Communities in rural and urban areas of Plateau and Oyo States have been ravaged by flooding. In Oyo, one person has so far been recorded dead, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) while so many others were displaced and injured.
Plateau State reality was far more than a luxury. In Langtang South Local Government Area of the State, many houses have been destroyed, displacing residents, due to heavy rainfall. Reports have it that the rains, which began on Friday, October 4, 2024, persisted until the early hours of Sunday, October 6, 2024, resulting in widespread flooding across several communities, particularly in Sabo Gari, where numerous households have been left homeless.
A resident of Angwan Bwarat in the Sabon Gida community, Mr Nandul Solomon, confirmed the incident to the newsmen in Jos, the state capital, on Sunday.
Solomon stated that the incident had plunged the community into confusion and panic, with many affected residents stranded and desperately seeking shelter.
He said, “The flood didn’t claim lives, but it was huge. Right now, over 80 households have had their houses destroyed by the flood, rendering many others homeless.
“The displaced persons are currently searching for where to stay, while others are staying with neighbours, friends, or relatives.”
A community leader in the Sabo Gari community, Mr Yintim Nimilam, lamented the plight of the people while calling on the state government and other public-spirited individuals to come to their aid.
“We appeal to the government and relevant authorities to come to our rescue. The incident is rather unfortunate. As it is, several persons are currently displaced and staying with relatives, and many others don’t know what to do about the situation that has befallen them,” Nimilam, the Secretary of the Sabo Gari Development Association, pleaded.
When contacted by the Punch Newspaper, the Executive Secretary of the Plateau State Emergency Management Agency, Sunday Abdu, could not be reached, as calls to his mobile phone indicated that it was switched off.
Last week, the NEMA South-West Coordinator, Kadir Olanrewaju, said the flood in Ibadan is already reaching the gate level, leading to one death and many injured and displaced.
On Tuesday, the News Agency of Nigeria reported a heavy downpour across some areas within the Ibadan metropolis, affecting some areas and leaving inestimable property destroyed.
Olanrewaju attributed the flooding to improper channelisation of drainage in the area, saying the volume of water in the area was too much for the available drainages.
“People need to move away from this place because if we have another rain, the flood will be devastating; you can see that the lower parts of most of the buildings and the fences are weak,” he said.
One of the residents of the area, Mr Solomon Agboro, said the flood covered the ground floor of his building, forcing his family members to run upstairs for safety.
Agboro, who said the flood destroyed all the property on the ground floor, called on the government to come to their aid in creating proper channelisation in the area.
Another resident, Oni Bishola, said she had been living in the area for the last four years and had been experiencing flooding every year.
Bishola, however, said that Tuesday’s flooding was the heaviest in the area since she moved in.
She added that most household items like gas cookers, televisions, compressors, machines and mattresses, among others, were destroyed.
She called on the management of the Ibadan South-West Local Government and Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State to come to their aid in providing a proper water channelisation.
NAN also observed that the fence of a building under construction beside Calvary Heritage School, Felele area of Ibadan, was brought down due to the flooding.
At the Idi-Odo junction, the front of FCMB was flooded due to a lack of proper drainage, thus disrupting the free flow of vehicles.
Some roads in the adjoining streets in the Ring Road area were also badly affected due to the heavy downpour.
Away from Ibadan, floods took over major roads, destroying properties and injuring lives in Ogbomoso, a city in Oyo State.
But all these may be the tip of an iceberg, compared to the statistics of last year and the remaining rainy days ahead. Last year, NEMA said more than 157,159 persons were affected by flooding, with 68,000 displaced. The most flooded areas are in the Southwest and the North.
Meanwhile, the challenges of flooding were part of the main community issues States and Local Governments were meant to address with the disbursed Ecological Funds of the Federal Government.
According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data critically analysed in a report by theCable, the 36 States in Nigeria got N24.9bn from the FAAC Allocation as Ecological Funds. Out of these 36 States, Oyo State has N736,943,490 and Plateau N686,118,674. Despite this, floods continue to ravage communities in these states, with the major causes being the incapacitation of drainages to handle the channelisation of water when there is heavy rainfall.
Read Also: Maiduguri Flooding: Over 29,000 Displaced Pregnant Women, Nursing Mothers in Urgent Need
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