Floods remove spark from Kogi’s vibrant communities

Tears rolled down the cheeks of Mrs. Salome Arome as she recalled events of the last two years that made her a widow and childless woman.

A rampaging flood after a torrential downpour had washed away her husband, Arome Odiba and two-year-old son, Enemona Odiba, collapsing her world.

It was a few minutes before midnight on a day in July 2018 when a rumbling flood followed  hours of rainfall which began at about 8:pm, stirring the family from sleep.

The entire house located on the edge of a gully in Igalaogba area in Idah town shook violently, throwing everything around.

Then, suddenly, a part of the house caved in as the seemingly angry flood water surged in, taking everything on its path.

She said she later woke up in the hospital two days later only to learn that her husband and kids could not survive the deluge.

Just like in every wet season, from the onset of this year’s rainy season, Angwa and Igalaogba communities Idah town, Idah Local Government Area of Kogi State have been inundated by floods which have created a gully that has become a nightmare to residents.

And like the Odibas, Chief Abubakar Aliyu, the Akpochi of Angwa, tells the story of an entire family of five which perished in similar circumstances at the peak of the rainy season the same year following torrential downpours and resultant flooding which washed them away in the middle of the night.

“It is one of the many losses we have to brood every year as floods wreak havoc, leaving a trail of deaths and destruction,” he said.

Floods have swept away, according residents, 12 houses from 1997 and this year, displaced about 120 households.

“In 2018 alone, four houses close to the channel collapsed at different times within the season. Between then and now, the number of houses lost has increased to 12 with over 500 residents displaced,” he said.

Among those who lost their houses during the 2018 season is a retired military personnel, Mr. Uhene Sunday, who had moved his family out when all efforts to salvage his home failed.

He can only point at the remains of an embankment where his three-bedroom apartment stood two years ago.

His efforts to develop another close to the community mosque have been slow due to obvious lack of funds.

As he frets about his handicap, other residents, especially those close to the channel, are restless as the rains intensify, and the gully widens treacherously through the artificial route created by the yearly flooding.

The season has yet to reach its peak, but some houses close to the intersection between Igalaogba and Angwa new layout area where two channels meet are on the verge of collapse.

Daily Trust learnt that a road which served as a boundary between Ubi-Egbe Igalaogba and Angwa new layout has collapsed with a greater chunk eaten up by floods.

Residents of the once booming communities interlinked now have to go in circles to reach one another.

Our correspondent observed that many houses close to the channel have been deserted with residents relocating to safer areas within the towns, while others exited the council’s capital altogether.

“It appears that we may have a repeat of the 2018 situation, the gully is expanding faster and many houses are under threat thereby forcing our neighbours to relocate,” Mrs Odiba said.

The Akpochi explained that the flood had created three channels around the area.

The first is around Ogba Technical School through Omachoko clan-Okutubi-Egaji, Oweye clan through Igalaogba to Utoko clan and into the Inachalo River, while the third is from Oweye clan by Angwa Primary School stretching by Inachalo Hotel into the river.

Our correspondent further observed that it all started with erosion but has created deep gullies stretching several kilometers from Ogba Technical School through Ubi-Egbe across Angwa new layout, and Angwa Ayegba also.

It was also observed that the development has led to collapse of basic infrastructure, washing away access roads, culverts, pulling down electricity polls, and cutting off all settlements in the axis from power supply.

It has practically washed away the culverts and the drainage on  Prince Abubakar Audu Road, a major access route into Angwa community.

The road has lost its shoulders with the exit of portions around areas where outlets were connected to it, while some parts especially close to Egaji have been completed eroded.

Same goes for Zainab Street which is fast becoming impassable as the flood creates mini gullies with ponds emerging at different spots.

Chief Yunisa Omale, the Ochalla Angwa Ayegba, says it is suicidal to venture out anytime it’s raining.

“You can get washed away because of the volume of water, we have been sensitising the people to stay indoors when it’s raining, while those close to the gully are advised to seek alternative accommodation,” he said.

He added that the situation has greatly affected the people of the area.

“It has caused us incalculable damage including loss of lives. We lost an entire family of five at the peak of the rainy season in 2018. We have lost many lives since that unfortunate incident and unquantifiable property,” he lamented.

It was also observed that the only government school in the area, Angwan Primary School, is under threat as erosion has created a deep gully across its premises.

The Akpochi said the communities have made several appeals through the Attah Igala, Dr Ameh Oboni, to the state government which only sent representatives to assess the situation.

“Officials of the state government through relevant agencies have come here to assess the situation. We have also been invited to workshops and conferences in Lokoja over the matter.

“But obviously, the state government can only get the federal government to intervene because this is certainly beyond them. You have seen the level of damage done and as the rainy season sets in the situation will worsen.

“We are using this forum to appeal to the federal government to urgently intervene to halt further damage and loss of lives,” he pleaded.

However, the state government says it is aware of the situation and has carried out an assessment of the site preparatory to practical intervention.

The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Omofaiye Victor Adewalle, says because of the magnitude of the problem, the state government is collaborating with the World Bank through a counterpart arrangement to address the situation.

He also notes that the Nigeria Erosion Control and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) is already processing the design for the project.

He noted that government projects are ongoing on a number of such sites across the state, adding that work on erosion sites in Agasa and Adumu in Okene and Olamaboro local government areas have reached advanced stage.