By Usman Abubakar, in Maiduguri
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has implored the Federal Government to speed up the reconstruction of the collapsed Alau Dam at the outskirts of Maiduguri to avert the recurrence of the calamitous flood that displaced two million residents of the city and its surroundings last September.
The dam is situated in the Alau community of Konduga, a local government area in Borno State. It was constructed between 1984 and 1986 to provide water for irrigation and domestic use in Maiduguri.
Zulum made the appeal on Monday after receiving the report of the assessment committee that investigated the root cause of the dam’s collapse.
The governor decried that with about four months to another rainfall, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources needs to speed up efforts to reconstruct the dam.
He said, “By next week, we shall be in January, and rainfall will set in some parts of Borno State by March. We have limited time! The earlier we begin something, the better for us.”
Zulum recalled that the federal government assessment team was in Maiduguri, and they had a consultation with the committee we inaugurated.
“On our part as state government, we shall push this matter to the latter; I am of the view that in a few days, if there is no action on the ground, I will go and see Mr. President and beg him to allow the Northeast Development Commission to take over and start the reconstruction immediately,” Zulum said.
“If we decide to wait for the bureaucracy, I am afraid we will run out of time,” he said.
“If we can start on time, I am sure with the serious commitment we can rebuild the substantial part of the dyke, which has collapsed,” Zulum suggested.
The governor noted that the committee inaugurated by the state government had taken temporary measures to stop the water from spilling from the dam.
Zulum also assured that despite limited resources, his administration would partner with the federal government to ensure that such a devastating flood would not occur again in Borno.
He said, “As a responsible government, we will not fold our arms and wait for the federal government until another disaster occurs, despite the flooding having seriously affected our financial capacity.”
