ABUJA, Nigeria — E don happen! The heavy rain wey fall for Mokwa wey be major market town, don cause wahala wey drown at least 111 people, as officials dey talk say death toll fit rise more. Face wetin happen, dem say dis na predawn rain wey come after midnight Thursday.
Mokwa, wey dey Niger State, na over 180 miles (300 kilometers) west of Abuja, na wetin turn life upside-down for people wey dey sell their farm produce to traders from di south. According to the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency, dem no fit even calculate how much rain fall yet. Na wa o!
Dem say dis flooding come after long dry spell wey don dey show face for northern Nigeria thanks to climate change and wet season wey dey come like wahala. People don start dey post videos and pictures for social media, as floodwaters dey cover houses, wey only roofs dey peek from di brown water wey dey float everywhere.
Residents wey dey waist-deep for water, dey try salvage wetin dem fit save, or dey rescue others. One resident, Kazeem Muhammed talk say: “We lost many lives, and di properties, our farm produce. Those wey get storage, dem don lose all.” As e be, dem don confirm 111 deaths, but Niger State emergency agency spokesman, IIbrahim Audu Husseini, talk say more bodies dey come and e never finish counting.
Mokwa na big meeting point for food trade, where traders dey buy beans, onions, and other foodstuff from farmers wey come from di north. Community leader Aliki Musa talk say dem dey confused by di flooding wey dey happen. “Di water be like spiritual water wey dey come but e seasonal. E fit come now and e go take another twenty years before e go show face again,” Musa lament.
Jibril Muregi, wey be chairman for Mokwa local government area, don talk say na high time dem build flood-control works. According to am, “This critical infrastructure dey necessary to reduce future flood risk and protect lives and property.” Na so e be, no be today dem dey complain about this tin.
And no forget, last September, torrential rains for Maiduguri come cause severe flooding wey kill at least 30 people and dis one don worsen humanitarian crisis wey insurgency don already cause for di place. Wetin we go do now as rain dey fall like say dem dey share free water? Make we dey pray say no more heavy rain for now!
