Following the collapse of the Alau Dam in Maiduguri, Borno State, residents have lamented that their livelihoods have been washed away.
The dam collapsed on Tuesday, causing a humanitarian crisis in the Borno State capital as flood devastated much of the metropolis, leaving thousands of residents trapped.
From officials 37 people have been killed as a result of the flood, while prisoners have also escaped.
It was also gathered that graveyards had been submerged while dangerous animals had crept into the communities, of which about 75 per cent had been taken over by water.
The Shehu of Borno’s palace, the State Secretariat, Customs, the State Specialist Hospital, UNIMAID, and Gwange areas have been submerged by floodwaters following the collapse of the Alau Dam in the Konduga local government area of Borno State.
Millionaires’ Quarters around Gamboru Ward and its environs have been consumed. The famous Lagos Bridge, which was overtaken by the flood, has also been blocked, as has the Moduganari bypass bridge, which has similarly been submerged.
The Zoo Road was also flooded, with water gushing into the College of Health Technology Maiduguri, where students had already been relocated to the School of Nursing. The water also flowed towards the Commissioner of Police junction via Damboa Road.
Aisha Umar, a mother of seven and tomato seller at the famous Gamboru Ngala vegetable market, said most of her items were washed away by the flood. They were unaware of what happened because there was no rain.
She said that the little she made from her daily sales was used to support her husband, who was doing a menial job, to augment the needs of their family of seven.
The devastated Aisha, who is among the Gamboru vegetable sellers now displaying their goods at the front of the Stadium Shopping Complex Station Kano in the Moduganari area of Maiduguri following their temporary relocation by the State government, said their homes in the Customs area of Maiduguri were equally overtaken by the flood, rendering them homeless.
She said the flood even pulled down the muddy section of their house, adding that they now reside around the Moduganari area with relatives as displaced persons.
“We are appealing to the government to come to our aid and provide relief for our immediate needs. Feeding has become a challenge for the children as the little income we were getting before is no longer forthcoming,” she said.
For Muhammed Abba, a resident of Lagos Street in the new GRA area of Maiduguri, one of the channels from which the flood raged, the whole situation appeared like a dream because he least expected such a level of flooding at home since there had been no rainfall.
He said he was at home when he heard his neighbour’s alarm around 2 a.m. that fateful day. Upon inquiring about the reason for the alarm, the neighbours alerted him that a flood was approaching their home.
Abba said he was still discussing the approaching water when he noticed the entire area around the house gradually submerged.
He said it was then that he evacuated his family members to the Polo area of Maiduguri before returning to find the house submerged as high as his height. Hence, he fled to join his family in the Polo area, where he had taken them.
In a similar vein, another resident of the Customs area of Maiduguri, Bala Saidu, who fled with his family to the Baga Road area of Maiduguri when the flood submerged their house, said that the whole situation felt like a nightmare he would never wish on anyone.
“We were sleeping when we suddenly noticed that water was flooding into our house, even though there had been no rain in the area even the previous day. While trying to clear our belongings out of the house, the flood suddenly raged in, forcing us to abandon our belongings and flee for our safety.
“As I speak with you, there is not much left for me to feed my family. If urgent help doesn’t come from the government, many of us, the victims of this flood, might die of starvation. The flood has submerged my provision store, which is the source of our livelihood.
“We need assistance from the government and spirited individuals to cushion the effect of what has occurred to us. We don’t have clothes and other necessities for our children,” Malam Saidu said.
Meanwhile, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, who visited the various temporary centres where the flood victims were relocated in the capital, said that over one million citizens have been affected by the flood.
“We have separated them into different camps and are already providing support. We will come up with long-term and short-term measures as soon as we take the data of the people affected.
“The water this year exceeded the dam’s capacity, and we had hefty rainfall, possibly due to climate change. What we need to do now is to reconstruct the dam.
