Last week’s heavy downpours have left many internally displaced persons (IDPs) and residents of Kushari in Maiduguri not only homeless but also angry – so angry in fact that they staged a mini demonstration on Saturday, August 13, demanding that the government construct proper drainage systems and waterways to prevent further flooding.
At least 100 houses in the suburb were submerged. And at Busu camp, an unofficial IDP shelter, more than 60 households were destroyed.
Adam Bulama, the ward head of the Kushari community, told RNI that the flood had occurred because of damaged drainage systems and a blocked waterway. He said the many complaints by residents – and the mini protest – had prompted a government committee to visit Kushari on Sunday to assess the damage.
“This is not the first flood we’ve had. We have had floods in the past two to three years. Initially in the rainy season, the water used to pass through a waterway behind the quarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN]. But this time the channel was completely blocked and this is what caused such a major flood. More than 100 houses were submerged and many households in the Busu IDP camp were damaged and destroyed. The flood forced people from more than 60 households in the camp to flee for safety from the surging water.”
He said the heavy flooding had led IDPs and residents to hold a demonstration outside his house.
“They were severely aggrieved about the flood. So, I and other members of the Kushari Community Development Association (KCDA) compiled the series of complaints into one report and we forwarded it to the appropriate authority. Then, on Sunday, a committee arrived from the state government, led by Kaka Shehu, a legal expert and the former Attorney-General of Borno State, to inspect all the places affected by the flood.
“The committee said a small excavation machine would be brought in to unblock the existing drainage systems and waterway behind the CBN quarters. Once that was done, they said the water would flow into the River Ngadda-Bul instead of overflowing and causing flooding.”
Bulama said the people of Kushari were grateful for the government’s prompt response but they still wanted the government to construct additional drainage systems.
He said that some years ago, when Kabir Wanori was commissioner of environment, the residents had asked for drainage systems to be constructed in the centre of Kushari, where the central mosque was. At that time the commissioner and his team had visited the area and measured all the appropriate places where the drainage systems needed to be constructed.
“But up till now, we haven’t heard about or seen anything being done by the government. After this terribly bad flood, we are now demanding that the government do something about it. We are tired of waiting.”
Alhaji Madikko, an IDP from Massafannari village in the Konduga Local Government Area, said: “Right now I’m standing in the water inside my home in Busu camp. Most of our property has been damaged. The flood also forced people in 50 to 60 households to flee the camp. There are only two of us still here with our families because we don’t know where to go.”
He blamed the flood on the lack of drainage systems and a blocked waterway behind CBN’s quarters, where the water normally passed in the rainy season.
“But, unfortunately, this time around a rich man bought sand and filled the waterway. This blocked the water channel. Why would anyone fill the waterway with sand? We can’t say or do anything simply because we are poor. That’s why we held a protest. We are begging the Borno State government to address the issue of this flooding. We also urge the government to allow us to resettle in our ancestral town of Massafannari so that we can continue with our businesses and farming activities as before. We are tired of living here – there are just too many challenges with which we have to deal.”
Umara Modu, a resident, told RNI that the flooding had caused serious problems for everyone in the area.
“As I’m speaking to you now, my house is under water. It is so bad that I had to take my possessions to a neighbour’s house that is safe. My house was completely submerged by the flood. It was as if a river was running through it. Some people fled the area in fear of their lives. Their houses are also now submerged.
“I am pleading with the Borno State government to construct proper drainage systems or waterways to prevent the flooding.”
Mallam Bulama, an IDP from Busu camp, said: “I’m a displaced person originally from Massafannari. I am taking refuge in Busu camp. Before the flooding, there were more than 60 households in this camp. But now most of the people have left because their homes were destroyed by the overwhelming water surging through the camp. Some went to Sulumburi, a suburb of Maiduguri, others went to their relatives’ homes inside the main part of the city. Some are squatting in neighbours’ homes in Kushari, the host community. Most of the IDPs were displace by the flood.”
He said there were only a few people left. “We are watching over and safeguarding our neighbours’ property because most of them were unable to carry their belongings in their hurry to leave the camp. Those who fled will come back after the water has subsided. The government urgently needs to provide humanitarian aid and it must build a proper drainage system behind the CBN quarter.”
Halima Mohammed told RNI that she was originally from Busu village in the Konduga Local Government and was now living in the Busu IDP camp behind the CBN quarters.
“Even without the rain and flooding, life is extremely hard in the camp. Most of us scramble to find food. Now our homes are submerged and mostly destroyed by the flood. Because of the lack of a proper drainage system, we have got used to water running through our shelters in the rainy season. Sometimes we cannot sleep in our rooms. We have to carry our children through the water because it is so high that they would drown if they tried to cross it alone.
“We have been spending the days inside the camp watching over our property and then, in the evening, we leave the camp to find another place to stay for the night. We don’t know where to go.”
She said most of the children in the camp had high fevers, having been bitten by mosquitoes, so she feared a malaria outbreak.
SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO
