Is this hardship not too much to bear? This is the question to ask. Even the most stone-hearted sadist would spare a space for sympathy in their hearts for Maiduguri flood victims. For the people of Maiduguri and Borno generally, it is as if there is no holiday from calamity. It is one after the other over a decade and half. I earnestly pray that this recent flood will be the last calamity in the long chain of calamities that has befallen the people of Borno.
Boko Haram crisis almost renders Borno State desolate. That the state still survives, if one looks back, is a thing of joy. While it is true that members of this dreaded group has been pushed to the fringe, they have created serious social and psychological problems that will take a long time to solve.
I am not talking about the economic problem which is a national cross that every Nigerian is forced to carry; I am talking about deep-rooted psychological trauma which many indigenes of Borno struggle with. In addition, due to the perennial Boko Haram crisis, many local governments outside Maiduguri metropolis are a mere shadows of their former selves. This reality and habitat threats led many locals from different local government areas in the state to seek refuge in the State Capital (Maiduguri). The mass location to Maiduguri from various towns make the state capital a crowded place with high cost of living.
However, Babagana Zulum, the State Governor, seems to be in charge. He has been doing his best to manage his people with a sense of patriotism. Even though he is not perfect—like any other good administrator—I can confidently say that he is a leader, not a ruler. His zeal to set things right and resettle his displaced people inspired me to write a column dedicated to him three years ago, wherein I asked: “Who is this Zulum and Why is he Different?”
It is unfortunate that Governor Zulum, in this trying time, would have to face another challenge of flood which is unprecedented in the history of the state. Although there was a flood of gargantuan proportions in the state three decades ago, it was still child’s play compared to this week’s flood. The flood was as a result of the collapse of Alau Dam which submerged, according to report, about 70 percent of the state capital, Maiduguri.
I sympathize with the people of Maiduguri who are still living with the trauma of Boko Haram. For, it is near impossible to find members of a household in Maiduguri who are not affected by the insurgency. If one is not a victim, then they know someone who is a victim of Boko Haram insurgency. They have not recovered from that trauma when Tinubu’s cold policies exacerbate their living conditions like those of other Nigerians. One can only imagine how these hardships would be felt by the people of Maiduguri.
In the midst of all this, the recent flood has added a thorny layer to the strangulating hardship experienced by residents of Maiduguri. Being a former resident of the city for about five years as student in the University of Maiduguri (2007-2012), I did not waste time to reach out to some of my contacts. Up till now, there are those I couldn’t reach, and this is disturbing. Many of those I was able to reach responded in sad tone even as they continue to thank God. A friend told me his sister, her children, and husband were nowhere to be found. Sad.
About one million people are reportedly affected. According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Manzo Ezekiel, death toll had hit 30 and displaced persons close to half a million as at Wednesday. “Around 414,000 people were displaced and are in nine IDP camps across the state,” he said. In NEMA’s report, more than 23,000 households have been hit by the water which gushes as if it is raging. It submerged the state secretariat, post office, cemetery, the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, and did not spare even the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Umar Ibn Garbai El-Kanemi.
The federal government has responded. President Tinubu was ably represented by the Vice President who is coincidentally an indigene of the state and its former governor. I saw the Vice President, experiencing what the people are going through, navigating through the water which levelled up to his knees. That is what is expected of a leader. We learnt fifty trucks of rice are already on their way to Maiduguri to assist victims. This is also commendable if the rice is not intercepted by those who habitually seek to benefit from people’s tragedy. I hope the rice actually get to the displaced victims.
We criticize every government action in Nigeria. Already, people are saying why is Tinubu government always “riceological” in its approach to addressing issues. Why is it that palliative is rice; disaster, rice; flood victims again, rice? I don’t know. But my hunch is that the government itself knows that it has successfully reduced Nigerians to hungry animals whose only need is food. Even the food needs not to be balanced. Essentially, we are, under this regime, For Food Only (FFO). While I think we should commend Tinubu and Shettima for the rice intervention, I agree they need to do more. And I urge the federal government to be more responsive and responsible.
And it should be noted, addressing this challenge at hand should not be left solely to the government. It is beyond what the government alone can address. Philanthropists, the well-to-do, large-hearted individuals etc. should all come in to help complement government efforts. Even prayers warriors should not forget to mention Maiduguri flood victims in their prayers. This is to emphasize that no intervention should be belittled. Fundraising by patriotic individuals to help these victims will also be praiseworthy. But one has to be very careful not to donate money to the wrong hands. I have seen many donation fliers going around; it is an opportunity for scammers to scam. Let’s be vigilant.
There are many lessons to learn from Maiduguri flood. One very important one is that, in submerging people’s houses, the flood does not discriminate between fortified mansions and mud houses, the rich and the poor, the mighty and the lowly, the literate and the illiterate, the rulers and their subjects. This is an admonition to everyone of us to be conscious of our Creator. When He unleashes His wrath, it is indiscriminatingly all encompassing. This is not to say that the flood is God’s punishment (many are already saying this), as I find it difficult to believe.
It is, in my opinion, due to our negligence in utilizing ecological funds dutifully. By negligence, I mean corruption. It is due to our culture of not addressing minor issues until they balloon into serious tragedies. Like Olusegun Adeniyi rightly observed in his Thursday column: “I understand that there have been signals in recent years that the Alau Dam which was completed in 1986 could give way anytime as it has now happened. But nobody paid attention. That the resulting human tragedies leave both the rich and poor counting the costs is why I marvel about why we seem to move on without finding long-term solution to serious problems.”
May the Almighty Allah bring succour to our people in Maiduguri, have mercy on the lost ones, console the bereaved among them, end their calamities and the sufferings of every Nigerian in this trying time.
Abdulkadir Salaudeen
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com
