A Kwara State Government delegation visited Shonga in the Edu Local Government Area on Sunday to investigate the causes of the unusual flooding that has submerged thousands of hectares of rice farmlands.
The delegation, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Princess Bukola Babalola, also delivered relief materials worth millions of naira to farmers in the affected community of Tada.
During the visit, the delegation met with the Emir of Shonga, Dr. Haliru Yahya Ndanusa, and the victims in Tada.
Other members of the delegation included the Chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Saba Gideon; the Commissioners for Agriculture, Water Resources, Environment, and Youth; the Special Adviser on Special Duties; the SSA for Security to the Governor; the Chairman of Edu Local Government Area, Abdullahi Bello; the Secretary of the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency; a director from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government; and the General Manager of the Kwara State Social Investment Programme.
DCOS Babalola reassured the victims that the government would provide assistance to help farmers recover from the impacts of the flooding on their crops.
“We are here to see the damage done to the farms, especially the rice farms in Tada community. We have seen what happened and we are taking the message back to His Excellency Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to see what can be done to remedy the situation — immediate and future remedies — and avert loss of lives and farmlands,” she told reporters on the sideline of the visit.
“Also, a lot of farmers are crying here that they need a lot of support. We have heard their complaints, and help is on the way.”
Babalola thanked residents of the community for their cooperation and understanding, saying the government cares for their well-being and would support them, including establishing the causes of the flooding.
Emir of Shonga Dr Halidu Yahya Ndanusa expressed sadness over the incident, saying the flooding could affect food security in the state.
He urged the state government to carry out a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the “unusual” flooding at this time.
“From here up to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Mali, there was no rain. The Sahel is dry. How can there be a flood here? The source of this flood must be local,” he said.
“We have asked from Kainji Dam, and they said it wasn’t from them. But Jebba Dam could not deny it. In fact, they said they would soon close it. We spent several years attracting people to this place. We hope this will not happen again next year to avert food insecurity.
“His Excellency has spoken to me, and he took it very seriously. I didn’t expect this delegation again, given his interventions already. We are very grateful to him for his concern and for sending this powerful delegation.
“It is very important that we get to the roots of the matter. If it is true that Jebba Dam released water, what was the reason, and who authorised it?”
Muhammad Abdulkadir, a Tada community leader, disclosed that several farmlands were submerged due to the flooding.
“Our farmers here came from different states in the north. We have farmers from Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, and Niger State, and they have lost millions of naira worth of rice farms to this flooding,” he said.
“We definitely need government’s assistance. When there was no flooding, we realised over 3m metric tonnes of rice here annually.
“We thank the government for coming to our aid immediately. This should not end here. We want the government to find a permanent solution to perennial flooding in this axis. The permanent solution is to dredge the River Niger.”