Jigawa: As floods wreck havoc…

In Jigawa, scores have been dispatched to their early graves, hundreds homeless and many others are in shanties in various camps for the Internally Displaced Persons in the state, due to flooding since the rain started this year.
BAYO MUHAMMAD ALABIRA looks at the havoc, neglect of the flood victims as well as efforts by governments to ameliorate their situation

Rains blessing and curse Rain is one of the necessities of life and existence without which life becomes unbearable or almost impossible.
But this nature’s gift also becomes a disaster when it comes accompany with storm that destroys human’s structures including lives, houses, farmland and other economic sectors.
However, recently the disaster visited Jigawa state with telling consequences as more than 91 lives, 470 communities, as well as hundreds hectres of farmlands were estimated to have been lost to the incessant flooding across 14 local government areas of the state.
Most of the LGAs ravaged by the flood in Jigawa state are those stretched along the River Hadejia/Jamare, Ringim, Taura, Jahun, Miga, Kafinhausa, Hadejia, Kaugama, GurI, Kerikamma and Birniwa, among others.
The Ringim local government council Chairman, Alhaji Abdurrashid Ibrahim Illah, confirmed that the flooding affected several villages including Dabi, Ibawa, Algama, Laura, Kayi hawa, Dingare, Siyanku, Nsukum, Zangon Kanya.
Others are, Kyarama, Dabi , Sintilmawa , Yan-Dutse, and Chai-chai Sabuwa, among others in six Wards of the LGA.
He further explained that the flood had killed seven persons and more than one hundred hectares of farm land were submerged rendering over 45,000 families homeless, saying these communities are in dare need of assistance from state and federal governments, individuals and other philanthropists respectively.
Huge casualties Finding by Blueprint Features further revealed that about 40 persons were confirmed dead while 260 communities were submerged and thousands of hectares of farmland destroyed by the flood in Miga local government, area among others.
It was also gathered that some of the deceased victims died from cholera outbreak caused by the flood as all their source of drinking was contaminated, while others died when the canoe capsized while making effort to rescue themselves and others from the flood.
Rescue efforts In order to rescue various communities from being ravaged by the flooding our reporter who was on the spot assessment visit noted that youths and other members of different communities were working day and night constructing an embankments around their communities.
In other communities in the state where the disaster took its high toll, it destroyed several houses and human’s lives which complicated the situation rendering many families homeless.
Their situation is worst because these families include children, old people, women and the sick among them have no shelter or enough food items and this situation has over stretched the health facilities within these localities.
The situation the children, old aged, pregnant women, the sick were seen when our reporter visited one of the affected communities is pitiable and pathetic.
They were seen managing under a tougher condition that can further worsen their health.
Presently, many families are managing to get clean water to drink because the entire environment ravaged by flooding had been contaminated.
Pregnant women as casualty In Hadejia, the deputy governor, Barrister Hadejia told news men that no fewer than, 30 peoples were confirmed dead while hundreds of pregnant women and other patients with different ailment are hindered from accessing medical services as flood cut-up over 210 communities across 14 local government areas in the state.
Barrister Hadejia maintained that thousands of houses and over 68,000 hectres of farmlands were submerged and destroyed by the floods worth billions of Naira around Hadejia Emirate.
Some of the victims told our reporter that for over 30 years ago they had never witnessed such flood disaster that took away all what they had including the human lives in the area.
One of the victims Malam Adamu Mai’unguwa of Budamai village who got to his town Harbo Sabuwa village from Budamai village on a canoe decried the situation.
According to him, especially Miga and Kafinhausa local government areas, the problem has reached its worse because the entire council secretariats were submerged by water brought by flooding.
The entire environment had been polluted, yet, social amenities to carter for the lives of victims are completely in adequate.
The council chairmen are battling with the provision of assistance to the victims as well as relief materials, food and shelter.
Embankments Most of the council chairmen are engaged in providing materials for embankments with the view to protecting the areas threaten by the flooding.
The provision of empty bags to the communities, villages and hamlets where youths and able body men engaged in hard labour day and night creating water ways, embankments respectively, to secure lives is ongoing.
Disaster management politicised The flood disaster management was allegedly politicised by government officials for their selfish interest.
The Senator representing Jigawa North east, Senator Ubale Shittu has vehemently blamed the state government’s effort in assisting the victims as well as the other people closed to the state Governor.
Shittu querried why should the victims be given little or nothing at all in some places? He lamented that only Gari and few other items were provided for the victims.
He further blamed the Presidency for excluding Jigawa state in the list of affected states waiting to be assisted.
More victims lament Also narrating his ordeal one Musa Ahmed of Auyo LGA, told our reporter that “when the flood reached their area it was in the night and nobody could even assist us evacuate our family members, children and our women and old aged persons.
Today, the assistance given to us is not adequate considering the enormity of the problem at hand, though the state government is trying its best the size of the problems challenges the federal government to urgently do the needful”.
Another victim, Sule Dahiru of Jahun told our reporter that presently he is at the temporary camp with his family even though some of them have already relocated to their relations and friends.
“And our people at the temporary camps are yearning for assistance from the willing persons and individuals philanthropists”, he said.
Hospitals dislocated In some areas our reporter observed that health facilities like hospitals and drinking water had been shattered and polluted to the extent that getting clean water to drink is a serious problem to the victims.
The development therefore, calls for urgent need to tackle the problem more than any other thing in the affected areas.
To this end, the Governor, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has said Jigawa state government has established 16 temporary Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps for the victims of flood in Auyo, Jahun and other local government areas across the state.
The Commissioner for Works and Housing, Aminu Muhammad Gumel, who represented the governor while inspecting the effect of the ravaging flood on some communities in the state, disclosed that more assistance will be sought.
He said it has become necessary to establish the IDPs camps because already Auyo local government area has been submerged by water to the extent that no movement of people within the council secretariat.
Not only that, he said the water has washed away some villages in the state where lives and properties worth billions of naira were also lost.
“So far, about 14 local government areas were affected by the flood and over 32 people have lost their lives in this LGA alone.
And about 100 hectares of farmlands and houses were destroyed in this LGA”.
Five IDPs camps had also been established temporarily in Auyo, Jahun and other local government areas mostly affected by the flood in the state in order to provides shelter to the victims”, he stressed.
“We have evacuated the victims and move them temporarily to some schools and other government buildings.
The state government has also provided temporary clinics, boreholes and public convenience in each of these IDPs camps.
We as a government had also provided food items drinking water and other needed relief materials as phase one before the next line of action” He emphasised.

Leave a Reply