trapped persons in the affected communities.
He said, “Search and Rescue (SAR Operations) has commenced. The Military DRU has engaged and have started ‘Air Recce’ or Aerial view to collect imagery intelligence of the affected communities.
“This will help to ascertain displaced and trapped persons who need to be evacuated to pave the way for air lifting,” he added.
Tanimu said the Presidency and the Director-General NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed-Habib, while commiserating with the state government and flood victims including the bereaved, approved the relief materials.
He said the relief materials would be presented directly to flood victims today, adding, “the delay in arrival of the relief materials is due to the flood disaster that cut off Abuja–Lokoja road and also the security situation due to the Monday sit-at-home in the south-east.
“The relief material will hopefully arrive on Tuesday and be ready for delivery directly to victims. These items are meant to complement the efforts of Anambra State government in providing immediate succour to victims and aid their speedy rehabilitation.”
For the time being, philanthropists, politicians and other good spirited individuals have been providing help to victims, who live in several camps within their communities.
A House of Representatives candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency, Dr. Amaechi Nwachukwu, who recently visited a IDP camp in Igbakwu community in Ayamelum lamented the sorry state of the victims.
Nwachukwu, a medical doctor who donated household and food items to the displaced people, also set up an emergency health centre in the camp to check the health of the victims and also provide them free drugs.
He called on other well-meaning people of the state to offer help to the victims.
Also, in Kogi State, residents of Kabawa, Adankolo, Gaduma and Ganja have been sub-merged and cut off from the rest of the state capital.
Investigation revealed that many houses may be affected as the high tide water is constantly increasing every minute.
While many civil servants that were caught unaware could not find their way to their various offices and those who are brave enough went through a canoe to the other side.
It was a lamentation galore for parents who were taking their wards for resumption and were forced to go back home as it was risky allowing children to go their schools at this moment.
Also, the popular Ganaja road leading to Ajaokuta, Kogi East and Eastern part have been sub-merged as many trucks were sub-merged in the water, while having to park by the roadside.
The market women in the state capital expressed frustrations as they could not get to market with various goods.
In some areas, street urchins were seen helping people crosses another side of the road and were also extorting money ranging from N500 -N1000 what they do.
A retired civil servant identified as Akpata, disclosed that he went to his brother’s house behind Omega Hotel and discovered that it had been completely submerged, pointing out that it was the help of fishermen with canoe that assisted him in evacuating the property and other valuables out of the water.
The building belonging to an American-based businessman with some tenants who were seen struggling to evacuate their property.
More worrisome was the overflow of Niger along Abuja Lokoja highway which was completely submerged by the flood and has cut-off off the road as travellers have been stranded between Lokoja and Koto Karf aa s result of grid luck.
Also, reports from Ibaji Idah Igamela/Odolu, Omala, Ajaokuta, Kogi and Bassa were also depressing as it was gathered that many communities in the areas had been sub-merged and particularly, the farmers were already groaning as their farmlands and the farm produce have been completely destroyed by the rampaging floods in their communities.
The rice farmers also lamented their losses due to devastating floods.
The Chairman of Rice Farmer Association in Ibaji Local government area of Kogi State, Jonathan Ogwuche stated the members have lost billions of naira to this year’s flood.
In a related development, six persons were reported to have died as boats capsized in Lokoja, the State capital. THISDAY gathered that the incident occurred at Kabawa and Ganja respectively recently.
In the same vein, rice farmers who were beneficiaries from the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) under the FGN/IFAD assisted project in Kogi have also been lamenting the colossal losses they have recorded due to the flooding. These beneficiaries were vulnerable farmers under the IFAD-VCDP Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF), aimed at cushioning the effects of f COVID-19 pandemic on rural farmers.
The farmers who are mainly from Ibaji, Lokoja and Ajaokuta Local Government Areas, told the Kogi VCDP Media team last Thursday, in Lokoja, that all their rice farmlands had been submerged by flooding.
Narrating the ordeal, the Ibaji Local Government Liaison Officer, Mr. Achogu Fredrick, said about a total of 216 rural farmers in Ibaji who benefitted from the IFAD-VCDP RPSF, had all lost their rice farmlands to flood.
According to him, each of the 216 farmers were having one hectare of rice farm, totaling 216 hectares in Ibaji, disclosing that all have been sub-merged.
“The RPSF grant which was a palliative to support us as vulnerable rural farmers to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 have been lost again.
”A total of 216 farmers who benefitted from the RPSF grant have lost everything to the flood. Indeed, it is a double tragedy for us,” he added.
He stated that IFAD/ VCDP funded the RPSF to pull farmers out of poverty that was heightened by Covid-19, noting that unfortunately the flood would once more push people back into hunger and starvation.
However, the Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. George Moghalu has directed the Area Manager of its Lokoja office to quickly release NIWA’s boats to provide services for stranded travellers in Lokoja and Koton Karfe areas of Kogi State.
This, he said, was to ease the suffering of the travellers caused by the flood.
In a statement signed by the Corporate Affair Manager, NIWA, Jibrin Dadau, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Lokoja, the NIWA gauge readers in Lokoja, confirmed that the 2012 flood level was 12.84 meters whereas that of this year was already reading 13.22 meters, hence, the 2022 flood level has surpassed that of 2012 with 0.38 meters.
According to the statement, the flood this year has overtaken some major roads in Ajaokuta, Lokoja and Koton Karfe Local Government Areas of Kogi State which made it impassable for travellers from or through Lokoja to Abuja, thereby creating serious hardship for Nigerians.
“It is in this regard, NIWA in conjunction with the Boat Owners Association has been providing succor to these victims in compliance with the safety guidelines of wearing life jackets, avoiding overloading, over-speeding and night sailing.
“It has been a harrowing experience for the people of various communities submerged by the flooding which caused incalculable damages to the lives and property in the affected 10 local government areas of Kogi State.”
The National Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had predicted that floods would inadvertently affect 22 states as a result of an increase in the volume of water because of high-intensity rain in the country.
The agency had earlier urged the states, local government areas and the residents in the flood plains to take precautions to mitigate against the devastating effects of flooding the various areas.
THISDAY had gathered that the current flood disaster in the country was occasioned by the release of water from Lego Dam in Cameron and others from Nigeria.
A staff of NIWA who spoke to THISDAY disclosed that there had been an increase in the volume of water this year.
Meanwhile, the federal government through the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission HYPPADEC has distributed relief materials to 113 communities affected by the flood disaster.
On its part, the Kogi State government has continued to take measures to mitigate its impact and has called on President Muhammadu Buhari as well-spirited Nigerians to come to victims of the flood disaster.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Victor Adewale Omofaye has commenced the distribution of relief materials including food items to the victims of the flood disaster in the affected local government.
David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka and Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja
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