Omoku: The Rivers Community Where Floods Have Chased Residents Out of Homes

Omoku, Rivers state - For the past few months, Governor Nyesom Wike's focus has been on the political developments in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), fighting the party's leadership over the alleged injustice committed against him.

However, there's an urgent issue that's more deserving of the attention of the Rivers state governor: the floods in Omoku.

Rampaging floods have sacked residents of Omoku, the headquarters of the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area.

Photos of submerged buildings and residents passing through water that has reached their chests and with loads on their heads "flood" social media as the crisis worsens.

Omoku is said to be home to about 200,000 people.

Read also

Chad floods leave victims in despair

However, many residents have been forced to leave the community as floods submerge their houses.

Many others are also relocating from one part of the town to another, hoping the floods will recede soon.

Omoku floods: The "water keeps coming", resident says

"We've moved out to 3 different locations yet the water keeps coming," Mrs Zanga, a popular Twitter influencer from Omoku told Legit.ng.

"Where we are now, the water is already close to us, she added on Thursday, October 13

Amid the flooding, residents are now at the risk of dangerous reptiles such ask snakes that may have invaded the community.

"God help us ooooThey just killed this snake in my area just now," Mrs Zanga tweeted on Saturday, October 15.

Omoku floods: We need your prayers, says Mrs Zanga

As the floods refuse to recede, Mrs Zanga urged Nigerians to remember the community in prayers.

Read also

Amazing video as dedicated worshippers attend service in flooded church, some sit in canoe

But the reality is that Omoku needs more; the community needs quick humanitarian intervention by the state government, relevant NGOs and individuals.

In the meantime, Mrs Zanga is using her little influence on social media to seek help for the less privileged in the community who have nowhere to go.

"Please we need the mosquito nets the moreWe need food and d*rugs," she appeals to fellow Nigerians on Twitter.

“Please remember us in your prayers and please if you have food or money you’re not using, ‘abeggggg’ remember us and send across. It’s saving lives over here.”

Mrs Zanga wants IDP camps established for the community's residents who have been rendered homeless.

Floods in Omoku: We've never seen a thing like this before

Mrs Zanga told Legit.ng that though Omoku usually experiences flooding annually, this year's is the first of its kind.

"It's been an annual occurrence but we've never seen a thing like this one before," she said.

Read also

Flood crisis: Nigerian governor declares 7-day rest for workers in affected state

Asked if the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) or the state government has made efforts to provide relief to the residents, Mrs Zanga said:

"We heard River state government brought 1b naira but we've not seen anything yet."

Floods in Nigeria

Many parts of Nigeria, especially the coastal regions, have been ravaged by flooding.

Relevant government agencies have attributed the cause to persistent rainfall and the opening of some dams, such as the Lagdo Dam in Cameroun.

“More than 500 lives have been lost, more than 1.4m persons affected, about 90,000 homes both partially or completely destroyed and still counting.

“And also destroyed are thousands of hectares of farmland; thus worsening fears of a disruption of food supply in Africa’s most populous country These widespread cases are in 27 out of 36 States and the FCT," the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, recently said.

Read also

"I didn't come here to die": Phones missing, stone-throwing, Atiku cries out as thugs disrupt Kaduna rally

Floods across Nigeria: What is Buhari, Wike doing?

As the "water keeps rising every second" in Omoku, Mrs Zanga asked:

"Has our president (Muhammadu Buhari) spoken to us, or it's not necessary?"

The director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Habib Ahmed, said President Muhammadu Buhari has approved 12,000 metric tons of grains for victims of floods across the country.

The people of Omoku are yet to receive the grain, and they even need more than grains to survive.

FG versus states: The blame game

Meanwhile, Governor Wike, who is recently out of the country, is blaming the federal government for the floods, saying the development is "a result of lack of initiative on the part of the federal government to dredge the River Benue and River Niger respectively."

On the other hand, the NEMA DG said the federal government alerted states and local government areas about the dangers ahead of the flood and used risk mapping to identify vulnerable areas that would be affected, but the warnings were not heeded.

Read also

Legit.ng weekly price check: Traders, buyers complain bitterly as bag of rice sells for N50,000 in Bayelsa

“I hope you recover”: Nigerian lady sad as flood affects her newly built house

In a related development, a Nigerian lady, Alex Ijeoma Evelyn, became so sad after the recent flood that has been ravaging different parts of the country affected her house.

Taking to TikTok, Ijeoma shared a video showing how the beautiful house looked when it was built and the current condition with the flood.

The flood covered everywhere in the building's compound.

Source: Legit.ng