“I saw Musa as he was coming back from lunch on that fateful day. On getting to the bank where he worked, his legs slipped and the flood swept him off.
“It was like a dream because everything happened in a flash and as no able-bodied man was around to rescue him,” these were the exact words of Madam Iquo, a resident of Grace Bill Avenue in Eket Local Council of Akwa Ibom State on how a bank security man identified as Musa was drowned in a flood following a heavy downpour in the area.
DAILY POST reports that Musa, a security man with one of the commercial banks in the state met his untimely death recently when he was coming back from lunch to his office, when he got close to his area, he could not identify where the gutter begins since the whole area was flooded, unfortunately his legs slipped into the gutter and the flood carried him away.
In a tremulous voice, Iquo continued, “when the rain subsided, the victim was found in the gutter and his head was cut off as the body was tossed and hit on the walls of the gutters.”
Another resident of Afaha Eket in Eket local council Area of the state, Grace Ukim, narrated how two persons also lost their lives in a flood along Eketai River.
The flood was said to have over flown the bank of Eketai River as it submerged drainage systems, houses, and other structures.
Reacting to the incident, the village Head of Ekpene Afaha Eket, Chief Enim Ekanem, explained that the community had recorded two deaths from the same flood in the previous year and another two this year.
“The effect is that the water usually covers farmlands, drainage systems, and houses. And when this happens, people don’t know when they walk into the river and got drowned. We lost two persons last year from the same incident,” he lamented.
The monarch lamented that Afaha Eket people were the worst hit during the rainy season in Eket LGA. He stated that Afaha Eket is the area where the entire flood in Eket is channeled through, adding that this makes the community more prone to flood disaster.
According to the village head whose tone was filled with despondency, “our suffering is exacerbated as the entire flood from Eket Urban is channeled through Afaha Eket and its environs. And when rain starts, we receive in full the hazardous effects of rain water, which sometimes cover whole residents and killing some occupants,
“We have been appealling to Akwa Ibom State government to relocate our community or tackle the issue, frequent flooding of the areas over the years has caused us harm and hardship.”
Also, recently along Atiku Abubakar way, near GWT filling station Uyo, two corpses; a man and a woman were recovered from a gutter after a heavy downpour.
An eyewitness said, “As we woke up this morning, we found two corpses in the gutter, since we could not identify them, we called the police who came and carried the corpses away.”
Similarly, a school pupil lost his life to flood and his corpse was recovered from nung oku, Ibesikpo drainage outlet which made the governor of the state, Mr. Udom Emmanuel to visit and commiserate with the parents of the deceased immediately he came into the state.
These were the few among the many cases of death through flood in Uyo and other local government areas in the state within one year. Many people residing in Akwa Ibom state have suffered untold loss of properties worth millions of naira, lives, livestock and difficulties as a result of flood in the state.
Whenever there is a heavy downpour in the state, people especially those living in a well planned estates such as Shelter Afrique, Osongama and some parts of Uyo metropolis are either being held hostage in their homes or barred from entrance for some days due to flood which will render their premises impassable.
Residents of IBB, particularly spot where the flood was high had fled their homes leaving that area like a ghost zone. Motorists have even boycotted IBB plying through Esuene Street to avoid being trapped in the flood.
The rainfall of early July, 2019 in Uyo had left much to be imagined than experienced as people living in the flood prone areas narrated some gory tales. One Apostle Samuel Eka posted on his Facebook wall how his surrounding was flooded after the heavy rains of the early hours of Sunday. He explained how their vehicles were grounded and their inability to move out of the compound the following day (Monday) to start the week’s activities.
“Today, Monday, 8th July, 2019, we are in the 2nd day of the water seige or flood that has kept us hostage in our homes.
“Yesterday, we couldn’t go to Church. Today, our kids can’t go to school. We just can’t go out. Our vehicles are grounded. Can’t go out for my monday engagements either. What a shame in a supposedly well planned estate. This is SHELTER AFRIQUE O!” He wrote.
Another resident explained how his family and people from other neighborhood were sacked by flood. He further explained that as the flood began to set in his premises, he managed to gather his family of eight and left the compound to a hotel to avoid losing his family members to flood.
“When I looked through the window and saw how my compound was turning into a mini river, I quickly gathered my children and my wife and ran out of the compound. When i came back the following day I discovered that my building was submerged. All my properties worth millions of Naira including my certificates were all gone. I want government to look into the matter, we are suffering.”
The ‘C Division of the Akwa Ibom state police command was not spared in the gory encroachment of flood as they have vacated the administrative block to manage only one block for all their activities.
Residents of Ubara community in Use offot, Uyo, also recounted their share of bitter experience of flood in the community. Sources from the community said they always panic as soon as rainy season sets in. As their lives are always endangered by flood especially the school children who may be returning from schools anytime there is a heavy downpour.
Though living in some parts of Uyo during the rainy season could be a nightmare, yet it should be noted that flood has been a perennial issue that had confronted successive administrations in Akwa Ibom state.
Past governments including the present government had made huge budgetary provisions to curb the problem of flooding in the state with a little result.
The government of Godswill Akpabio sunk over N13.6billion into a pipe jacking or micro-tunneling technology in his bid to curb flooding.
Thanks to the underground technology which took care of flood in areas such as, Ikot Ekpene Road, Itam and Idoro areas as well as additional catchment areas.
Aside these areas, people in other areas in Uyo are suffering beyond words from the menace of flood. Several visits to the office of the Deputy Governor, Moses Ekpo to ascertain the level of commitments and how much the present government has expended in curbing flood in the state yielded no fruit as the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) whose office is in charge of flood control in the state declined comments on the reason he was not mandated to speak to the press.
Meanwhile Governor Emmanuel recently visited some of the flood prone areas and gave assurance of proferring lasting solutions to flood in the state.
The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Ekong Sampson, together with officials from the ministry and the Niger pet construction company
also visited some flood ravaged areas in the state.
The commissioner who went on the inspection with some newsmen said, “The state government is passionate about this matter, so we are here to see things for ourselves for prompt intervention. Governor Udom Emmanuel has directed that remedial measures be put in place to salvage the situation.”
However, people affected in some of the areas, who spoke with our correspondent, said the visit by the government officials was not new to them.
According to a resident of Ubara community in Uyo, who simply identified himself as Uko, “For me, the fact-finding visit of the commissioner and his team to this area did not make any meaning to me because other commissioners have been coming here for the past three years without anything to show for it.
“The past commissioner of works, Ephraim Inyangeyen whom i learnt is still the commissioner of works in Udom’s second term had visited and promised to put a lasting solution to the flood, after that, what happened? So I see these things as political visits.”
Another resident said, “It is not only enough for them to visit without tackling this flood issue, they can’t keep on visiting, making noise everywhere without doing the needful. I think the governor is not serious about this issue of flood, whenever he is ready, he knows what to do simple!”
The proprietress of Miracle Academy, Mrs. Esther Joseph, whose school is the worst hit by flood any time it rains in the Ubara community, Use Offot, lamented that despite several letters the institution has written to the state government for the past three years to come to their aid, nothing has been done. She called on the government to look into the matter once again.
Recounting their loses to flood, the Proprietor said, “Everything in my office lost as water submerged my table, books in my shelve, together with our computers. The keyboards we acquired just this year for about N270, 000 were all soaked and destroyed.
“The worst part of it is that all the books in our library have been destroyed, and as I’m speaking with you, we don’t have a single book in our library. Even the books inside the students’ lockers were all soaked with water, the students were crying when they came to school on Monday having seen the havoc done by flood. I thank God that no life was lost but only our valuables.”
Reacting to the visit of government officials to the area over the flood incident, Mrs Joseph said, “I thank God for the visit of the commissioner, he has given us hope once again.
“I must confess that we have made several attempts to reach out to this government without succeeding. About three years ago we wrote to the ministry of works, the then commissioner came here and gave us hope, but nothing happened. We wrote to the Ministry of Environment the following year, they also came, talked and left, nothing was done.
“We also wrote to the office of the Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo, he sent a team for a fact-finding visit. They came and left and nothing has been done since the past two years.
“So the visit of the commissioner last week is not something new to us, but i hope this time, it will not be business as usual.” The proprietor said.
She urged the government to at least construct gutters that can channel the rain water to the main gutter on the road, nothing that danger looms if the government continues to drag its feet in curbing the issue of flood in the state.
Last night, the Ghana Music Awards witnessed an unprecedented chaos when dancehall artiste Shatta Wale and label mate Stonebwoy disrupted the show.
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