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Residents of Makurdi, Benue State capital, and its environs have been thrown into panic as parts of their neighbourhood got submerged after a torrential rainfall which lasted over 12 hours.
The rain, which began at about 10pm, on Sunday, and continued till at about 10am yesterday, flooded many parts of the city.
Some of the areas flooded include the Wurukum market, Otukpo road by NNPC Mega fuel station, Gboko road, parts of Demekpe community and the SRS junction, along University of Agriculture, among other areas.
It was gathered that students and lecturers of the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University (JOSTUM), formerly Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), were left stranded at the early hours of Monday, as they could not access the road leading to the university campus.
A student union leader at FUAM, Mimidoo Gundu, had raised the alarm yesterday morning and called on the federal and state governments to come to their aid before the situation degenerates.
“This morning rain blocked the road that links from SRS junction to Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi, around Antsa and Ichwa, respectively. This has been a huge obstacle for staff and students to get to school, and it is very disheartening. I urge the Federal and State governments and the school management to look into this problem before it gets worse and damages the road.
“A federal institution is located there and students need to study during weekdays, not at home. A quick action should be taken as soon as possible, to ensure that this problem is resolved,” he said.
Another, John Mvendaga, said his house in Demekpe was flooded while his household items were all soaked.
While he recalled that it was not the first time they are experiencing flood and losing their items, Mvendaga called on the state government to rise up to its responsibility and provide the necessary amenities to prevent the perennial occurrence. He expressed worry over the situation, saying, “We even heard that flood is coming from Cameroon. If we are already inside the water now, what will happen when the main flood comes?”
