Abdulmumuni Idris of Akpaku village in Kotonkarfe Local Government Area of Kogi State was hopeful of bumper harvest in the next few months from his flourishing 10-hectare rice field situated along the bank of the River Niger.
However, that hope has been dashed following a devastating flood that ravaged his community, submerged farmlands and wreaked havoc on residential building.
Idris is amongst the thousands of people who have been sacked from the comfort of their homes following the flood that swept across over 200 communities in about 10 flood prone local government areas in the state.
Many of these displaced persons are taking refuge in temporary shelters provided by the state government while others are putting up with their loved ones and friends.
During a recent visit to some of the camps, the displaced persons could not control their emotions as they presented a tale of anguish, loss, hopelessness and trauma the ravaging flood had brought upon them.
One of the worst affected villages in Kotonkarfe is Akpaku, which inhabitants are currently camping at Community Secondary School and Sabon-Gari Primary School. The chief of the community, Idris Ahmadu, told our correspondent that the flood forced his subjects to flee for dear lives, adding that they lost all their crops and livestock to the disaster, which he noted took many them unawares. He further noted that large hectares of rice, cassava, maize and potatoes farms, amongst others, were destroyed by the flood.
He lamented that life had not been easy for his people since they fled their homes to a displaced persons’ camp.
“We are suffering a lot in this camp. The water submerged our farmlands and destroyed our crops. Our local government administrator advised that we should not drink water from the flooded river, but we had no option than to drink the water since we don’t have potable water. It is only the soldiers that have been helping us with some bags of sachet water. Our children are falling sick.
“We don’t have food at the camp. There is a portion of land our emir allocated to us, but we need the government to assist in building structures for us so that we can relocate from the flood plains once and for all,’’ he said.
Abdul Musa, a farmer from Akpaku, said he lost his crops and livestock worth millions of naira. “I have one of the largest rice farms -10 hectares – but the flood destroyed it. I also lost my maize, potatoes and okra farms. I couldn’t harvest anything. Since we were displaced and we came to this camp on September 7, we have been suffering.
“Authorities of the local government area are supposed to at least help us with some things, but they are not doing it. They should assist us with nets to enable us catch fish and eat at this critical time. Our livestock were all destroyed.
“The flood took us unawares, and as such, we could not evacuate those livestock.
Besides, there was no money for me to hire engine boats to evacuate them. I only managed to escape with my family members using my own small wooden boat.
“For now, no help has come to us from the state or Federal Government. We know that President Buhari is a good man and even our governor. But the issue is that sometimes, when they release relief materials for victims affected by flood, government officials in charge often divert them.
“We want government to help us with foodstuffs, clinic and drugs so that we can feed and have access to treatment. Lack of food and drugs will worsen our situation in the camp,’’ he said.
Another victim, Ndako Idris, said life had been miserable for him since he lost his farmlands and other valuables to the flood. He said there was the need for the government to ameliorate the plight of people in the displaced persons’ camps.
“If nothing is done to assist us, many people will develop hypertension due to excessive thinking. As I’m talking to you now, I have not eaten anything today. The food we brought from home has been exhausted. We need government to help us with bags of sachet water. We are forced to drink water from the flood river since there is no other source of potable water.
“It is the soldiers who are guarding us in the camp that usually assist us with some bags of sachet water, which is not enough for the large population in the camp. You can imagine that it is soldiers that are showing us human kindness. We are praying that God would touch the government and other philanthropic organisations to come to our aid,’’ he said.
Sekinat Musa, who delivered a baby boy at the camp, said the experience was very traumatic. She is, however, happy for safe delivery.
“As you can see, I’m breastfeeding a new baby and I can’t go out to look for what to eat. I want the government and well-meaning people to assist me,’’ she pleaded..
Maryam Isiaq, another victim who delivered a baby at the camp, also appealed for assistance in terms of foodstuff and health facilities.
Abubakar Musa, who has two wives and nine children, said life had not been easy since the flood destroyed all his crops and farmlands. “My rice, maize and cassava farms were destroyed. It is the farms that have been our means livelihood. The little food we managed to bring to the camp have been exhausted and we are now left with nothing.
“There is hunger in the camp. We don’t have nets, mattresses and blankets. We also have a challenge with place of convenience and where to bath. Our women cannot take their baths in the afternoon except at night,’’ he narrated.
Fatima Abdullahi also said, “Women in the camp are going through a lot of challenges in terms of feeding our children. Our husbands are farmers and fishermen, but the flood has affected their occupations.
Maimuna Salihu lamented that many of their children were falling sick and they didn’t have the money to treat them.
Another victim, Salihu Idris, said he lost five hectares of rice farm, adding that his cassava, potatoes and maize farms were destroyed. He said the camp was congested, a situation that is making life very difficult for them. He said that between 10 to 20 households usually manage to sleep in a classroom.
In the same vein, flood victims in Ibaji Local Government Area of the state have called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other donor agencies to remove all bottlenecks in the distribution of relief materials to victims.
Speaking to our correspondent, Mrs. Helen Ibrahim decried what she described as lip services the government has always paid to them whenever they experienced such disaster.
She said that since they didn’t have any other means of livelihood apart from farming, abandoning it without palliative measures would put them in great danger.
Another victim, Chika Samuel, alleged that the state government made millions of naira from the Federal Government and good spirited individuals when the flood occurred in 2012.
In an interview with the administrator of Ibaji Local Government, Mr Thomas Offor, he solicited for assistance from the Federal Government to enable them provide relief materials to the victims of flood.
He noted that farmers in the area had lost a lot of produce. He said that if funds were provided, residents could be resettled in areas that are not prone to flood.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Usman Yahaya, said that 26,599 displaced persons had so far been enumerated and profiled across 25 camps in six of the affected local government areas.
He said more camps were being opened and enumeration was still ongoing across all the remaining flood prone local government areas. He noted that the NEMA had supplied some relief materials to the state and that distribution had commenced.
According to him, the relief items that had arrived the state were mattresses, blankets and mats, among others things.
“Since the NEMA has brought relief materials for now, the state government decided to procure food items for victims to enable them feed themselves in the camps, and more are still coming.
“This is just the first batch of the distribution, more are still coming because Governor Yahaya Bello has approved the release of fund to get more foodstuffs,” he said.
Yahaya appealed to individuals, corporate organisations and professional bodies to assist the flood victims in terms of foodstuffs and other relief materials, saying the government could not do it alone. He assured that the relief materials would not be diverted by anybody, adding that the state government has designed “food vouchers’’ to curb diversion.
Credit: Daily Trust
