Yobe residents cry out as devastating erosion destroys houses, kills children
Residents of Makara Huta-Masakar Makafi in Potiskum Local Government Area of Yobe State have lamented the devastating impacts of erosion as many houses and roads have collapsed.
The Makara Huta-Masakar Makafi-Jigawa and Garin Jaji Road in Potiskum used to be a resting place for herders and rearers of livestock where they drank water and sleep before proceeding to their journey down south but the road has been eroded.
It was gathered that the erosion has so far claimed the lives of two persons, destroyed more than ten houses while several others are on the verge of collapsing.
The Chairman of Concerned Committee and Stakeholders on the Erosion in the area, Malam Hussaini Ahmed Kabono, who spoke to Daily Trust urged federal, state, and local governments to urgently intervene and salvage the situation before they lose their lives.
“On behalf of the people of this ward, we are appealing to Yobe State as well as the federal government and all other stakeholders; from our members of state assembly to the Senators to come to our aid because this thing is destroying the ward. Because what we are seeing here now, one day it will send us away from this ward.
‘‘We wrote a letter to the federal and state governments and we also forwarded the letter to our member of the state house of assembly and senator yet nothing is done to address this issue. People are losing their houses almost annually and children are dying in the water pool seasonally,’’ he lamented.
Daily Trust gathered that besides killing children and destroying houses, the students from Federal Government Girls College and Fika Government Secondary School were cut off by the erosion,.
‘‘Some students even sleep at home because Keke Napep tricycle owners refused to carry them due to the poor access road to their schools,’’ Alhaji Hassan Sabo, an elder statesman, said.
‘‘Many houses have collapsed due to the impact of the flood. Many houses were washed on both sides the gully created by the erosion,’’ he added.
Ahmed Balde, a retired civil servant who was also a Secretary to the Concerned Committee of the Community, debunked the circulated information that they build their houses on waterways, saying it’s the water that finds them in the places they live.
According to him, most of them inherited their houses from their ancestors adding that nothing like building on waterways as claimed by unpatriotic residents in the Potiskum community.
A resident who spoke on the incident, Samaila Hassan, expressed fears that, perhaps, an uncountable number of houses would be destroyed as the weather forecast has predicted flooding in some LGAs in Yobe in the next ten days.
‘‘This erosion in previous years affected only one site but now, on both sides large portions of soil keep sliding in, forcing some residents to flee to other locations in Potiskum where some are staying in rented houses while others are staying with their relatives.
“We have been doing embankment to stop water from coming to the safest areas yet our efforts have been fruitless. We are begging all relevant stakeholders to come to our aid as we have exhausted our efforts and we need government’s intervention,’’ he said.
When contacted, Ahmed Adamu, Sarkin Adon Potiskum, a member of house of assembly representing Potiskum Central Constituency said although members of the community have not provided a letter of complaint to him since he assumed office he is fully aware of the situation.
“Honestly speaking, since I assumed office this year I did not receive their complaint officially. But I knew the situation because my house was there before. I too was affected by this disaster.
‘‘Indeed I knew that they wrote a letter of complaint on this disaster even before I was elected. I took this letter of this people to our Senator, Ibrahim Muhammad Bomai, in Abuja and I presented it to him but till now there is no any response from him.
“I followed our traditional and religious leaders, especially the Emir of Fika to intervene in this project, looking at how this disaster destroyed houses in the community yet no any response from there,” he explained.
Similarly, dwellers of Kwari, Batayya, and near Kano Road Bridge at Potiskum town were facing the same challenges.
Efforts to speak with the Senator Bomai were unsuccessful as he neither responded to calls nor a text message sent to him.
