Thousands of farmlands submerged as ‘strange’ flood hits Kwara
Flood has washed away thousands of farmlands in Shonga, Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The incident has displaced several hundred rice farmers and destroyed investments running into millions of naira across thousands of hectares.
Speaking during a visit by the state government delegation led by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Princess Bukola Babalola, Emir of Shonga, Dr Halidu Yahya Ndanusa, expressed sadness over the incident which he described as a threat to food security.
He urged the state government to carry out a thorough investigation to find the cause of the incident.
According to him, “From here up to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Mali, there was no rain. The Sahel is dry. How can there be a flood here? The source of this flood must be local.
“We have asked from Kainji Dam, and they said it wasn’t from them. But Jebba Dam could not deny it. In fact, they said they would soon close it.
“We spent several years attracting people to this place. We hope this will not happen again next year to avert food insecurity.
“The Governor has spoken to me, and he took it very seriously. I didn’t expect this delegation again, given his interventions already. We are very grateful to him for his concern and for sending this powerful delegation.
“It is very important that we get to the roots of the matter. If it is true that Jebba Dam released water, what was the reason, and who authorised it?”
Muhammad Abdulkadir, a community leader, said, “Our farmers here come from different states in the north. We have farmers from Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, and Niger State, and they have lost millions of naira worth of rice farms to this flooding.
“We definitely need the government’s assistance. When there was no flooding, we realised over 3m metric tonnes of rice here annually.
“We thank the government for coming to our aid immediately. This should not end here. We want the government to find the permanent solution to perennial flooding in this axis. The permanent solution is to dredge the River Niger”, he stated.
Speaking during the visit to the Emir and the victims of the affected community at Tada, Babalola assured the victims that the government would offer assistance to the farmers to cushion the effect of the flooding on their farms.
“We are here to see the damage done to the farms, especially the rice farms in Tada community. We have seen what happened and we are taking the message back to the Governor to see what can be done to remedy the situation.
“Also, a lot of farmers are crying here that they need a lot of support. We have heard their complaints, and help is on the way”, he noted.
Babalola thanked residents of the community for their cooperation and understanding, saying the government cares for their well-being and would support them, including establishing the causes of the flooding.
The delegation also delivered relief materials worth millions of naira for the farmers in the affected community.
