By Tina George, Minna
Heavy floods in the early hours of Saturday in Minna, Niger state displaced about 500 people and three reportedly missing in Bosso Chanchaga local government areas of Niger state.
The rain which began at about 4am on Saturday morning left over 20 houses submerged and destroyed over 70 houses and farms.
The flood was said to have taken the victims unaware as most of them were still asleep, most of the victims claimed they escaped death by the whiskers.
The flooding also affected two major bridges in Bosso and Chanchaga, the MYPA bridge in Bosso collapsed while the Mola bridge in Dutsen Kura Hausa was washed away by the flooding.
One of the victims in Dutsen Kura Hausa, Sanusi Mohammed confirmed that three people were carried away by the flood, “three persons have been carried away and must have died by now”.
Another victim, Zubairu Abdullahi said all his animals and his fish pond were washed away by the flood.
“The flood came from drainage which overflowed as a result of the midnight rain, my goats, chickens and thousands of eggs have all been washed away.”
Also speaking, the Ward Head (Mai Angwan), Inuwa Bawa Tukura said the flood was a yearly disaster but the government has adopted a nonchalant approach at addressing the incessant flooding that usually affect the areas.
In Shanu village in Bosso local government area which was also affected by the flooding, the Head of Shanu village, Ibrahim Musa lamented on how the rains which would have been rain of blessing had turned them into sorrowful people.
He said that houses, farm produces and properties worth millions of naira were lost in the flood.
“When the rain started in the early hours of Saturday, I was happy and thanking God that it was going to be a rain of blessing because of our farms, unknowingly to me, it was going to wreak havoc. We have lost our farm produces and houses. This is tragic to us.”
The Niger State Acting Governor, Muhammad Ahmed Ketso has consoled the victims of the flood saying government would try its best to bring relief to them.
He then directed the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) to take inventory of losses and provide relief materials comprising of food and non-food items to cushion victims’ hardship.
Ketso appealed to the Federal Government and relevant bodies to give a helping hand to the state in order to address the incessant flooding it experiences annually.
The NSEMA Director General, Ibrahim Inga said the reason why a large number of people were affected was because they lived on waterways.
He however said that arrangements are being made to provide temporary accommodation for the displaced people and provide them with relief materials.
