It appears that the age-long suffering of the people of Mabera area in Sokoto South Local Government Area is about to come to an end following the massive waterway projects of the state government with the support of the World Bank.
Mabera, which is one of the densely populated areas of Sokoto State, has been suffering from flooding every rainy season due to poor drainage.
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This has made many residents to relocate from the area.
A commercial motorcyclist, Malam Dahiru Aliyu, told our reporter that he felt very uncomfortable any time he was asked to take a passenger to the area after it rained.
“In fact, it will take some of my colleagues a whole rain-free week before agreeing to operate in that area,” he said.
A resident of the area, Mansur Aliyu, said the situation was adversely affecting both economic and social life of the residents.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, while flagging off the multi-billion naira project, said his administration was aware of the suffering people were enduring over the years as a result of poor drainage in the area.
“The people of Mabera and environs… have, for quite a long time been experiencing the problem of annual flooding, a situation that has been exploited to discredit our administration, even though, they are fully aware that the problem was not created by our government.
“We have over the years shared your pain and predicament on the enormous losses and inconveniences you have been enduring. Let me therefore use this opportunity to applaud your patience during this trial,” he said.
Tambuwal further said some money was paid to the World Bank since 2017 as part of the state’s commitment to the remediation of the intra-city Mabera Storm Water Management Project (MSWMP).
The governor added that when completed the MSWMP “will be one of the best drainage systems in the metropolis which will have capacity to evacuate and channel all the run off from these areas, and by God’s grace, the chapter of referring the area as ‘Tsunami’ will be closed.”
In his remarks, the state’s Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Sagir Bafarawa, said the project would cover 18.5 kilometres drainage cutting across Mabera-Jelani, Mabera-Iddi, Nakasarin-Barebari, Nakasarin-Magaji, Salame and Trade Fair areas of Sokoto Metropolis.
The Village Head of Maberan Magaji, Umar Bello Magaji, said they were now “relieved” from the horrible situation.
“Many people have sold their houses and relocated to other places because they could not endure the situation,” he said
“We thank the state government and the World Bank for coming to our rescue. We hope the project would be completed before the rainy season,” he prayed.
Another resident of the area, Babangida Bala, said he was happy with the development adding that, “Our age-long nightmare would soon be a thing of the past.’’
He recounted how they suffered because of incessant flooding, saying it was a “no go area”, especially for outsiders during the rainy season.
“We thank the state government and the World Bank for their rescue mission in Mabera,” he added.
Caliphate Trust learnt that there were complaints of under-payment and omission of some of the names of some residents whose houses were affected by the project.
However, the district head, assured that all the complaints were filed and submitted to the concerned authorities.
“Officials of NEWMAP have reassessed the situation and promised to make correction,” he said
The state Coordinator of NEWMAP, Ibrahim Umar, said Over N500m was paid as compensation to the residents.
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