Minna residents cry out as flood wreaks havoc
Residents of farm centre around the bridge that links NITECO road, Tunga, in Minna, Niger state have appealed to the state government to address the incident of flood in the area.
North Central Trust learnt that rampaging flood had destroyed properties worth millions of naira during the 2018 rainy season, with many residents relocating to other parts of the town in order to avert what they called imminent calamity.
Residents attributed the situation to the shoddy job on the bridge that links the area to Minna town.
Mohammed Idris, a retired civil servant, who has lived in the area for over 15 years, said the residents had alerted the contractor handling the project that the bridge could not accommodate the volume of water which comes to the area during the rainy season but their warnings were ignored.
He said shortly after the construction of the bridge, their fears started manifesting when the entire area was covered by water following a downpour.
“Last year part of my house collapsed during the peak of the rainy season with most of my household property washed away,” he noted.
Also speaking, another resident, Aisha Mohammed said that whenever the rainy season sets she begins to develop high blood pressure.
“We always sleep here with our eyes open because of the devastation we have been experiencing during this season. If the weather becomes cloudy during the day time, you have to dash back home for fear of the flood,” she lamented.
On whether the community has drawn the attention of the state government to the problem, Awwal Sani, a shop owner in the area, said letters of appeal have been written to the Governor, House of Assembly, Ministry of Works and the Public Complaint Commission through intermediaries but nothing has been done. He said they have no way of ascertaining whether the communications got to the appropriate authorities since they could only go through their aides.
When North Central Trust visited the community after a downpour last Sunday, the entire place was flooded, while residents struggled to salvage what remained of their property.
They appealed to the state government to expand the bridge so that it can accommodate the volume of water which runs through the area during wet season and construct more drainages and channels to ease the flow of water.