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•Three dead, many displaced as flood destroys 315 houses, others
From Olanrewaju Lawal Birnin Kebbi
For the people of Dakingari, a town in Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi State, September 4th,2023 would remain an unforgettable day in their memory. It was a day a spontaneous morning rain, which ought to have been a blessing to the agrarian community, turned the entire Suru Local Government Area headquarters into an expansive space for mourning and sorrow.
From 11am, when the rain started, it continued pouring in heavy torrents until about 1pm, leaving the whole town inundated with massive floods and the residents totally shattered.
Those who had already set out for their daily work, especially farmers, were cut off from their accessing their farms. Some others were not so lucky; they paid the supreme price while on their way to the farm.
One of the victims was Hussaini Mande, a 32-year-old man with one wife and two children. He was already on his farm when he rain started. Seeing that the rain was unwilling to abate, and sensing that getting back home later in the day would not be an easy task because of the enormity of the rain, Mande decided to head back home. Sadly, he never made it home alive, as he was swept away by the flood.
Relatives of the deceased informed Saturday Sun that the man was swept away by the flood as he was navigating his way from his farm to meet his wife and two children he left behind at home. His lifeless body was recovered after the flood’s ferocity had become far less furious.
Another victim was Safiyanu Ibrahim. It was gathered that the 34-year old husband of two wives and father of two was sleeping during the downpour. He was reportedly woken up by one of his wives who told the man that flood had taken over the entire town and their part of the community. Late Ibrahim, it was learnt, summoned courage and prepared to defend his house from being destroyed by the flood.
While narrating how Ibrahim drowned in the flood, a resident of the community, Umar Dakingari told Saturday Sun: “When he was woken up by his wife to alert him that the flood has taken over the town and their area, he came out and he saw a child being carried away by the flood. He jumped into the flood, saved the child but the flood overpowered him and he drowned.”
A young Almajiri, who was identified as Yunusa, was also said to be working in a bush when the rain started. He was the third victim whose live was claimed by the flood.
The words that came out from the residents of the areas devastated by the flooding was “from you we came from, unto you we shall return,” a verse in the Holy Quran.
When the Saturday Sun reporter visited the community, houses, market places, roads, police station, streets were all submerged, by the flood. The drainage system constructed was destroyed, leaving traces of fears.
Investigation by the Saturday Sun showed that the flood that submerged the town was ignited by the erosion emanating from the two mountains located behind the town.
Residents of the community explained that the two mountains, which are popularly known as ‘Wasa Da Biri Mountain and Guba /Gwadi Mountain, could not absorb the rain within their surroundings. Rather, the erosion emanating from the two mountains found their ways to the town without any control and thereby leaving devastating havoc on the community.
Shedding more light about the death of the victims, a relative of one of the deceased, Saadu Attairu said: “The first victim, Hussaini was in the bush when the rain started. So when he was running back home, the water level on the paths had increased. The water carried him away and he was later found dead. What could we do? He died in the process of doing his daily work. We have accepted his death in good faith and we are praying to Almighty Allah to grant him Alijanah Firdausi,” he said.
While speaking Saturday Sun, a commercial rider in the community, Abdulaziz Dakingari explained that all the erosion from the two mountains had usually been causing massive damage to the town without any control.
According to him, “all the erosion from the two mountains was not diverted to any area; the entire erosion always comes to the town. It is said that naturally, water will always find its level. All our drainage system and canal could not withstand the power of the erosion, which resulted in the escalation of the erosion, which quickly spread across compounds and houses. Until we find solution to the problems of the erosion, and we create the channels where the erosion from these two mountains would be diverted to, instead of finding its way to our town, until then, we would not have a lasting solution and we won’t be able to control the level of erosion coming to the town during the rainy season.”
During his condolence visit to the town, Kebbi State Governor, Dr. Nasir Idris, condoled with the families of the deceased killed by flood. Idris pleaded with the deceased’s relatives as well as the Local Government Council to accept the incident in good faith.as the will of God.
The governor, who sympathised with others who sustained injuries and those whose houses were affected, donated N40 million to the victims with an instruction that the families of the deceased families should be given N500,000 each. He also directed the council chairman to set up a committee to honestly distribute the money to the affected victims and assured them that the state government through the Ministry of Works in collaboration with the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy would work out a lasting solution to the menace.
According to him, “the best way to tackle the lingering problem is to construct a channel at the flood-prone areas that will facilitate free flow of water into rivers.”
Also speaking on the incident, the chairman of Suru Local Government, Alhaji Muhammad Lawal-Suru expressed appreciation to the governor for the visit as well as his timely intervention. He assured the governor that the money as well as all palliatives related to the flood would be judiciously distributed.
Traditional ruler of the town, Lamido of Dakingari, Alhaji Jafaru Aliero, also thanked the governor. He confirmed that the flood had remained an annual event in the area. Aliero explained that the community had made several efforts during the previous administration to find a lasting solution to the problem but to no avail. He, however, expressed joy with the quick intervention of the governor and his determination to put an end to their lingering plight.
