In the Trail of the Pains of Flooded People

By Y. Z. Yau, CITAD, Kano

My childhood had been largely defined by a proximity to water. Whether in the marshland of Nguru or in the flood plains of the Jamaare valley, down to the flood forest of Itas /Gadau, I had a frolic time, watching over large expense of beautiful water body that ran for kilometers with no end. Flood has always remained a fascination for me. When elders would be so draught and confused while responding to perennial floods, we would, as children, sneak out to Kurkutu and watch this special spectre of life.

One unforgettable experience of flood I had was in 1974. I had, one afternoon visited relations at the local “island” of Zazai in Itas/Gadau Local Government of Bauchi State. We referred (and still refer) to it as “island” because in the rainy season, it is surrounded by water from all four directions, completely encircled by water and unless you know how to swim out of the large body of water, you cannot get out of the village or get into it from outside.

I had always cherished visiting and spending a day or two with cousins and friends, foraging the surrounding Gadau forest for nothing in particular. This particular visit was during the raining season and we were on holidays. I was then in my second year of secondary school at Kuranga. I spent two nights there. In the evening of my second day there, we got news that flood had broken after the Jamaare section of the River Jamaare, which passes a few kilometers north of the village.

The more than three kilometers between Zazai In Itas/Gadau LGA and Lafiya in Katagum LGA was by then all forest that was yearly flooded. There were a number of fishing fadamas such Adiwa and Gyada (I don’t know how they got their names, so do not ask me, but we loved the annual fishing festivals that used to be held there, now forgotten). My first thought of hearing about the flood was that I could catch a flood live and watch it. I was excited, having missed seeing it for two or so years as in the previous years, each time of the flood, we were back in school in aridity of Azare where flood was fairytale.

In the morning of the day I was to leave, a cousin of my mine was to escort me half way to Lafiya as there was no vehicle and I had to trek from there to Lafiya. As soon as we set out of the village, we encountered the fringe of the flood which was surprising because no one had expected it to reach there. We ignored this and continued on our way. By the time we got to the take off point of the forest, we found it had been completely flooded and nowhere was land visible.

We had no option but to turn back and begin to think of solution, because there was no way I could trek it. There was a community meeting (of some sort) and by afternoon a solution had been found. Someone had volunteered to escort me, driving me out of the water to Lafiya. This required the use of Gora (water gourd) in a process call Dorina ga Naki (literarily, hippopotamus, this is yours, dorina being the Hausa word for hippopotamus). The precarious nature of the endeavor is summed up by the melancholic tunes the gourdsman sings (kai ne gaci Goda, literarily, take me to the bank, a pleading to the gourd in total surrender).

The process involved the driver mounting the gourd on his stomach and using his hands to propel the gourd across the water. I would be trekking in front of him and he was watching to see the reach of the water from my back and when the water reached a certain level that threatened to drawn me, he then placed his one hand on my armpit and lifted me by the shoulder while propelling the gora with the other hand. Because my whole body was under water, I appeared weightless to him and he was not feeling my weight as he swam through the water. He could not know what could happen to my body inside the water as he could not look down through the water to see there. This is why the style is actually called dorina ga naki, meaning if you were to encounter a dorina in the water, you a good meat for it and the driver will have only your hand and upper body to deliver.

I had never seen anyone taken so and this was my first and only experience. He mounted the gora, held me up and kept swimming across the water for over three kilometers of deep water that could swallow me. At the time, I had no fear of what I could encounter in the water which could be many; a stranded snake, a large hostile water animal, tree trunk that was covered by the water, a large shrub, etc. But thank God, we got safely to the jigawa at the Lafiya end which marked the end of the water and the limit of the flood (fours year ago, this limit was shattered as people in Lafiya struggled for hours to stop the water from entering the town, having crossed over the jigawa at some low points.

This Thursday, when I was leaving Kano to travel to Jamaare, flood watching was not in my mind. I wanted to see how my farms were doing. However, as I was leaving the office, Isah Garba who has a house at Azare, told me that rains had caused havoc at Azare and especially, it had cut the Azare-Potiskum Highway and that no vehicle could cross from either direction at the site. Well since I was not going that far, I did not give this any thought and began my journey on a high note. I arrived safely, early in the night and had no opportunity to hear about stories about the community that night.

In the morning of the following morning we visited some of the farms. While there, Sanusi Abubakar, a staff of the Federal College of Education, Jamaare, called me with information that flood had threatened Hanafari, his home town. Later in the nigh this threat could become an eminent danger as water reached to above knee point inside his house, forcing him to evacuate both his salvageable things and his family to Jamaare.
From the farm which was less than four kilometers to Hanafari town, we drove straight and met Sanusi at the outskirts of the town along with several other people, watching the water while several others were furiously working to block its progress into the town. Like when we were kids, while the elders worked, with worried faces and speaking in low tones on what to do, children were wadding through the water in excitement. Our conversation focused on our curiosity to trace the origin of the flood.

Seeing the water flowing fast in the major streets of the town, I reminded of what Karl Marx wrote about history: that History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce. Within the span of this year’s rainy season, this has come to, sadly, be true for some communities on either side of border between Bauchi and Jigawa, affecting parts of four local governments, namely Buji and Gwaram in Jigawa and Jamaare and Shira in Bauchi State. At the onset of this rainy season, in June, there was an unusual flash flood in Hanafari District of Jamaare Local Government of Bauchi State. Much of the town was flooded, along with several other settlements on either side of the border between Bauchi and Jigawa States, affecting Buji and Gwaram in Jigawa State and Shira and Jamaare in Bauchi State.

At the time, since the rains were only starting. Suspect not enough to result in a flood, many people thought that the water was coming from one of the rivers along the Ningi-Birnin Kudu sub-valley system. It was simply difficult to fathom that rain water could be this much at the beginning of the season. I developed an interest in tracing the path and origin of the flood but at the time was not in the country. A couple of colleagues from the CITAD Online Radio however, visited but their investigation did not extend to tracing the origin. Instead, they were more interested in assessing the damage done by the flood.

The Emir of Jamaare sent a powerful delegation to commiserate with the people affected by the flood. A number of journalists also visited as this was a news worthy event. The solution to the problem was not farfetched but nothing was done by the government to forestall a future occurrence of the flood. Matter of fact was that many years back, government decided to build earth dams along the path of the flood in two specific locations, in one place, an excavator worked for a day and left, never to return. For the second site nothing was done. This set the stage for history to now repeat itself as a farce.

From August 6 to 8, there was continuous heavy rain for over 10 hours each day. By Thursday morning, the rain had washed off and flooded section of the Kano-Maiduguri road at a point close to Buskuri in Katagum Local Government, cutting off traffic completely on the main highway. People travelling from Maiduguri or even from Potiskum make a detour from Potiskum to Kari and Misau to come to Azare and continue.

Similarly, from Kano and Azare end, you have to take a reserve detour. For those going to Madara (in Katagum LGA) or Udubu (in Gamawa LGA) from Azare, they now have to first go through Gadau (in Itas/Gadau LGA, by pass Katagum (Zaki LGA) then reach Gamawa (Gamawa LGA) and drive back through Udubo to Madara.

While this went viral on the social media, the springing up of what some people called an “emergency river” just close to the military checkpoint from Jamaare to Azare, immediately after Kujure junction. This “river” not only washed off parts of the road but also sacked the village of Sabon Gari that is just off the point. The gradual isolation of Azare seems to progressing as by Sunday, the Azare-Giade road has also been shawed off and cut off at section, making it impossible for motorists to ply the road.

The disaster that unfolded silently (yes, silently, because the others have been very visible in the social media) across many places as water claimed vast landmass across several local governments in Bauchi and Jigawa States became the farce in the history repeating itself formulation by Karl Marx. The flood was similar to the earlier one in June but much bigger and much more ferocious and devastating in its impact.

On Friday afternoon, I got the news that more a quarter of Hanafari was flooded, with a number of houses collapsing to the ground, I rushed to see for myself. I contacted Sanusi Abubakar who had earlier broken the news to me and whose house on the path of the flood but not yet flooded. I told him I was on my way. In a jiffy, I got there and met him at the outskirts of the town, along with many other people, strategizing on combatting the flood.

We consulted and decided while others worked hard to stop the flood doing more damage, we could and trace the path and through it, the source of the flood. From our on the spot observation, the water was coming from three paths. One was on the West-North of Hanafari, along the Jurara link road. This road took off from the Jamaare-Adamami Road and the Maiduguri-Kano highway.

The second and third were coming both from the West-South of the town, the two joining very close the edge of the town, moving and hitting the Jamaare-Adamami Road at an almost 90 degrees angle, from where the water bounce back and found a low point the back into the town, making an almost 45 degrees turning. The three virtually encircled the town with two inlets through which the water was rushing into the town.

We first took the Jurara road until we came across the current of the flood, parked out car wadded through the current. This was the smaller contributor of the three and much of its water actually passes through farms and heading away from there northward, towards Yangamai and Government Secondary School, Jamaare. Because of the distance and the sandy ground along the path, it lost its velocity on the path and never reached these two destinations with major strength to cause more havoc beyond destroying farms along its path.

As we traced southwards, we realized that it was actually a branching of the two others, which were emptying into the town at a point close to western border of the town. We then went back to the other main currents, making us to take the road to Lariye. Although the Lariye road ends at Lariye, after which a number of non-laterite paths lead in three different directions, leading to different several settlements on the border to both Buji and Shira local governments in Bauchi and Jigawa State respectively.

One of the settlements affected there is Talabishi, where the flood has also destroyed many farms. As we followed the water, tracing its path, we first encountered two villages before Lariya. One, Matsango was completely sacked and one was left staying in the village when we visited, the other one (Nafarga) was less affected but their farms were equally destroyed as others. Between this village and Hanafari is the site for the proposed dam that was never constructed after a day’s work by an excavator.

We continued, reaching Lariye, where the Village Head, Alhaji Nasiru Ahmad volunteered to escort us and show round both the destruction in the village and the path from source of water. Close to Jigawa Buya there is a large depression, widened by excavating soil for building which collects the water from various directions and channels it through a path to Lariye. It directly feeds a water pond next to the village football pitch and which is now to lost to the flood just as many houses on the southern parts of the village have been submerged. It is from here the water runs down towards Hanafari and other communities.

The area is a natural drain system, with a depression around Jigawa Buya on the elevation and pushing the water down to take a path through farms and grazing track (burtali). A simple solution is to build a dam in Jigawa Buya with an outlet that feeds over flow into the pond at Lariya. The pond there should then be excavated and expanded, with a reinforced embarkment on its northern edge, which is the boundary of the village.

Any excess water from here will not be a strong current but will slowly fill onto the excavated pond between Hanafari and Nafarga. Finally, a major culvert should be constructed at the point the water hits the Jamaare-Adamami Road so that rather than the water bouncing back to Hanafari, it simply drains off the other side of the road into farms. By this time, ii will not be strong enough to cause substantial damage.

But damage it has now done. Although no life was lost, hundreds of farms have been lost. Groundnut, sesame, millet and Guinee corn, worth hundreds of millions must have been lost. This is outside of the many houses that have collapsed in several of these communities. Many of course in addition, have lost valuable items, including in some instances, domestic animals.

For now, there is the immediate challenge of accommodating those who have lost their houses, as well as those whose houses have not yet collapsed but are sufficiently threatened as to warrant their being evacuated. Many of these people are now internally displaced persons who have no official camps. Those who have relatives closed by or have not been badly affected, have moved in with the relatives in different locations as Jamaare, Guda and even Yakasai in Shira Local Government.

I spoke to several elders in these communities. The Village Head of Lariye said that no one in the last 50 years had seen this type of flood. Similarly, Malam Baba Tukur, an elder in Hanafari affirmed that in the last 50 years, they had never experienced such devastation. Associated with the disaster are two key questions, the first is what is responsible for the flood in such magnitude: the second is why have authorities not done anything even as they had a serious warning in June? Even before June, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had in its flood advisory listed a number of local governments likely to experience flooding and these included Jamaare as well as the others, all now affected.

With respect to why the flood one, this could due to a combination of number of factors, mainly relating to climate change and changes in land use. Before now, the area was mainly inhabited by Fulani cattle rearers. The numerous water ponds in the complex provided watering points for their cattle. Their settlements and activities served both as water breakers and drainage of the runoff water.

Now, the area has been largely emptied of its cattle and associated activities of the dwellers and the forest has been cut down and converted to farms. Trees which also served as natural speed breakers have been cut down and cleared for firewood as well as to give room for farming. The new land use has triggered an accelerated siltation, filling ups the ponds in the natural depression. On the other hand, the resulting loss of soil cover due to the felling of trees and clearing of shrubs has increased the rate of erosion, speeding up the flow of runaway water whenever it rains in the area.

With increased flow of water, the now silted ponds quickly become filled up as they have lost their capacity for water harvesting and holding, thus rain that could easily in the past be contained by the natural depression will now run off with incredible speed.

Finally, there is probable the impact of climate change which might have made rains now irregular, coming in large volume in a short period,  As for the why government has done nothing to the communities affected by the flood. I think this is a question about accountability.

Do our governments really care about the lives of the citizens? Over the last two years, the Bauchi State has been building expensive beautiful palaces for district heads across the states. These palaces, which the citizens may not even be allowed in, have no positive impact on their lives. Instead, they are a drain on resources that would otherwise be used to address their existential challenges. This is of course now a postmortem. What is important now is how the state government handles the aftermost of the flood!

Karl Marx is not the only intellectual to draw attention to the repetitions of history. But while Marx might have emphasized on the tendency for people to fail to draw lessons from the past, others like Eugene O’Neill, the 19th Century American playwright thinks that there is no present or future, only the past, happening over and over again. Applied to the many Nigerian communities that experience flood, this is true.

I grew up thinking that flood is simply part of the rainy season, an inescapable episode to play out each year. Our governments have made us to experience what the Philosopher, George Santayana says: “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

In a short time, as we could not remember the June flood, we have gotten it repeated in August and unless we push governments to remember those past floods, we will continue to experience more floods, with even more devastating effects as climate change and population pressure combine to accelerate the perilousness our existence.