Okowa seeks succour for flood victims

There have been reported cases of deaths and destruction following the widespread flooding which affected people across 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states. The natural disaster has caused untold hardship on Nigerians. According to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, who addressed a press conference last Sunday, over 603 […]

There have been reported cases of deaths and destruction following the widespread flooding which affected people across 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states. The natural disaster has caused untold hardship on Nigerians.

According to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, who addressed a press conference last Sunday, over 603 lives had been lost as at that day, some 1.3 million people had been displaced, 2,407 persons injured and more than 200,000 homes destroyed.

Some communities were submerged under water as the floods cripple economic activity for many small traders and farmers.

Delta is one of the states affected by the flooding, which led to the creation of at least 11 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps to ameliorate the sufferings of the victims.

Delta Governor and Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, who temporarily suspended political engagements to return to the state for first-hand assessment of the impact as well as marshal support for victims.

Okowa, who visited the IDPs camps in the state, called on the Federal Government, corporate organisations and individuals to come to the aid of victims of flood.

He visited flood victims at IDPs camps, such as Utagba-Ogbe Technical College, Kwale in Ndokwa West; Alaka Grammar School, Ozoro in Isoko North; St. Michael’s College, Oleh and Isoko Central School, Oleh both in Isoko South Local Government Areas of the state. Others were Ogbe-Afor Primary School and Oneh Primary School in Asaba and Ewulu Mixed Grammar School, Ewulu in Aniocha South Local Government Area. Most of the camps have more than 1,000 people each.

He empathised with all the flood victims in the state, and assured that his administration would continue to support them until they were able to return to their homes after the flood crisis.

According to the governor, who defied heavy downpour to visit the camps, the state government may not be able to estimate the extent of destruction but obviously the flood is very massive.

“This is the seventh camp we have visited in two days. Beyond that, there are so many community camps that are being managed in the communities.

“It is a very extensive flood with a lot of displacement of people and I must thank all the various persons that have come here in the camp to stay.

“In all the camps we have visited they are actually bonding together as a family and when the state government and other willing donors are providing food materials, the women themselves are cooking and they are all living happily together,” he said.

Schools as well as medical centres were established in all the IDPs camps to ensure that school children are not denied the opportunity to learn.

“We have doctors and nurses attending to the health needs of the people here and I have been told that they have recorded three deliveries here and that there are over twenty pregnant women.

“By the special grace of God, we will try to do everything to make them comfortable and I want to use this opportunity to thank all those who have been able to donate food and other items to the various camps,” he said when he visited victims at Utagba-Ogbe Technical College, Kwale.

Mitigating future disaster

As part of measures to prevent a recurrence, Okowa called on the FG to build new dams and desilt major rivers in the country Utagba-Ogbe Technical College, Kwale, especially when neighbouring countries open their dams.

He also urged the government to make efforts at desilting River Niger and River Benue to deepen the depths of the rivers to accommodate high volume of flood water.

He told journalists in an interview at the end of the visit that the best way to end the loss of lives and valuables to flood was for the government to take proactive steps towards stalling perennial flooding each time neighbouring countries opened their dams.

While commiserating with families that lost persons and property to the flood, Okowa disclosed that five persons died in various communities.

“I was informed by the SSG when the team briefed me yesterday (Monday) that as a result of the flood, five deaths were recorded, although not inside the camps but across the state, and that is very unfortunate,” he said

Okowa, who noted that Climate change is becoming very impactful globally and it is beginning to affect a lot of issues, called for constructive actions from governments to tackle it.

“Another issue is the dam in Cameroon. It always causes a major overflow in our river. From the preliminary information I have, what could be done is to build our own holding dams here in Nigeria and a regular desilting of our rivers.

“And, that is not going to be the state government’s function. It is that of the Federal Government because of the type of dam that will be built across the river. So, it is going to be a major dam.

“So, I believe that it is important that the Federal Government will look into it very quickly and begin to start the process,” he stated.

Okowa affirmed that the PDP government that would, by the grace of God, be headed by Atiku Abubakar from 2023, would spare no effort in ensuring that the construction of dams and desilting of Rivers Niger and Benue got the desired attention because of the sufferings of Nigerians occasioned by flood.

“When we look at the pains that come to our people cumulatively as a result of the flood and the destruction it brings, it is so huge and runs into several billions.

“So, I think that it is something that the Federal Government would consider building a dam across River Niger to prevent this from happening and I believe that the PDP government under the watch of Atiku will truly take that as a priority,” he added.

He called on donor agencies and well-spirited individuals to partner the government in alleviating the plights of those affected by the flood, adding that his administration would give assistance to those in IDPs’ camps as soon as the flood was over.