A Nigerian lady undertaking her mandatory National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) in Kogi State has broken down in tears after flood submerged her room and destroyed her properties.
The Corps member who is serving in Lokoja, the state capital, revealed how she got rendered homeless.
The lady with the username “Shuga50s” shared her ordeal on TikTok, as she has been cried out for help from her depressed state.
She said she had been in the hospital on admission treating typhoid, unaware that the waters were ravaging her host community, including her room.
“I’m a Corp member who came to serve at Lokoja, Kogi State… I had typhoid so I got admitted to the hospital and before I came back I met my room flooded with water.
“I lost many of my properties, many got spoilt. I’m depressed and frustrated. Where do I start from. I need help,” she said.
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For over a week, the flood disaster has submerged no fewer than one million houses and properties worth several millions of naira in parts of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
Residents of Adankolo community and other neighbouring communities woke up to see their houses submerged in water as a result of the overflow of the Niger River.
Residents of Agbayi Quarters and victims of other communities off Ganaja Road, were seen trying to evacuate their belongings from the submerged houses.
Meanwhile, Kogi State Government said it had taken proactive steps to ensure flood victims in Lokoja and other parts of the state are temporarily accommodated.
Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones, and his Ministry of Environment counterpart, Victor Omofaiye, gave the assurance when they inspected facilities at St. Luke Model Schools, Lokoja.
Also in the team were the Chairman, Kogi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Suleiman Ndalaye, and some officials of the board.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the facility tour, Jones said the essence of the inspection was to ascertain facilities in the schools that could temporarily accommodate flood victims.
He said they wanted to ensure the facilities were suitable for the expected Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and also notify the schools’ management and staff.
Jones said: “The purpose of our coming is to get ready for incident of flood ravaging our city; we want to get ourselves ready to manage the crisis and prevent it from becoming a full-scale disaster.”
Omofaiye said the inspection was a continuation of facility assessment to ensure places reserved for IDPs were safe.
He said awareness campaign on flooding had been carried out earlier, warning people living in flood prone areas to relocate, but many did not adhere.
He said: “For now, we cannot ascertain the level of destruction. But I want to let you know that it is actually massive. Farmlands have been submerged and property worth millions of naira has been destroyed.
“We are just trying to see how federal and state governments and non-governmental organisations can come to the aid of these victims.”
He, therefore, called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of flood victims by providing palliative.
Also speaking, Ndalaye said the management and staff of the selected schools were prepared to receive the flood victims. He stressed that the centres had been used in previous events of flooding to accommodate affected persons.
Ndalaye noted that the “centres have more than 50 rooms that can accommodate more than 10,000 people.”
He said security measures have also been put in place to ensure safety of life and property of the people.
