From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The Kaduna State Impact Assessment Committee on Flood has identified the erection of buildings without approvals and the dumping of refuse on waterways as one of the major causes of recurrent flooding and other environmental disasters in the State.
The Committee chaired by Malam Liman Sani Kila, Chief of Staff to Governor Uba Sani, said residents of the State must desist from the two harmful acts to bring a permanent end to floods.
The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA) recently announced that over 2,000 houses were affected by floods in Zaria and Sabon Gari Local Government Areas of the State alone.
Against that background, Governor Uba Sani set up the Liman Sani Kila led Committee to determine the extent of damage caused by flooding at Muchia, Sabon Gari Local Government Area, and other locations in the state, as well as identify factors that make the areas prone to flooding and any other disaster and advice on short and long term measures that government should take to avert future occurrence of similar disaster.
Leading some of the Committee members on an assessment tour of areas affected by flood within Kaduna Central Senatorial District, the Chief of Staff said, Governor Uba Sani is concerned by the plights of the people affected by flood.
He, however, assured that the Governor was committed to taking measures that would permanently address the problem of flood in affected communities to prevent future occurrence of the devastating disaster.
Speaking to journalists during the tour of the affected areas, including Basharma Road, Kigo New Extension, and Narayi, Kila said, “First, we sympathize with members of this communities. Going by what we have seen and what we have heard, we can see that, it is very pathetic, it is very sad. Though a flood is a natural disaster; it needs urgent intervention, intervention in terms of relief materials for the people affected, and intervention in terms of finding immediate and long-term solutions to flooding here.
“What we have seen here is terrible, and care is not taken. The flood areas will continue to be expanded, and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. That is why we feel that there is an urgent need for intervention from both the State and Federal Governments.
“This flood disaster has become a recurring problem, and from what, we have seen here, there is the encroachment of the waterways through the erection of buildings, which I am sure don’t have approvals from the relevant agencies. Also, we can see indiscriminate dumping of refuse into the waterways.
“All these contribute largely to the recurrence of flooding in these areas. So, people must desist from the building without permission because this is the reason buildings are found on the waterways; people have disregarded building approvals,” he said.
One of the residents affected by the flood in Narayan, Pastor Sunday Akpeyabo, commended the government’s delegation for visiting the area for assessment and anticipated intervention, saying that residents of the area were always apprehensive whenever rain started.
In his words, “We appreciate your coming, and we hope that the government will do something to stop this flood once and for all. Because, whenever rain starts, we become scared that our houses may become submerged by flood. The worst thing is that, when it rains at night, we can’t sleep again; we begin to keep vigil to prevent being swept away in our sleep.”
