Kebbi Communities Count Losses Over Flood Disaster

This year, 2024 raining season, would not be forgotten in hurry by the people of Kebbi State, Northwest of Nigeria. Many people have lost their houses; farmers have lost thousands of hectares of rice farm, millet farms and other to ravaging flood. It was gathered that about 16 Local Government Areas of the State were reportedly affected by the flood out the 21 Councils in the state. They include: Bagudo, Augie, Argungu, Gwandu, Birnin Kebbi, Maiyama, Jega, Koko-Basse, Yauri, Ngaski, Shanga, Kalgo, Bunza, Suru, Arewa and Aliero LGAs. Many bridges linking Kebbi State and Northwest zone of the country have been cut off by flood due to advancement of River Niger, River Giro, River Ka which over flown from Zamfara and Sokoto State and pass through Kebbi State villages heading to River Benue. It was also learnt that neighboring countries like Niger Republic and Benin Republic have released the water from their dams which automatically increased the water level of all the rivers around Sokoto and Zamfara State which shares borders with Kebbi State.

Affected communities like the people of Tungar-Buzuru, a village under Dugu Ward of Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State, would not forgotten their ordeals in a hurry. It was a period flood chased about 27,000 of them away from their ancestral homes. They lost their farms, animals and houses to the ravaging flood from River Niger. They were forced to seek refuge at a public school in Dugu town, Shanga Local Government Area of Yauri Emirate. Like Muhammed Sani, 50 years old, father of five children and two wives, he was like a dream how he lost his residence and rice farm to flood. While narrating his journey to the IDP camp in Dugu town, Sani revealed that, they were left with nothing as they left their homes. According to him, “I have two wives and five children. We have to leave our village, Tungar-Buzuru because of the flood. Our house and farms have been taken over. But we thank God that we have our lives. For the past two weeks we arrived this camp, Kebbi State Government has been taking care of us and we are grateful for that”, he said.

Mallam Salisu Tundun-Fala, a 35-year-old farmer with three children and a wife, explained that, he has lost his rice farm, maize farm and millet farms worth about N10 million to the flood. He explained that he has been in the IDP camp for four weeks, stressed that, the state government has been taking good care of them. According to him, “we were given food, medication and the traditional ruler here and the people of this place are friendly to us”. His wife, Kerimat Suleiman, explained that they found themselves in an entire environment different from their home. She noted that, they are hoping to go back home one day so that they could continue to lives their normal lives with their children. Suleiman added that, her children have been enrolled in the school by the leaders of the community, without any barrier.

Addressing the IDPs, Kebbi state Governor, Dr. Nasir Idris, who abandoned some of his activities on the 64th independence day celebration of Nigeria at the state capital, stormed their camp with hundreds of bags of rice, maize and others relief items to soothe their pains and alleviate their welfare. While distributing the food items to the beneficiaries at Dugu village in Shanga LGA, Governor Idris said the essence of the gesture was to support the flood victims and cushion the effects of the disaster. He advised the affected victims to consider the flood as a destiny that “nobody can stop it”. According to him, “I want you to take it as an act of God, it is a destiny from God and ‘In Sha Allah’ my administration will do everything humanly possible to support you.” Also speaking, the Emir of Yauri Dr. Zayyanu-Abdullahi thanked the governor for supporting his people afflicted by the flood. He said: “Your Excellency, you are always there for my people whenever the need arises. Your administration makes my people always feel at home because you give them a sense of belonging. My prayer to you is that, may the Almighty Allah be with you, guide and protect you,” he prayed. The Chairman, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Hon. Yakubu Bello commended the Governor Nasir Idris for his commitment towards promoting unity and support to the less privileged. “It’s now we have a governor who has the interest of masses at heart, we are committed to your administration’s policies and programs”, he assured.

While shedding lights on the impacts of flood in the State, Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed, Birnin Kebbi, confirmed that 16 out of the 21 LGs were the worst hit, leaving 329,000 houses destroyed and 858,000 hectares of farmland washed away by the disaster. According to him, some of the worst affected LGs were: Argungu, Birnin Kebbi, Ngaski, Jega, Augie, Yauri, Maiyama, Shanga, Koko-Besse and Gwandu, among others. He added: “None of the 21 LGs was spared by this devastating flood and almost all households in the state were either directly or indirectly affected. This was in spite of all the proactive measures taken by the state government to stem the tide of the flood disaster. The State Government promptly acted upon the flood alerts earlier received from NIMET, NEMA and the Nigerian Hydrological Agency.” According to the Commissioner, the disaster has hugely affected the livelihoods of the generality of the people of the state especially the rural areas. He said: “ 7 victims were reportedly dead in Ngaski LGA, 8 in Maiyama, 5 in Kalgo, 7 in Jega and 2 in Birnin Kebbi, Local Government”.

The Commissioner also stated that thousands of tons of assorted farm produce have been destroyed by the flood, stressed that the disaster has impacted negatively on the state’s invaluable contributions to the nation’s food supply chain. This, he lamented, is a bad omen for Nigeria’s food security as Kebbi State remains the indispensable hub of rice production in the country. He said, “If an urgent support is not given to the affected farmers, there is an impending food scarcity in the state and the country in general. To prevent this impending doom, the victims should be assisted by well-meaning individuals and groups from within and outside the country. “They should be assisted with assorted improved seeds and other inputs for them to engage in dry season farming so as to empower them to bounce back. This will bolster food production, empower and have a multiplier effects on Nigeria’s food supply chain.” He recalled that the State Government has set up standing committees at the State and LGAs levels, with a view to assessing the extent of damages caused by the colossal flood disaster across the state.

Also, the Commissioner said that the gesture was aimed at coming up with measures and actions to assist the flood victims. He said, “But, due to the extent of damage caused by the disaster, there is the need for collective actions to assist the victims. Kebbi State Government is doing its best in this direction but it needs the support of all and sundry, locally and internationally.” The Commissioner emphasized that the committee established by the State Government, led by the Deputy Governor, Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida, is working tirelessly to alleviate the impact of the flood on the victims.

During inspection of a collapsed bridge along Koko-Kontagora, which was usually used by travelers going to Lagos State in Southwest of Nigeria, Kebbi Governor, appealed to the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently repair the bridge linking Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara States with Southern part of the country.
Idris, who made the plea during an inspection tour to the collapsed bridge, observed that the collapse of the bridge would affect a lot of traders and farmers in the country. He said: “I am calling on the federal minister of works to urgently assist and rescue the affected business people as the road is the only road that links Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi and Niger with Southern Nigeria. The bridge, which collapsed on Sunday night is under Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State, en-route to Niger State, linking Southern part of the country to the Northwest region”.

The Governor observed that the repair of the collapsed bridge was critically in view of the fact that many businesses in the two regions would definitely suffer. He noted with dismay that motorists plying the route had no option than to follow a very long distance route through Dakingari in Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi State. Governor Idris stressed the need for the federal ministry of works to expedite actions in repairing the collapsed bridge to save many businesses from collapse. The governor also advocated for routine maintenance of all federal roads and bridges to avoid the repeat of similar mistake. The Governor was accompanied by the Secretary to Kebbi State Government (SSG), Alhaji Yakubu Bala-Tafida; Acting Head of Service, Hajiya A’isha Usman; Commissioner of Information and Culture, Hon. Yakubu Ahmed-BK; Commissioner of Works, Hon. Abdullahi Umar Faruk Muslim; and Commissioner of Religious Affairs, Hon. Mohammed Sani Aliyu; among others.

By Ola Lawal