Extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, and they are causing significant damage to roads, power grids, and other vital infrastructure. This damage is disrupting essential services, costing economies billions of dollars, and displacing millions of people. Floods are made more likely by the more extreme weather patterns caused by long-term global climate change. Change in land cover—such as removal of vegetation—and climate change increase flood risk. Recently, in Nigeria’s city of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, thousands of people were uprooted when the Alau Dam overflowed after heavy rains, triggering floods and flooding.
Eyewitnesses say that this incident is the worst in Maiduguri since 1994. The city was once known as a hub of Islamic scholarship in West Africa. Maiduguri is one of the fifteen Local Government Areas (LGAs) that constitute the Borno Emirate, a traditional state located in Borno State, Nigeria. Many streets in the city had been submerged in the ravaging flood which has affected the palace of Shehu of Borno, Central Mosque and government facilities amongst others.
The Central Mosque, standing elegantly right in front of the Shehu of Borno’s Palace, adorning the heart of the city. The mosque was designed as an Islamic resource centre with 10 classrooms, two libraries, one of which is an electronic-library, media centre and other offices while the prayer halls have 37 air conditioners, 34 ceiling and standing fans, as well as 28 Soffit fans. The mosque also has 90 ablution points,18 conveniences, eight water reservoirs, a dedicated transformer and two standby generators.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that over 200,000 people were displaced. An unspecified number of people, including children are still missing. Many properties including, houses, farmlands and business places have also been destroyed. The residents, most of who are from Jere Local Government Area, have been forced to vacate their homes.
Government Promises to Assist State, Orders Evacuation
The flooding followed the collapse of the Alau Dam, which overflowed its banks from about 10 kilometres away into the state capital. Meanwhile, residential and business areas have been submerged, including the popular Monday Market and thousands of homes and properties, such as the Palace of the Shehu of Borno, Shehuri, Gwange, Adamkolo, Gamboru, Fori, Bulabulin, Post Office areas, Moromoro, and Customs Bridge, among others, have also been affected.
President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, responded to the recent flooding in parts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, by ordering evacuation of victims as part of his promise to assist the state. Tinubu’s reaction came as Vice President Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno State, pledged that government would prioritise the welfare of the flood victims.
Shettima assured the people that the administration of Tinubu would tackle the problem of flood in Nigeria head-on, riding on its already developed comprehensive roadmap aimed at addressing such challenges. The federal government, through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammad Idris, extended its sympathies to the government and people of Borno State over the flooding that ravaged Maiduguri and its environs following the overflow of Alau Dam. While former President Muhammadu Buhari, while commiserating with the government and people of Borno and the other affected states, described the development as a national calamity.
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) is working tirelessly to mitigate the devastating impact of recent flooding on its facilities in Maiduguri, Borno, particularly the Medium Security Custodial Centre. The Service Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Umar, stated this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Umar, an assistant controller of corrections, attributed the flooding to the overflow and collapse of the Alau Dam in Konduga Local Government Area. Mr Umar assured the public that the NCoS was taking necessary measures to ensure public safety, contrary to initial reports.
Residents have been warned to evacuate their homes near Sanda Kyarimi Park after dangerous reptiles were flooded out of the zoo in the devastating overnight flood disaster in Maiduguri. The Sanda Kyarimi Park, named after Shehu Sanda Kyarimi the former Shehu of Borno who reigned from 1937 to 1967 and was initially established as a forest reserve in the year 1970; two years before the establishment of Audu Bako Zoological Garden in Kano, then it was later advanced into a large wildlife sanctuary and a botanical park.
According to some residents, reptiles, including snakes and crocodiles, were seen in the flooded water after part of the zoo’s fence collapsed. A crocodile from the zoo was killed on Tuesday morning to prevent danger. Several ostriches escaped from the flooded zoo and were seen in the town. There were fears that other animals in the zoo, like lions, may be killed by the flood in their enclosure, which prevented them from escaping.
