TOP STORIES: Submerged Niger braces again for furious flood

Lives and properties worth millions of Naira have been lost to flooding in Niger State.Houses were submerged while farm lands were also washed away by torrential rainfall.

Till now, many households are yet to recover from the devastating annual occurrence.

The federal, state and local governments have taken steps to end the annual menace but there haven’t been significant results.

The unsavory situation has meanwhile forced the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) to take bold steps to mitigate the effect of looming flooding on the people this year.

Niger is one of the states due to be devastated again by flood this year, according to the Nigerian Meteorological Service (NIMET).

Besides the natural cause, which is severe rainfall, the three hydro electricity dams – Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro – have always had grave effects on the people along the dam areas.

Houses, farmlands, domestic animals and other properties worth millions of Naira had always been lost annually.

The worst flooding in the state was that of 2012 during which no fewer than 17 of the 25 local government areas of the state were submerged with many lives lost.

The Managing Director of HYPPADEC, Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Minna, lamented the attitude of villagers residing in riverine areas, saying they are always adamant in remaining in their ancestral homes despite the dangers inherent.

“The Commission has devised another means of tackling the menace. The plan is not to mitigate but to prevent catastrophe from occurring. Dredging will not be a solution because it will only control the volume of water. What we are looking as an alternative which will even be beneficial to the people in the communities who are predominantly farmers is to harness the water that could be used for all year farming by the villagers. This is by way of introducing irrigation farming to the people and thereby boosting their economy by staying in business throughout the year,” Yelwa revealed.

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The HYPPADEC boss, however, said that, in the interim, traditional rulers, local government Chairmen, government officials and other stakeholders should champion the cause of sensitizing villagers on the need to heed to clarion call to vacate their homes temporarily ahead of the peak of rains to avoid loss of lives and properties.

“The Commission is avoiding situations where communities and villages would be wiped off because of overflowing of the dams and flooding as it had been in previous years and that is why we implore our traditional rulers and the local government Council Chairmen to sensitize the people on basic environmental practices to reduce the impact of flood and that is why we are working towards ensuring that farmers benefit from the excess water from the rivers and dams by way of engaging them in all year farming,” he stated.

The Managing Director said the Commission had already interfered in some areas to mitigate the suffering of flood victims, adding that 17 blocks of three classrooms had been built in the state while contract for another 17 blocks of classrooms will be awarded soon.

Former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Matane, who spoke for the Niger government, urged communities within river banks to relocate in order to avoid impending flood disaster this year.

He said, “Traditional leaders and local government Chairmen in affected communities prone to flooding have been directed to begin sensitization of the grassroots ahead of pending 2023 flooding to avoid the impact of the disaster because the state government is committed to ensuring that people do not suffer hardship during this year’s flooding. It therefore becomes imperative for communities close to river banks to be sensitive on the coming danger”.

Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Inga, in his remarks, proffered solution to the annual displacement of people from their homes as a result of flood.

“It entails that the riverine people should retain their homes in the river beds while also having homes upland where they can relocate as a result of flood. Already, the agency through the state government has established 11 resettlement sites across the state flood prone areas and they are provided with basic health facilities and handed over to the Ministry of Health as well as education institutions,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Niger State Ministry of Environment, Mr Lucky Barau, on his part, noted that the state government was encouraging afforestation to control and mitigate flood in flood-prone communities, adding that government had mapped out ways to stabilize communities on the verge of being wiped off by flood and have also provided resettlement communities for communities that are highly prone to annual flood.

Other government officials present at the occasion, including the State Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Ibrahim Yahaya Gbongbo, and Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Dr. Jonathan Wasa, spoke on the misuse of drainages across Niger, especially Minna, the state capital, which, they said, had been turned into refuse dumping sites and called for attitudinal change from the people.

“We should all come together to wage a total war against the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into the drainages which invariably turn against us in form of flooding which will at the end wash away our belongings and in some cases take lives”, Wasa remarked.

The Emir of Agaie, Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu, who spoke on behalf of traditional rulers in the state, assured that royal fathers will deliberate on all issues raised towards mitigating against future flooding just as he called on HYPPADEC to step up their visit especially to affected communities towards sensitizing them on the dangers associated with flooding and for them to heed to the clarion call by government on the need to relocate upland when need be.

Our correspondent reports that one of the lasting solutions to this annual catastrophe is to relocate those at the downstream to a permanent settlement upland and allocate vast land, farm inputs and cash to them for a smooth take off as many of them always insist on not vacating their ancestral home as they don’t have any other place to relocate.