By Fidelis Mac-Leva
PERSONS Living with Disability (PWDs) were among the estimated one million victims affected by the flood that hit Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and its environs on September 9.
With over 10,000 members spread across the 27 LGAs of the state, findings indicate that no fewer than 5,000 were affected by the floodwaters that swept through the LGAs that were worst hit – Jere and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC).
In this special report, the ICIR exclusively recounts tales of physically challenged persons caught up in the fury of the rampaging flood.
A large-sized aluminium pot is standing on three big stones under which coal is burning. Peeping inside the pot, Hauwa (25) clears perspiration on her face even as she battles with the cloud of smoke that surged from the fireplace towards her. She is preparing tuwo (made from corn flour) for her blind mother and four siblings. Smaller clay pots, wooden mortars and pestles also lie about elsewhere just as logs of firewood lean against the ‘house pillars’ formed by tree trunks.
The interior is as damp as the bushy, murky marshes that surround the makeshift compound. The dingy corners inside provide sanctuaries for the multitude of malevolent mosquitoes and even rodents. The occupants of this shack, looking more like a medieval cage, located at London Ciki in Jere LGA of Borno State, are victims of the September 9 flood that ravaged Maiduguri and its environs when the Alau Dam burst its waters.
Little wonder, Hauwa complained that since they relocated here from their family house, which was swept in the wake of the flood, they have been left to their fate even as they are constantly faced with the sights and sounds of their amphibious neighbours that breed and luxuriate in the stagnant waters around them.
Tales of pain, sorrow across the bridges
When the legendary country singer, Jim Reeves, wrote his popular lyrics: “Across the bridge, there is no more sorrow; across the bridge there is no more pain…”, he certainly did not have in mind the plight of rural dwellers in Borno State, like Hauwa’s family, who are victims of climate disasters, including flooding.
Indeed, across the fragile bridges linking communities that were destroyed in Jere, Maiduguri Metropolitan and other areas, by the recent flood in the North-East state, sorrow and pain have remained enduring symptoms.
The ICIR reported that a large part of the city of Maiduguri, known for its isolation from the rest of the country in terms of distance, was submerged in the early hours of Tuesday, September 9, when the Alau Dam burst its banks after being overwhelmed by rainfall. The incident is considered to be Borno’s worst flooding in decades, in terms of impact.
Relics of destruction
Over two months after the devastating flood, the relics of destruction are still visible. At a sprawling settlement called Fori in Jere LGA, residents have been completely cut off due to the collapse of the main bridge even as heaps of damaged furniture, broken appliances and shattered glasses remain sad reminders of the destruction caused by the violent flood waters.
Elsewhere in Gwange and the old Maiduguri areas in the state capital, broken bridges have left behind rivers of sewage and stagnant water, attracting swarms of disease-carrying insects. Plastic bags are still tangled in trees and power lines, flapping in the wind. Indeed, there is much for a visiting reporter to see, and write about these communities that were ravaged by the erosion of helpless tears in the wake of the Alau Dam collapse.
Tales of agony, abandonment
At the Gubio internally displaced persons’ camp (IDP), located some thirty kilometres on the outskirts of Maiduguri where victims of the flood, among them the physically challenged, are currently camped, stories like those of Mohammed, Aisha and Kaka spread like wildfire, inspiring hope among the community of the disabled, albeit amid pain and sorrow.
Mohammed Danjuma (50), a petty trader who has been blind for over forty years, said his neighbours had to break the fence of his compound to evacuate him and his family of six from the torrents of the flood.
“We were home on that fateful night. At about 12: 45 pm, the flood waters came gushing into our home. As a blind man, I was helpless! It took the intervention of some kindhearted neighbours who broke through our fence and evacuated us to the Gwange primary school.
“We were later brought to this camp where we have so far spent four weeks. Although food items are provided here through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), we are not strong enough to scramble for them like others. Besides we are exposed to mosquitoes which cause us malaria and other ailments.”
We appeal to Governor Zulum to look into our plight. Our houses are in ruins; the government should rehabilitate us so we can reunite with our families.”
Speaking in the same vein, Habiba Musa, a 70-year-old blind woman said the wall of her house at the Gwange area of Maiduguri was broken into by rescuers to evacuate them to the nearby primary school.
“We have currently spent four weeks at this camp. We get food supplies from NGO’s but not enough from the state government. I sleep on the floor in a tent with my children. We appreciate the effort of the state government but we want to go back home and be reunited with our families.
“Apart from sleeping on the bare floor, we are also exposed to mosquitoes even as the water we consume is not good for our health. We are vulnerable to malaria, typhoid and water borne diseases.”
At the Shehuri north area of Maiduguri Metropolitan, a 37-year-old cripple, Mohammed Bulama, who survives by selling kola nuts, said he was rescued by his younger brother on the fateful night when flood waters poured into their hut.
“My younger brother carried me on his back and took me out because I couldn’t withstand the water. Because of the bruises I had when our collapsed wall fell on me, I was first taken to a clinic for treatment before coming to this camp where I have so far spent one month. I appeal to the government for assistance to rehabilitate my house so I can go back home.”
Elsewhere, a 22-year-old girl, Zainab Ibrahim, with cerebral palsy was trapped in a wheelchair at her residence in the London Ciki area of Jere LGA. Her family, desperate to save her, called for help. “We were in panic mode as water streamed in. My brother teamed up with rescuers and took me to safety in a neighbour’s house.
“So far, there has been no appreciable help from the government particularly for our members. We appeal to Governor Zulum to come to our aid as the walls of our house have been completely pulled down,” she said.
Falmata Mukhtar, the deputy women leader of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disability in Borno State, was not spared the fangs of the flood. The 27-year-old who is also the state chairperson of the Nigeria Association of the Blind, said: “I had just started sleeping at about 2:30 am on the fateful day when the flood waters came pouring in. There were ten people in my compound. Luckily I was rescued and taken to the camp even as water swept all our belongings.
“Assistance from the government for our members has not been encouraging. We depend on friends, well-wishers and NGOs. We know Governor Zulum as a kind-hearted person and appeal to him to come to our aid.”
The story of Umar Shehu, a 40-year-old paraplegic, is pathetic. He was almost swept away by the floodwaters while trying to escape. Rescuers found him clinging to a tree branch. At the Gubio camp, Umar’s story inspires hope among the physically challenged. “I thought I had lost everything, but I am alive. And this is all that matters to me,” Shehu said.
Alhaji Amodu Umar, the Borno State chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), described the impact of the flood on persons with disability as traumatising.
Umar, who has three wives and seventeen children, said he was also badly affected by the flood, adding: “If not for assistance from rescuers I wouldn’t be alive today.
“We have not received any assistance from the state government. We tried reaching out to the relief committee but nobody listened to us. But we know the governor to be a kind-hearted person who listens. We are appealing to him to specifically assist persons living with disabilities.
“Governor Zulum should also appoint our members as advisers to his government so that when there are issues like this, we can go through him directly.”
We lost 7 members, 15 were hospitalised–Borno PWD chairman
Mohammed Abubakar, the Borno State chairman of persons living with disability (PWD), said his members were adversely affected, stressing that he was personally rescued by his wife from the flood disaster.
“On the fateful day, some of my neighbours were busy running from the floodwaters. I couldn’t get immediate help until my wife rushed back home. Thank God she is physically okay. She evacuated my two children and me.”
Abubakar said out of the over 10,000 registered PWDs in Borno State, no fewer than 5,000 were affected by the flood. “We lost about seven of our members while 15 others who sustained different levels of injuries were treated in the hospitals. Several other victims lost their wheelchairs while other valuables were swept away.
Abubakar also called for the inclusion of persons with disability in Zulum’s government, while appealing for special consideration for their members in the rehabilitation process.
On her part, Inna Galadima, the chairperson of Jere LGA, described the flood as devastating, saying over 50 per cent of the area was affected by the flood.
“Out of the twelve wards we have, seven were affected. Homes and farms were destroyed, thereby bringing untold hardship to the people.
According to her, even though a census of the physically challenged victims was not conducted, “we are dealing with everybody, including persons living with disability.”
Physically challenged were given priority – NEMA, SEMA
The zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sirajo Garba, described the impact of the flood as overwhelming.
Garba who admitted that victims of the flood who are living with disability are not adequately catered for, said: “I feel they are somehow left behind; however we have been receiving communication from them and we are making conscious efforts to step up assistance to them.”
On his part, the Director General of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Barkindo Mohammed, said the task of dealing with the physically challenged was difficult. He, however, said special consideration was accorded them in terms of relief provision, adding: “We have our database and we will improve.”
The Chairman, Borno State Flood Disaster Relief Disbursement Committee, Baba Bukar Gujbawu, said there was no clear-cut demarcation by the committee in dealing with victims of the flood in relation with persons with disability.
He, however, said “We gave them special consideration before others, stressing that the committee has covered almost 70 per cent in providing relief to the affected persons.
