Survivors’ near death stories as River Kaduna sweeps away ‘intruders’

It was a soft rain, gently dropping on rooftops all over Kaduna and environs penultimate Sunday night.

The weather was just right, with the sizzling sound of the rain almost inaudible.

Grateful residents furled up under bedcovers and relaxed into deep sleep awaiting the break of another day.

And then flood came.

River Kaduna, which    originates from the Jos plateau and snakes 400km down to Kaduna city, was swollen to an incredible level as it collected excess water  from the  scores of tributaries that flow into its channel as a result of incessant rainfall in the few past days.

In a rash of current, the swirling river swept every loose object on its path unto its massive brown belly as it rolled  downwards like a  tsunami    to join the Niger hundreds of miles southwards.

Farms, homes, school premises, business, places of worship were submerged while some, close to the banks of the river, were swept off.

Residents, living in low apartment homes within 300m of the banks, suddenly realised they were getting trapped in fast rising level of water as early as 3am penultimate Monday.

Houses affected, according to unofficial sources, may be as many as 3,000 in parts of 10 local government areas, LGAs,   hit by the disaster.

Worst in history

“I have lived in this town for all the 54 years    of my life”, Aliyu Bashir Ahmed told Sunday Vanguard in soaked Jeans and t-shirt   after he managed to take out a few belongings from his family home on Aliyu Makama Road, Barnawa, Kaduna,    not far from Station Roundabout bridge that links southern part of Kaduna town with the northern part.

“I have never seen anything like this before”, he added. “Look at my mum over there”, he pointed at an old women swathed in wrappers on the front seat of a pickup van carrying some rescued household goods, “she said that the only time she could recall something close to this was in 1965. But then, there was no time this river has overflowed to the point of touching the top of that bridge, as we had this morning”.

At the foot of the bridge, a crowd had gathered on both sides around 10am, penultimate Monday morning,    wondering how a river channel, about 100 meters wide, could expand into nearly half a kilometre. The river had levelled the buildings and vegetation on its banks, allowing observers to have uninterrupted view of the banks as long as eyes could see.

All kinds of objects floated on the brownish furiously flowing “sea”, with some observers swearing that they saw corpses of livestock, and even that of a man.

Director General, Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency,    SEMA, Mr. Ezekiel Baba-Karik, later told  newsmen    that the flood was record high in Kaduna.

He said: “So far, parts of 10 LGAs have been badly flooded. There has never been this type of flood in the state”.

Namadi’s  House affected

In Kaduna metropolis, worst hit were  parts of    Barnawa, Tudun-wada, Kigo Road,    Gonin Gora, Karatudu, Kudenda, and Rafinguza which were submerged.

The    home of    former Vice President Namadi Sambo at Ungwan-Rimi,    and the Living Faith Church, in Kaduna  were    also ravaged by   the flood.

But the former VP had relocated from  the   house on Camp Road,    Unguwan Rimi, after he lost the last general elections.

The flood took residents by surprise, and hundreds were trapped. No official figures have been given about casualties, but many affirmed that some residents drowned in their homes.

Strange hero

Some who were lucky to escape spoke of volunteers who risked their lives to rescue them.

“I have never swam in my life before”, said Kelechi Samuel, a hairdresser who lives on Kigo Road.

“When my neighbours banged on my door,    around 5am (Monday), I jumped out of sleep and landed in a pool of water. As I opened the door, water rushed in. Outside was already like a lake. I went for my box where I had some money and documents. And  as I heard people screaming out there, I knew it may be too late for me to start arranging the box. So I grabbed it and waded through the water. The more I walked to the gate, the more I got deeper into water. I was scared that I could drown in the water.  I rushed back, confused as I saw the water level rising the more. Then I saw a man who was swimming on a huge calabash. He came through the gate. He said I should give him the box and  that I should grab his back. I had no choice than to trust the stranger. He spoke very little, so I don’t know who he was. That is how he swam with me to safety. He said he was just helping and refused any form of reward. He returned into the water to help the next person”, she told Sunday Vanguard.

Scoundrels on the loose

But, there were also rogues who took advantage of the disaster.

Said Kabiru Audu, 34, a bank worker who lives in Unguwan Rimi: “I had spent the night at my cousin’s place at the NDA barracks, then left for the office; not knowing there was a problem where I was living.

“Someone called me and said that parts of Unguwan River had been taken over by the river and that my area was affected. I dashed out of the office from Kawo around 9:45am to    see what I could salvage from my house. I reached my apartment      around    10 am.    Before I could get out, I discovered that the flood outside had reached close to my nostrils. I had no choice than to climb the first floor of the building where others had gathered. I however managed to remove a few valuables.

“The boatmen came and started collecting N8,000 per head. Some of us refused to pay. But after an hour, with the situation getting worse, we started paying N20,000 per person. Even at that, there were no enough canoes to take everyone. Some people are still up there”.

Also, it was gathered that thieves came in canoes and burgled homes. A woman, who said she did not want her named mentioned, said thieves came in a canoe, and stole all the hens in her poultry and took away her electronics just as she was fleeing the house. She said that no one could dare them under that condition.

Reporter affected

Femi Adi of The News magazine, one of the victims, who lives in    Kudenda suburb of Kaduna , told our correspondent that his house and neighbour within the vicinity were submerged.

He said: “Over 500 houses located along the river side are gone.

“It’s quite unfortunate that we cannot help it. We saw our houses taken over by water and we could not do anything.

“I was here at the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ secretariat(Kaduna) doing my story    when I was called that flood was taking over the area but, by the time I left for    the house, the damage had been done”.

SEMA overwhelmed

The damages clearly overwhelmed Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA.

SEMA, according to Sunday Vanguard’s investigations, had only about 10 live jackets, not even enough to go round its staff. It    had no divers, and even swimmers or rescuers. SEMA had only two vans, and certainly didn’t have a canoe, talk less of a boat. It was just left with making assessments of the damages with the view to arranging relief for the victims.

NEMA boss attacked

It was, therefore, not a surprise that the Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi, escaped being mobbed by irate    victims, penultimate Tuesday.

Sidi, on assessment tour of the affected areas, had arrived Kigo Road new extension at about    noon to meet a  crowd of displaced persons    demanding for immediate attention.

Some of the victims hurled insults at the man on top of their voices, despite pleas for calm; so he could give them useful information.

“You are only here to speak grammar! We have no place to lay our heads!    Government doesn’t care for us!  Open your mouth and speak out, you are saying nothing!” were some of the rude comments he got.

When it was apparent that the displaced persons may physically assault Sidi, his armed escorts moved him to a waiting vehicle, and zoomed off.   He arrived Ahmadu Bello Stadium to inspect a temporary camp under construction for the victims.

They have been warned

However, fielding questions from reporters on his encounter, he said: “The reaction of the flood victims was not pleasant, but I think it is normal because from what I have seen, they were not prepared for the flood, even though they had earlier been warned.

“You are aware that Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, issued the seasonal rainfall prediction which showed that all these states would be flooded, and now we have the situation at hand. And as I speak, about 10 local government areas were affected by this flood in Kaduna State, about 16 local governments in Jigawa, about 17 local governments in Kebbi, almost 20 local governments in Adamawa State, and other states that were mentioned in the NIMET prediction.

“I had in the last two months been warning that there would be flood, and we need to move people, especially those that live within the flood prone areas, to higher ground, but they never took the warning very seriously”.

River taking revenge 

According to Malachy Danasabe, a town planner with City Dweller Nigeria Ltd,    the victims and government share the blame for the tragedy.

He said: “Government was never supposed to give building permits on flood plains. In the case of Kigo Road and all that axis, there is an existing planning regulation since 1967, that says that at no circumstances should any form of residential building be permitted in that area. Again, these people have yearly experienced this problem, though that of this year is  the worst. They have no excuse to remain there. There houses were built in violation of clear safety guidelines for the building of homes.    I think the river is just taking vengeance against those trespassing on its route”.