Flood-ravaged Taraba communities cry for help. Residents of Taraba State’s Lau and Karim-Lamido local government councils have pleaded with the state government to assist them after their communities were devastated by floods.
Numerous towns dispersed over the two councils have experienced flooding as a result of recent heavy rains and the suspected overflow of the Lagdo dam in neighboring Cameroon through the River Benue.
Nibolo Madaka Kiffi, Madaka, Yama, Bandawa, Sanga, Usmanu, Jen, Didango, Komodoro, Pai, Belango, Nahuta, Shemel, Bonada, Ziddi, Jabjab, Didango, and Gorowa are a few of the villages.
Chief of Old Muri in Karim-Lamido council, Abdullahi Mohammed Chiroma, stressed the need for assistance, saying that the flood had completely destroyed the settlements and left the victims in need. The king, who had earlier referred to the crisis as “a national threat to economic operations,” feared that if immediate action was not taken to assist the victims, the hopes of assuring a plentiful harvest the next year would prove to be a phantom.
He took his time to list the many crops destroyed by the flood, including maize, guinea-corn, cassava, rice, and soybean, among others. The scenario, in his opinion, will undoubtedly have a severe impact on the state’s economy and the surrounding region.
In order to lessen the impact of the calamity on locals, he added, shelter, food, and other items are required.
Kuh Roman Ntiri, the district chief of Karim in Karim Lamido, also pleaded with the government to assist them.
He claimed that government actions have become crucial as a result of the destruction the flood has caused in the communities, which, in his words, has resulted in a large-scale eviction of people, the majority of whom are women and children.
Farmers “would regard the phenomena as divine testing because the worst has been done,” according to Aliyu Baba Musa, the Village Head of Lau in Lau Council.
He was seen, however, to have thrown his support behind his rivals by requesting help from the appropriate authorities so that the communities and victims might recover what they had lost.
Some of the victims who talked with our correspondent were sad and claimed that in addition to losing their homes to the flood, they had also lost all of their agricultural output.
Some of them, who claimed to have had bank loans to start farms, expressed regret over the debt the water had caused them.
They also pleaded with the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs, the State Emergency Management Agency, and the National Emergency Management Agency to assist them.
