Uneasy calm as flood threatens Benue communities

Several communities in Benue State are currently no longer at ease as the looming flood disaster threatens again. 

For these communities where flooding has become a yearly occurrence, they expect the government to find a lasting solution to their nightmares. 

Igah Sunday, a resident of Agbo community on Nyinongo road, in Makurdi metropolis, said his heart was already beating faster as the rising River Benue begins to threaten flooding in his vicinity. 

“I know the trauma that my family and I went through last year and as I see this water threatening again, I’m no longer myself,” he said. 

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Sunday is more worried that the officials of relevant agencies in the state have warned residents to evacuate their homes without providing a space for them to move into following the federal government’s alert on imminent flooding in the state in the next few days. 

At Kighir community, behind Living Faith Church along Naka-Adoka Road in Makurdi, residents such as Attah Ede, are optimistic that they may suffer slightly in the event of a flood reoccurrence in their area. 

Ede said, “We are hearing of the alarm being raised by the federal government and other relevant authorities. According to the information provided by the agencies concerned with emergency issues, this year’s flooding would be severe and, therefore, my family has taken cognisance of that.  

“We are not moving to higher place other than my present home. The federal government had constructed a canal through our area. Now, we may not suffer what we used to suffer in the past.” 

But, for Umogidi-Entekpa community in Adoka District of Otukpo Local Government Area in the state, the inhabitants are already at a crossroads with some houses and their main road flooded. 

Lydia Sunday, a resident of the community, said water has taken over their houses and roads, making it difficult for the villagers to carry out their farming and domestic activities. 

Corroborating the young woman, Ogwuche Baba, another resident of Umogidi, disclosed that, “we are confused because it appears that the government has forgotten us. The flood has taken over our houses and roads; the government should come to our aid.” 

At Angwan-Wurukum, a Makurdi suburb susceptible to flooding, residents said they would continue to keep vigil over the increasing volume of water before moving to higher ground. 

A resident, Safiat, told our correspondent that, “the River Benue is rising but has not completely covered our area. We’re not moving yet because that is dependent on the increasing level of the water. For now, everybody is still on the ground as it has yet to affect buildings. We are still watching to see how rapidly the volume of water will increase before we move.” 

However, our correspondent observed that while the residents of some flood-prone areas have begun to evacuate from their homes following the rising volume of water in River Benue, others have remained adamant. 

Some residents around the Gyado Villa, Kutcha-Utebe, Wadata behind the market and parts of Wurukum are evacuating their household items. 

A resident of Gyado Villa, Pyhlis Agber, said she has moved out of her apartment for fear of the flood taking over her home. 

“It happened to me last year and my entire household items were lost to the flood. I don’t want a repeat of that experience because we (residents) have seen River Benue rising and the water already coming close,” Agber said. 

But, residents of Angwa-Wurukum, Rice Mill Wadata among others have refused to leave their homes on account that the state government is yet to provide them a place to relocate to. 

The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), however, said they have disseminated information warning residents at risk to move to higher ground. 

SEMA’s Information Officer, Charity Agber, said the state government hasn’t yet provided a space for flood-vulnerable residents but that the agency stepped up sensitisation and awareness to ensure people are not caught unawares. 

Similarly, the Information Officer of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Kelas Onum, said what needed to be done has been put in place. 

Onum said the people are expected to evacuate themselves from their homes, stressing that the new commissioner who was sworn into office on Tuesday will provide further details when he resumes work. 

In the same vein, the Permanent Secretary of the environment ministry, Ali Suleiman, said the ministry continues to appeal to residents in areas prone to flooding to evacuate their homes. 

“What we are doing has been the general radio talks and when the opportunity comes, we tell people to relocate. It’s only appeal that we have been appealing to people to move out of the danger zone. So, far it has been enlightenment, encouraging them to move out of the danger zone,” Suleiman maintained. 

On whether the state government has provided alternative shelter, the permanent secretary said SEMA would have to respond to that question. 

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to take timely action in anticipation of the flooding which may result from swelling of the River Benue through waters released from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. 

The party, quoting correspondence from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria addressed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) dated a few days back, said a “Norte Verbale” from the High Commission of the Republic of Cameroon informing that Cameroonian officials have resolved to open the floodgates of the Lagdo Dam on the Benue River in days ahead due to the heavy rainfall around the dam catchment area in northern Cameroon, urged the state government to live up to expectation. 

State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Bemgba Iortyom, in the statement, noted, “What this portends is a flooding of areas on the banks of the River Benue in the state, as happened in previous years when such action was taken on the dam, with attendant displacement of people and huge losses in property. 

“While the flooding may not be averted, Governor Alia can take pre-emptive action through the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to mitigate losses to property and suffering occasioned on the people. 

“Drawing from experiences governments under its sponsorship had with such situations in the past, PDP urges the governor, to issue directives for due diligence for funds appropriation through relevant organs of government, including the State Assembly, to enable SEMA to set up camps for displaced persons ahead of time. 

“It is the understanding of our great party that timely action by Governor Alia in those communities identified as prone to the impending disaster will mitigate the losses and suffering it has the potential to cause.” 

Although, at the time of filing this report, James Iorpuu, who is SEMA’s Executive Secretary had yet to respond to calls and text messages put through his telephone, however, the agency, it was learnt, has continued to call on the residents to move to higher ground for safety. 

SEMA had already identified some flood-prone areas within Makurdi, the state capital, including Achusa, Idye, Wurukum market, Genabe, Industrial layout, Demekpe, Wadata market, Rice Mill, Nyinongun, Agbohough, Judges Quarters, and Gyado Villa amongst others. 

Our correspondent recalls that the immediate past Executive Secretary of SEMA, Dr Emmanuel Shior, had disclosed that last year’s flood sacked a total of 134,797 persons from their homes while 18,349 households were affected in the disaster. 

Shior said a total of 24 lives were lost to the 2022 flooding in the state. 

He had also disclosed that 127 communities in 12 LGAs including Agatu, Apa, Tarka, Gboko, Gwer West, Logo, Guma, Vandeikya, Otukpo, Buruku, Katsina-Ala and Makurdi were affected by the disaster. 

The SEMA boss had also stated that 1,818 houses were either lost or submerged in the affected LGAs while 20,468 hectares of farmland were washed away.