Flood displaces over 2500 Kwara residents in Jebba

By Demola Akinyemi

Jebba community in Moro local government area of Kwara state has been thrown into survival crisis as no fewer than Two Thousand five hundred residents have been displaced from their abodes by a devastating flood on Thursday.

Meantime, House Deputy  Leader, in Kwara State house of Assembly Hon John Olarewaju Bello who represents the area Lanwa/Ejidongari said plans are underway by the government to evacuate victims to safe place pending when relief would be brought to them.

NEMA, however, appealed to residents to avoid throwing refuse into the gutter to avoid flood tragedy next time.

The flood tragedy in the small but industrial hub community was as a  result of the heavy downpour that occurred between Wednesday night Thursday morning.

Household items worth millions of Naira in houses, shops and offices were submerged by the flood while the victims have been rendered homeless since then.

During the midnight rain, houses and shops in Ipaja,, Fanga areas of Jebba and other parts of the hinterland of the town were badly affected by the flood which entered the shops and homes and destroyed their items.

Jebba community not far from Shiroro Dam hosts Paper Mill, Sugar company and other industries because of the very regular power supply in the area.

One of the victims Habeeb Adelore told journalists that the rain which started slowly in the afternoon suddenly became heavier in the night and rained till Wednesday morning.

Habeeb said the midnight rain forced the victims already asleep awake as they started looking for means to survive the flood attack even till the following morning when it started subsiding.

Habeeb, “I was already deeply asleep when one of my children who was watching film woke me up and me that rain has entered our house from the main door. Like a dream, while we were searching for means of allowing the rain to escape, the rain became much instead and suddenly filled half of the wall of our rooms during which we had to run out of the house to escape getting drowned ”

President, Jebba Descendants Union Alh Yusuf Abdulkareem who said the havoc wreaked by the flood was much appealed to kindhearted individuals, philanthropists and other stakeholders particularly Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to assist the victims to live their normal lives again.

He said, “After our assessment of the areas affected, it’s very clear to us that the victims can never live their normal lives again unless they are assisted. We are therefore appealing for help for the victims to live their normal lives again. We all know that times are really hard more than ever before in Nigeria, so we are begging for help for them. We know our governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is Godsent to us in Kwara at this time, we are particularly appealing to him to come to our aid ”

House Deputy leader, Hon John Olarewaju Bello who represents the area Lanwa/Ejidongari constituency in the state house of  Assembly also paid an on the spot assessment to the affected areas assured the victims of government intervention.

Olanrewaju said, “the Executive governor of the state; Mallam Abdulrahma Abdurasaq is a man of the people who has KWARANS best interest at heart, I, therefore, have no doubt in my mind that he will intervene and bring relief to them.”

He added that plans are underway by the state government to evacuate the victims from the affected areas to a safe abode pending the time relief materials would be brought to them.

Also in the company of the lawmaker is the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA,  led by Mrs. Adaranbori who urged the people to always clear the waterways and keep their drainages clean always in a bid to prevent future occurrence.

Hon olarewaju, however, called for calm while assuring that the government will take care of every individual victim affected by flood in the area.