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Living in the Internally Displaced Camps in Lokoja, flood victims are today through the most traumatic times of their life as they feed only on what they can find, while aid that was intended for them is allegedly being diverted.
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In this article, CEZZATECH BLOG examines the activities taking place in the IDP camps in Adankolo and Gadumo, the difficulties facing the flood victims, and allegations made against some of the people who are supposed to make them smile.
One of the deadliest natural catastrophes to affect Kogi State since 2012 was the flood in 2022. Homes were flooded, farmlands were ruined, many people were left homeless, and some people had to bury loved ones.
The disastrous effects of this year’s flood are still being felt in nine local government areas in Kogi, including Lokoja, Kogi-Koto, Ajaokuta, Ofu, Igalamela-Odolu, Bassa, Idah, and Omala, where 600 hectares of agriculture and other property, including homes worth billions of naira, were devastated.
At the height of the flood, seven people died—four in the Ibaji Local Government Area and three in the State’s Ajaokuta Local Area. Flood victims are cramming every available space in the IDP camps as they rely on daily begging for survival.
Adankolo and Gadumo were the two IDP camps that the CEZZATECH BLOG writer visited; what was saw there was quite appalling. The two IDP camps lack access to necessities like water, sanitation, and a comfortable place to lay their heads. Without mosquito nets, some flood victims and their families spend the night outside, leaving them vulnerable to disease epidemics including cholera, typhoid, malaria, and other illnesses. Since their new home is unsuitable for habitation, dangerous animals like snakes and scorpions are now frequent visitors.
Some of the flood victims in the IDP camp in Gadumo have accused government officials in Kogi State of allegedly stealing the food and other supplies brought to them to ease their pain.
“They brought bits of indomie, and even the garri they provided, we split four four cups for each family, and they came with specific people holding arms,” a victim in one of the IDP camps remarked. We were unable to communicate. We are truly in pain. We were informed that they had brought these automobiles when they arrived in order to ease our pain. But all we received was a slap in the face.
“When they first started giving things to us, they put them in a little nylon bag. You can see it from me. Very few people shared this item, which was bundled in a little nylon bag. They transported the remaining items elsewhere.
According to our calculations, they delivered five sacks of garri and 15 beds for 59 households. This, according to them, is a state government policy. Contrary to popular belief, they didn’t give us rice.
“Food items were supplied to our camp,” a different flood survivor reported. Unexpectedly, a self-declared chief from Gadumo arrived and insisted that he was acting on the orders of the local government chairman to distribute food intended for those of us who had lost our homes. Later, practically all of the food that had been sent to our camps was taken by him and his heavily armed men, leaving us in need.
“One of the stunning situations was that they came with a video camera and photographers were taking pictures to give the impression that they were giving us enormous amounts of food, but in reality, nothing of the sort was happening.
“We found that they had taken this information to give to family members who were not flood victims. I am certain that God is awake. Whatever they are doing right now, I have no doubt that they will pay for it later.
Another IDP named Zacchaeus echoed this sentiment when he added, “We are around three weeks here, while some of us are approaching close to a month in this IDPs camp. We are here because they advised that we move to a higher location. Since we arrived, we have seen SEMA and a few government representatives visit, but there is no security and no water.
“A lot of us are ill. Mosquitoes continue to bite us. Everything today is political. Our local government’s chairman arrived. He offered us some food that was packaged in nylon bags as he was leaving. He took the rest of the supplies away while giving us some subpar food and supplies for relief. We haven’t received any substantial assistance from the government since we’ve been here.
“In our own State, we are now beggars. I wouldn’t be here searching for assistance if it weren’t for the flood that forced me and my entire family from our house. We should pray to God since these sorrows are attaining intolerable proportions. People are diverting what is meant to lessen our suffering rather than demonstrating empathy for us.
The development was confirmed to CEZZATECH by a State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) representative who wished to remain anonymous.
She made hints that the order came from above and that there was nothing they could do to change the current situation.
No illness breakout in Kogi’s IDP camp, according to the government
In the meantime, the Kogi government claims that none of the camps housing internally displaced people (IDPs) had seen a disease outbreak as a result of the state’s flooding.
During an assessment trip of various camps in the State, Kogi Health Commissioner Dr. Zakari Usman made the statement.
He claimed that the government’s proactive measures at continuously assessing the inmates’ health conditions for prompt response intended to prevent any disease outbreak led to the favorable progress.
“Today’s visitation and evaluation are intended to provide us with the first information on what we must do to provide aid to the various victims and maintain their well-being while they (victims) temporarily reside in the IDP camps.
We’ve counted the houses in the various camps, and by God’s grace, we’ll be able to give them the medical supplies they need, such long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs), which are especially important for pregnant women.
Flood victims must contend with a disease outbreak as the heat wave arrives.
The victims residing in the IDP camps in Lokoja, Kogi State, north central Nigeria, who are recovering from the devastating effects of the receding flood, have raised concern about the possibility of imminently unbearable heat.
When the antagonistic atmosphere in Lokoja, the state capital, began to develop, several impacted flood victims reacted by describing the region’s weather at this time of year as dreadful.
They requested that the State Ministry of Health start immunizing citizens against cerebrospinal meningitis and other heat-related illnesses.
They warned that disease outbreaks could happen at this time.
“We are gradually being welcomed to another nasty side of nature after gradually emerging from the steam of the disastrous effect of flood in several regions of the State. This time, it was extremely hot, according to Andrew, a flood survivor who was living in an IDP camp.
Another victim, who wished to remain anonymous and went by the name Elizabeth, stated her concern that “with the way things are, I pray that God Almighty will have mercy on us not to go through painful heat.”
“We fervently hope and pray that the flood subsides sooner than anticipated so that the relevant authorities can provide portable water to the populace. We must drink more water now than we did before because it’s so hot,” she remarked.
In response, Alhaji Mohamed Sani said, “My family and I are getting ready to turn to sleeping outside. Despite the security risk involved, we would have little choice but to sleep outside if the heat became intolerable.
He requested that the State Ministry of Health start immunizing individuals, especially children and teenagers, against illnesses brought on by the heat.
Dr. Godwin Tijani, a former chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), claims that heat-related illnesses, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and heat stroke, are caused by the body’s inability to handle a specific heat load.
In addition to other precautionary measures, he advised the flood victims to live and sleep in well-ventilated homes and avoid overly crowded areas to lessen the effects of heat and the diseases it is associated with. He also identified fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and a general feeling of being unwell as some symptoms of heat-related diseases.
