SPECIAL REPORT: How poor infrastructure worsened flooding in Nigeria's states
During the last week of October, in the afternoon sun, Bala Gombe and other farmers struggled to clear the remains of crops destroyed by flooding along the valley of the Benue River of the Dasin Hausa community in the Fufore Local Government Area in Adamawa State.
Bala Gombe, rice and corn farmer standing on his flood-destroyed farm in the Dasin Hausa community in Fufore LGA.Dressed in an off-white caftan, Mr. Gombe said he planted rice and maize on 2 hectare farmland near the river bank, but was unable to harvest a single grain of any of these crops due to flooding.
“All I need now is help if I can get it, to prepare for the dry season,” the farmer said, wiping sweat from his face .
“This year’s flood started in July and washed away part of my farm. I was still trying to repair the damage before the Cameroon Lagdo dam water spilled, then everything was completely washed away,” said he added.
The father of nine lamented that the farm was his only source of income, noting that his only hope of earning money from the harvest was shattered by the flood disaster.
"I harvest up to 75 to 100 bags of grain a year from this farm, but it's all gone. If the flooding had delayed about two weeks, many of us here would have harvested what we have. planted, but it wasn't. We lost everything,” the farmer said.
FloodBetween September and October, floods disrupted many communities in Nigeria's 36 states, with hundreds of villages and urban centers submerged in water. According to official statistics, the flood disaster destabilized more than 2.4 million people and more than 600 deaths were recorded during this period.
Similarly, vast acres of farmland in the affected states have been washed away. While many Nigerians have described the flooding as the worst consequence of climate change Nigeria has seen since the country recorded a similar disaster in 2012, environmentalists have argued that the impact of the floods would have been minimal if the necessary infrastructure had been needed to control flooding in all areas of the country. the country has been properly maintained by the government.
During a visit to Adamawa in late October, one of the worst affected states in Nigeria, locals told PREMIUM TIMES that those most affected are mainly people living in agrarian communities home to major tributaries of the Benue River which crosses seven of the 21 local rivers. state governments.
According to official counts from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Area Office in Adamawa State, in the span of three months (July to September) when rainfall was at its peak , 12 LGAs were submerged. During this period, 82,730 residents of 117 communities in these LGAs were affected, 13,788 households were damaged, 51 people were injured and 27 deaths were recorded. Farmland worth billions of naira has also been destroyed, according to official figures. Affected LGAs include; Song, Fufore, Demsa, Lamurde, Girei, Madagali, Shelleng, Numan, Yola North, Yola South, Jada and Guyuk, NEMA said.
This newspaper observed that the flood disaster that hit the state was primarily aggravated by mismanagement...
During the last week of October, in the afternoon sun, Bala Gombe and other farmers struggled to clear the remains of crops destroyed by flooding along the valley of the Benue River of the Dasin Hausa community in the Fufore Local Government Area in Adamawa State.
Bala Gombe, rice and corn farmer standing on his flood-destroyed farm in the Dasin Hausa community in Fufore LGA.Dressed in an off-white caftan, Mr. Gombe said he planted rice and maize on 2 hectare farmland near the river bank, but was unable to harvest a single grain of any of these crops due to flooding.
“All I need now is help if I can get it, to prepare for the dry season,” the farmer said, wiping sweat from his face .
“This year’s flood started in July and washed away part of my farm. I was still trying to repair the damage before the Cameroon Lagdo dam water spilled, then everything was completely washed away,” said he added.
The father of nine lamented that the farm was his only source of income, noting that his only hope of earning money from the harvest was shattered by the flood disaster.
"I harvest up to 75 to 100 bags of grain a year from this farm, but it's all gone. If the flooding had delayed about two weeks, many of us here would have harvested what we have. planted, but it wasn't. We lost everything,” the farmer said.
FloodBetween September and October, floods disrupted many communities in Nigeria's 36 states, with hundreds of villages and urban centers submerged in water. According to official statistics, the flood disaster destabilized more than 2.4 million people and more than 600 deaths were recorded during this period.
Similarly, vast acres of farmland in the affected states have been washed away. While many Nigerians have described the flooding as the worst consequence of climate change Nigeria has seen since the country recorded a similar disaster in 2012, environmentalists have argued that the impact of the floods would have been minimal if the necessary infrastructure had been needed to control flooding in all areas of the country. the country has been properly maintained by the government.
During a visit to Adamawa in late October, one of the worst affected states in Nigeria, locals told PREMIUM TIMES that those most affected are mainly people living in agrarian communities home to major tributaries of the Benue River which crosses seven of the 21 local rivers. state governments.
According to official counts from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Area Office in Adamawa State, in the span of three months (July to September) when rainfall was at its peak , 12 LGAs were submerged. During this period, 82,730 residents of 117 communities in these LGAs were affected, 13,788 households were damaged, 51 people were injured and 27 deaths were recorded. Farmland worth billions of naira has also been destroyed, according to official figures. Affected LGAs include; Song, Fufore, Demsa, Lamurde, Girei, Madagali, Shelleng, Numan, Yola North, Yola South, Jada and Guyuk, NEMA said.
This newspaper observed that the flood disaster that hit the state was primarily aggravated by mismanagement...
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