The massive flood that hits several parts of the country in the last two weeks are receeding and displaced victims are returning to their hitherto affected communities.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency, over 1.4 million persons were displaced, with about 500 persons reported dead as at October. More than 790,000 persons were also dislocated, while 1,546 persons were injured.
Many of the affected residents returned to their houses to meet cracked walls, weakened structures, collapsed fences and walls, coupled with environments infested with dangerous reptiles and mosquitoes.
Most of the victims who spoke to Daily Trust admitted that they live in houses built close to waterways and have no alternative accommodation to move into.
Residents of various villages in Taraba State displaced by the flood have raised concerns over the bad conditions they found in their houses. They complained that their houses cracked and they now live with dangerous reptiles in their communities.
The worst affected areas in the state include Jen, Bandawa, Zip, Binnari, Yashin Tuwo and Gorowa in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area. Others are Dampar, Isini, Gishin Hassan and Ibbi towns in Ibbi Local Government Area.
One of the returnees, Mallam Gambo Zip in Karim-Lamido, said that despite the inherent danger of possible building collapse as a result of the cracks and reptiles, they had no option but to return.
“We are fishermen; our houses have cracks and could collapse any time, but we will continue to manage. We have no other place to go”, he said.
He complained that dangerous reptiles took over many buildings, but they care more about the buildings than reptiles.
“As fishermen, we have been coming in contact with reptiles inside and outside water, and their presence in our environment will not pose any danger to us”, Gambo said.
Another affected resident, Jalo Ibbi, who has just returned, said he had to continue his life there since he had no other place to go.
“We are aware of the danger of staying in such a structure, but we don’t have alternative places. We don’t have money to repair the buildings and we have nowhere to go.
“Two of my rooms have collapsed and the remaining three have cracked. I am now managing the rooms with my wife and children”, he said.
An official of the state Ministry of Environment, Mr James Bulus said that residents of villages along the banks of River Benue were always in danger of being displaced by flood.
He said the government had been warning them of the danger posed by the annual flood but they refused to vacate the areas.
According to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Farouq, Jigawa State was the most affected state by the flood disaster that ravaged parts of Nigeria.
The Senior Education Manager of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Mr Michael Banda, at least 257 health facilities and schools in the state were destroyed by the widespread flood caused by torrential rainfall. Many families also lost their homes, livestock, and farmlands as the floods destroyed infrastructure like dams and bridges and washed away several roads.
In September, police authorities in the state said the flood had claimed over 95 lives in the state.
Some of the victims said they rebuilt their houses with thatch roofs to enable them return.
At Majiyawa community in Ringim Local Government Area, some of the victims returned home but complained that the environment was no longer conducive.
One of the victims from Ringim, Amadu Majiyawa said that some of them had to return to rebuild their houses because of the hardship they faced in displaced persons camps.
Last week, a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Dantata; and the founder of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, among others, raised over N1 billion for Jigawa State flood victims.
The donations were made in Dutse during a fundraising in support of the 2022 flood victims in the state. Dantata and Rabiu each donated N200 million, the state government N250 million, Governor Muhammad Badaru gave N25 million on behalf of himself, family and his company, Talamis Group, while many banks sent their donations to help the victims.
In Adamawa State, flood victims returned to inhabit damaged structures and facing the risk of environmental diseases.
The state Emergency Management Agency announced that this year’s flooding claimed 37 lives and displaced 171,000 people across the 21 local areas in the state.
Some of the returning residents said they had to spend days clearing piles of debris and other forms of waste brought by the flood, and in some cases, reptiles.
A resident of Anguwan Tana in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area, Umaru Danmama said that he feared that a section of his house could collapse after the house was submerged for weeks in September.
“You can see that I have just finished sanitation of this house in preparation for my two wives to return. Some structures are still wet and showing cracks, which means there is a risk of collapsing, but we have to return because I don’t have any other place, and we are tired of staying at the camp set up in the primary school”, he said.
A displaced resident in Girei, Yakubu Ayuba said he was scared the first time he returned to his flooded house after it became infested with snakes, which found home there, saying he had to seek the assistance of local charmers and youths to reclaim his house.
He said that since returning to the community, diseases became prevalent, with residents often suffering from fever, headache and other sicknesses.
In Benue State, life has returned to normalcy after the flooding that sacked many communities around the brinks of the river.
Most of the returnees didn’t bother about the state of the building they were coming back to as they complained of not having the financial capacity to repair or relocate to higher grounds despite knowing the dangers of the structural defects of the affected houses.
At Oju Street in Wadata Rice Mill vicinity, some of the residents have returned, while others are yet to come back home.
Isaac Adegahi, whose house was also affected, said he had to return, not minding the risk.
“We returned after cleaning the house. The foundation of the house is even threatened. Inside the walls of the rooms are peeled while the floors are broken, and we don’t have money to repair it. The house is actually not in a suitable position as it was before the flood, but we don’t have a choice”, he said.
Sarah Yarso, who returned last week, also said she did not have money to repair her damaged house.
She said: “I killed three snakes inside the house and many of them around the premises when I returned. We could only fumigate the place before packing in”.
Also, Khadijah Ahmed said her family returned to their house not up to one week now and had to do some major structural work on the building so that it would be fit for habitation.
The Benue State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Dr Godwin Oyiwona said that the ministry would continue to open up blocked drainages while it planned for construction of new ones.
Also, residents of communities in the nine local government areas of Kogi State that were badly affected by flood have started returning to their various homes after the water receded.
In the flooded areas in Lokoja, the state capital, many of the affected houses looked weak and dilapidated.
A resident of Andakolo, Mallam Ahmed Baido, who just returned, said he had nowhere else to go. He, therefore, had to clear the debris in his compound to enable him return.
When reminded of the need for a technical check to ascertain the degree of structural damage to his house he said, “It is only God that protects, not our indoctrinated manmade knowledge”.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Victor Omofaye said that a lot of measures had been taken to alleviate the hardship caused by the flood.
Persons displaced by flood in Bayelsa State have continued to count their losses as they return to their houses. Most of the victims returned to cracked walls, damaged property.
They also called on the government to embark on extensive fumigation of their houses and environments to get rid of reptiles.
Mrs Maria Ebi said that her fence collapsed due to the high volume of floodwater, while the entire property in the house got damaged.
She said: “As we are talking, I can’t just enter the house and begin to live. I have been doing cleaning and fumigation since Sunday; even to dry things affected by the flood is a huge job.
“The losses are too much to bear, I don’t even know where to start, that is why I plead with the government to take necessary measures to stop future occurrence of this disaster”.
Another victim, Pastor Mike Tayese, whose house was totally submerged, said returning home after the water receded had not been easy as the water weakened the house, causing cracks.
Structural and environmental experts have however advised the returnees to carry out integrity test on their buildings and fumigate their surroundings.
An estate surveyor, Aminu Sheikh Mohammed said: “Water reduces the structural strength of buildings, especially if such houses remained submerged for quite a long time, particularly if the land on which the structure was built had enough exposure to underground water. This may affect the foundation of the structure and it will begin to cause cracks”.
An environmentalist, Mallam Sani Abdul Ganiyu warned inhabitants of flooded areas to desist from going back to their houses without first fumigating the area, saying there is the need to eliminate snakes, rodents, mosquitoes and dangerous insects that would have taken refuge in their houses while they were away.
Professor Martins Udochukwu of the Department of Environmental Engineering in the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi said that apart from the danger of coming in contact with reptiles and dangerous insects, “the weakness of the foundation of buildings may lead to collapse. The solutions include fumigation, renovation to reinforce and strengthen the buildings”.
Credit: Daily Trust Saturday
