Yobe: Like Floods, Like Boko Haram | Tellwell Newspaper
Massive destructions by floods this year have constituted a traumatizing reminder of Boko Haram insurgency to scores of communities in Yobe State, Tellwell Newspaper gathered.
The destructive insurgency, a human disaster, sacked hundreds communities, killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Unquantifiable houses and other buildings were destroyed in the unprecedented conflict.
Roads, Tellwell Newspaper recalls, became deserted as commuters were too scared to ply them due to the macabre activities of the insurgents, which rendered the roads impassable for travelers, especially at the peak of the violence between 2013 and 2017.
Tellwell Newspaper findings show that the floods this year, a natural disaster, have also claimed dozens of lives, submerged scores of communities, destroyed roads and washed away bridges, cutting off communities and rendering many of them inaccessible from the state capital, Damaturu.
Two of such communities are Jumbam and Kaliyari in Tarmuwa Local Government Area where floods have led to the loss of scores of lives in boat capsizes, loss of unquantifiable number of livestock and the destruction of over 180 houses and 752 hectres of farmland.
Over 17 communities in Jakusko and Bade Local Government Areas have been sacked by massive floods, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents, with their larger population now crammed in primary schools classrooms where they live as internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The floods have prompted Governor Mai Mala Buni to embark on commiseration shuttles to the affected communities, condoling with families of the dead and directing the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to ferry in humanitarian relief.
SEMA has been conducting assessments of the destructions and responding to the victims’ immediate needs.
In Jakusko, already over 6,000 polythene sacks have been provided by SEMA for immediate use to build improvised sand embankments to contain the floods.
SEMA has since last week issued a warning alert for high-risk communities in Jakusko, Bursari and Geidam Local Government Areas that are likely to bear brunt of the imminent release of water from River Hadejia in neighbouring Jigawa state.
Tellwell Newspaper reports that while Yobe state has witnessed dramatic drop in Boko Haram killings and destruction due to ongoing military offensives against the insurgent group, floods have been unleashing havoc as Nigeria records unusually high rains this wet season.
