Nigeria goment sama eleven states for different parts of di kontri wit flood alert on Tuesday as authorities for Cameroon begin release water from Lagdo Dam.
Inside one statement wey di Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency bin release, di Director General/Chief Executive Officer of di agency, Umar Muhammed, say di water release start on Tuesday 17 September.
Muhammed add say, na small small dem go take dey discharge di water depending on di amount of water wey go flow from di upstream Garoua River until e reach 1000m³/ and e go last for 7 days.
Di statement say di rate of water wey dem go release na “100m³/s (8,640,000m³/ per day).”
Di Garoua River, na im be di main source of water for di reservoir and one of di major stream wey dey carry water go Benue River.
Na eleven Nigeria states get border wit di River Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Rivers.
Di Nigeria goment don draw ear give authorities for dis states dem make dem shine dia eyes, take precautions, even though di dam operators assure say dem go try discharge di water gradually so e no go pass di capacity of di Benue River system, and cause flood for Nigeria.
“Di overflow from Lagdo Dam dey expected to stop once dem notice say water wey dey flow enta Lagdo reservoir don reduce,” di statement add.
But, even wit dis assurance, state goments like Kwara state don draw ear give dia pipo through radio jingles and programmes, say make dem take di flood warning seriously.
Inside statement wey di Kwara state commissioner for communication, Bola Olukoju sign, e say goment don clear “many drainages and water passages inside di state capital. “
Olukoju add say for villages for far away local goment areas wey flood dey worry, dem dey encourage pipo to relocate to places wey dem don allocate for dia safety.
Still, di hydrological agency oga don tell Nigerians say dem no get “cause for alarm” as dem no dey expect major flood for di southern part of di kontri as di flow levels along Benue River neva pass im limit.
For 2023, di opening of di Lagdo Dam for Cameroon bin cause big flooding for several states across Nigeria, plenty pipo die and and properties destroyed.
Some victims for Benue State, one of di places wia di flood affect pass, still dey live for Internally Displaced Pipo camps reach today, according to wetin Terwase Lawrence, one tori pesin wey base for Makurdi, tell BBC Pidgin.
“Some pipo lose evritin for dat last year flood including dia house and farmlands, so dem no get anywia to go back to. Dat na why a good number of dem still dey for di IDP camps,” Terwase tok.
E add say di state goment bin construct a few drainage systems to take channel flood water enta di River Benue, but apart from dat, “di state goment neva do much to show say dem dey prepared for di flooding wey go follow di opening of di Lagdo Dam dis year”.
“Maybe as dis warning don come from di federal goment, di state fit do sometin.”
“For di IDP camps, like di ones for Abagena, Ichwa, Baka, and Nepa Quarters for Makurdi here, na NGOs and private individuals dey help provide dem wit food and oda essential items, bicos supplies from di state goment no dey come. Toilet facilities for dis IDP camps dey very poor and dem no get access to clean water.”
Remember say several parts of Makurdi di Benue State capital bin don experience flooding for July dis year sake of heavy rains.
Lagdo Dam flood history
Dis no be di first time wey Lagdo Dam don dey cause flooding for states Nigeria wey dey along di Benue River system.
For 2023, nine states suffer very heavy flooding afta Cameroon open di dam.
Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics say di damage to di economy worth $9B, plus e also displace nearly 34,000 pipo.
Also, more dan 300 pipo die, 500 odas injure and about 100,000 bin dey displaced for 2022 afta Lagdo dam release water, according to di kontri National Emergency Management Agency.
Already, Nigeria dey seriously battle wit flood for some parts of di kontri, di major one recently na di Borno state flood wey claim major part of di state capital Maiduguri afta Alau Dam burst.
- Alau dam burst, wild animals escape and wetin we know about Maiduguri flood wey don render many homeless
- ‘Victims of Maiduguri flood no fit be less dan two million’ – Govnor Babagana Zulum
