BREAKING: Tears, pain as 300 flood-submerged Anambra communities fear food scarcity

There is looming food scarcity as a result of flooding currently devastating most parts of the country, where close to a million people have been displaced, farmlands washed away and over 300 communities sacked in Anambra alone, IKENNA OBIANERI writes

Anambra State is among the states in the country currently battling massive flooding, as over 300 communities in six local government areas are currently underwater. Flooding is a perennial problem in Nigeria, but this year’s devastation across the country has been described, according to the spokesman of the National Emergency Management Authority, Manzo Ezekiel, as ‘the highest we have ever had since 2012.’

Apart from submerging of houses and farmlands in Anambra, critical infrastructure such as schools, healthcare centres, police stations, banks, and offices were also not left out; a situation which forced the state government to shut down schools affected by the flood and at the same time forced members of the affected communities to flee into various Internally Displaced Persons camps across the state.

According to the record obtained from the State Emergency Management Agency on the affected communities in Anambra, Ogbaru has 286,000 displaced persons, Anambra West has 237,000, Anambra East has 103,000, Awka North has 10,345 victims, while Anyamelum has 9,240 flood cases with 5,468 displaced persons.

According to an official from SEMA, Mr Chukwudi Onyejiofor, currently, over 700,000 persons are all camped at various internally displaced persons camps across the state, a figure, he said, would shoot up to one million in a few days as over 500 victims join the camps daily.

Onyejiofor listed financial constraints, inadequate food, lack of raw materials and negative attitude of the displaced persons as some of the many battles NEMA and SEMA are dealing with to ensure that these victims live their normal lives at the various camps.

He said Anambra, unlike other states, had over 3,325sq km of its 4,885sq km land mass underwater, indicating that over 60 per cent of the state’s landmass is currently submerged.

Onyejiofor also raised the alarm of looming hunger in the land as a result of food shortage because, according to him, these areas are largely agro-based; meaning that a large number of farmlands and unharvested food crops had been washed away by the flood.

According to him, over 60,000 farmers have so far been affected by the menace, cautioning that if massive interventions are not rolled out in the agro-sector, the people should brace up for a looming hunger in the land.

Onyejiofor said, “The state government is already intervening, NEMA is also intervening, considering the magnitude of the problem.

“As at the last count, no fewer than 700,000 persons have been displaced and the figure will shoot to one million in a few days because over 500 persons join the camp daily.

“While other flood-ravaged states still have large chunks of upper ground where they can turn to, for agricultural activities and accommodation, Anambra, unfortunately, does not.

“The Federal Government, with relevant international agencies, should come up with intervention funds in a massive way; it is not something agencies or state governments can handle. Sometime in 2018, the FG tried doing it by setting up a presidential committee on agro-relief for those affected by the flood in Anambra. We submitted 40,000 farmers affected by flooding but the intervention covered only 4,650 farmers. But this time around, the intervention should be massive because the flood experienced this year has affected over 60,000 farmers and we expect their interventions to cover this number of farmers.”

The state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, last week visited one of the IDP camps in Onitsha North Local Government Area, where he solicited the support of the Federal Government, agencies and individuals to help tackle the menace.

Soludo, while noting that the flood water emanated and surged from Cameroon, asked the Federal Government to dialogue with the government of that country, to proffer a lasting solution to the devastation he said had, unfortunately, become an annual occurrence.

Officially, NEMA has confirmed one person died while several others were injured. The acting state coordinator of the agency, Mr Thickman Tanimu, confirmed the death of one Ginikanwa Izuoba in the Enugu-Otu, Aguleri flood.

Tanimu said Izuoba died when his house collapsed due to the impact of the flood, adding that the agency had assessed flooding in different parts of the state.

According to him, NEMA officials accompanied by officials of SEMA had visited Umueze-Anam, Mkpunando, Umunteze, Igbedo, Inoma Ifite-Ogwari in Anambra East and Anyamelum LGAs, and observed that the flood had submerged houses, farmlands, schools, health centres, police stations, churches and other critical infrastructures.

Another death was also recorded of a 70-year-old man, identified as Mr Sunday Mesiobi, in Ogbe-Akpoma, Atani community of Ogbaru Local Government Area.

The corpse of Mesiobi, said to be an uncle of the immediate past Chairman of the Ogbaru LGA and a House of Representatives candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance for Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Mr Arinzechukwu Awogu, was found dead in his room which was submerged by water.

The deceased was said to be the only one left in the house after he had evacuated his wife and children. It was not, however, clear when the incident happened, but family sources said the deceased’s lifeless body was found when one of them came to check on him after repeated calls to his telephone line went on for days without any response.

“They sighted his cloth floating on the water inside his room and when the cloth was pulled up it turned out that his body was under the water,” the source said.

Awogu, and a relative of the deceased, while expressing pain and sadness for the unfortunate incident, called for a change in response strategy as the problem had become a critical emergency.

He said the situation had gone beyond asking people to converge in a particular location.

On Saturday, the state received with rude shock the news of a boat mishap, in which about 76 passengers were feared missing.

The tragedy took place on Friday at Umunnankwo community in the Ogbaru Local Government Area. The ill-fated boat was said to be ferrying about 85 people at Onukwu Bridge, Ossomala en route to Nkwo Ogbakuba market where it capsized, with only nine passengers rescued.

Confirming the incident to reporters, Tanimu lamented that people refused to relocate despite sensitisation and warnings because they thought the current flooding situation was the normal kind of flood water that would eventually recede.

He said, “The report we are receiving is that as of Friday, the flood level rose above the 2012 flood level by 11 per cent. People were thinking that it is the normal flood water that will eventually recede, which is why they refused to leave their homes.

“Out of the 85 persons, nine were found and the remaining 76 are yet to be found.”

Speaking to our correspondent, The President General of the Ogwuikpele community of Ogbaru LGA, Mr Madupuo Victor, lamented that the perennial disaster was made worse this year as a result of the persistent rainfall and the River Niger which overflew its banks.

However, the state Commissioner for Environment, Mr Felix Odumegwu, said the state government had commenced the inspection and understudy of the affected communities while describing flooding as an act of nature and a natural disaster.

He said, “Flooding is an act of nature and it is a natural disaster but we started early to carry out awareness campaigns before the flood and we are currently interfacing with NEMA and our SEMA to assist flood victims. Medical teams have been deployed to the affected communities to assist the victims.”

Also, the state Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu, confirmed that the state government had constituted a task force comprising the Deputy Governor, commissioners for local government, health, power and water resources, to immediately engage the displaced people and ensure that the essential items and services they require are provided.