Taiwo Olawale
23 September 2008
Lagos — Pesidents of Kofar Arewa of Babura in Jigawa State woke up that Friday morning in August with high expectations. Though they had suffered great material losses as well as psychological trauma earlier in the year when mysterious fires ravaged their homes, the people had good reason to be optimistic.
This year's rainy season had so far been heart warming. The rains came on time and were consistent. There is great hope that the year's harvest would surpass the previous year's miserable harvest.
The mystery fires of March seemed so far away as residents woke up that August morning. And everything seemed alright until midday when the clouds began to gather. It was going to rain again. But everybody was used to the sight of the clouds. It was good news anyway: the harvests can only get better. Then it started raining. People scampered indoors to wait for the rains to stop.
But things began to go wrong as the intensity of the rains increased. The volume of rain in less than one hour was as high as the total volume in the past month. As the rains battered the mud houses in the town, water levels began to rise along the streets of Kofar Arewa.
Located on the down side of the town, the topography of Kofar Arewa places it at a disadvantage as most of the area lies in a shallow valley. So, much of the water which gathered as a result of the heavy downpour that Friday ended up in Kofar Arewa.
Sensing danger, the local government authorities as well as elders and men of the area moved to save the structures. Emergency drainages were created through major streets to drain the flooded streets. The teams also identified the potential danger posed by the increasing water levels that Friday afternoon and began to dig emergency drainages. Emergency culverts were also built that afternoon as the rains began to subside.
Then, there was the popular borough pit outside Kofar Arewa ward. The pit popularly known as Zakin Bara has been part of the town for as long as anybody could remember. It had never posed any danger to the people; it was part of the history and topography of Babura. While children go to Zakin Bara to play, adults indulge it as a harmless part of their lives. But that Friday afternoon, the pit filled up with water as the rains drenched the town.
The people held their breath and prayed. But as residents of Kofar Arewa began to worry about the water levels in and around them, the rains stopped. They were happy: their prayers had been answered. Everybody heaved a sigh of relief and those who could still wrap up one or two business deals went out quickly to meet their obligations. Those whose homes were flooded began the task of cleaning their homes. Then it was time to go to bed and everyone went in relieved.
Unfortunately however, their relief proved to be short-lived. A little after sunrise on Saturday, it started raining again. And, it was heavier than the previous day. Water levels of the previous day which had not completely receded started rising almost immediately. The Zakin Bara pit which had also started receding simply broke out and flooded back into Kofar Arewa.
This time around, the people had no answer to the resultant flood. The mud houses which had been weakened by the heavy rains of the previous day began to melt into the fast running floods. Panic spread quickly as the houses began to give way. Men and children trying to salvage properties abandoned their tasks as they were forced to focus on saving lives. By the time the rains subsided that Saturday morning, at least five hundred people had been rendered homeless and properties worth millions of Naira destroyed. Close to 70 houses were completely or partially destroyed by the floods.
Mallam Auwalu Musa, one of the victims told THISDAY that they were torn between saving their properties and their lives as the rains raged. "We were all at home on Saturday morning when the rains started again. We thought it would stop like it did on Friday. And, we were waiting for it to subside so that we can go to our respective farms and businesses, when we heard water flowing towards the town with great speed. Within a twinkle of an eye, the whole area was flooded and submerged. That was when we started mobilising ourselves to see how we could rescue our children and the women", Musa said.
According to him, while some were busy evacuating the women and the children, some others were frantically creating water ways for the flood. He said the situation was however beyond their powers as the flood levels only kept increasing. When THISDAY visited the town, the water had receded but the signs still existed as many houses were in ruins and residents were seen trying to create make-shift accommodation before more rains arrive.
Another victim, 60 year old Hajia Maimuna presented a most pathetic picture as she sat in the ruins of her home with her daughters discussing the way forward after the tragedy. Maimuna, a widow explained that she lost almost everything she owned. She said it was difficult to salvage anything because there were no men in the house to help her. "We were only able to save a few things with the help of neighbours. Now we have no food or clothing as we lost almost everything," she explained.
She however disclosed that the council chairman and his men had visited and gave her some money to take care of her immediate needs and also promised to help rebuild some rooms in the house. She pointed out that the council has even provided about five hundred concrete blocks to start the rebuilding.
When contacted, Aminu Ahmad, the chairman of the local government council, confirmed that the council was going to help the weak, especially widows and the very old to rebuild part of their homes. He also explained how the council made frantic efforts to help residents of the area right from the moment it envisaged that there may be problems.
"We continued with our rescue efforts as soon as the rains started again on Saturday. Our men continued to create water ways around the Kofar Arewa ward even inside the rains. Unfortunately however, the force of the floods was overwhelming and the efforts did little to reduce the effects of the floods," he further explained.
Ahmad explained that the council even leased excavating equipment to create channels to lead water away from the Zakin Bara pit. He said the excavation work helped to reduce water levels in the ward noting that the emergency excavation cost the council close to N1 million. He disclosed that in addition to the physical intervention, the council made efforts to cushion the effects of the disaster on the people by providing money, grains and building materials.
Noting that the topography of the area aided the flooding, the council chairman explained that the area is almost in a valley and the heavy rains caused the borough pit on the outskirts of the town to overflow into Kofar Arewa. He stressed that because of the topography; only a comprehensive intervention from the state and federal governments can completely forestall such floods in future.
Though he praised the efforts of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) immediately after the rains, he insisted that more help would be required from the state and federal governments as the affected area of the town may require comprehensive action that would forestall future occurrences. He also called on the state and federal governments to help with emergency relief to compliment the council's efforts as "the damage and effects on life and property is quite extensive."
This is probably where salvation truly lies for the people of Kofar Arewa. According to most residents, though the town has experienced floods in the past, this year's is the worst in living memory. In fact, some of them believe that the town was lucky that the heavy rains came during the day. They believe part of the town may have been completely wiped away if the floods had started in the thick of the night.
"We were lucky all these happened during the day when it was possible to see the danger before it arrived at our door steps. If the floods had occurred in the night, our losses and casualty could have been enormous, but we thank God there was no single death," one of the natives said.
After the devastating fires of March, the August floods must be the limit. The people of Kofar Arewa must receive help urgently before another disaster visits the community. The fires and now the floods suggest that the topography of Kofar Arewa needs comprehensive investigation. Something seems to be wrong with the way it exists presently. And, as the population of the area grows, the intervals between disasters may not be as long as it was this year.
So, the state and the federal governments must take a very close look at this particular corner of Babura and determine whether truly, it is the geography that is responsible or it is just one of those things with nature, some of the natives told THISDAY.
"If it is the geography, then something must be done urgently before it is too late. For, as it is now, no community can witness the kind of disasters that have visited Kofar Arewa this year alone and remain standing on its feet," they agreed. Majority of the people of the ward are so poor and weak that they cannot survive another disaster. They must be helped, and urgently too.
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