Abuja flood: ‘I no see di body of my wife and pikin dem to bury’

Flood

BBC
Sadiq Abdulhamid loss im wife and four kids to flood.

35-year-old Sadiq Abdulhamid heart still dey bleed afta flood wipe out im entire family for Giri Gota, Angwa Kaura for Gwagwalada area of Abuja.

Sadiq pain no be only because im family die but becos im bin no dey house to protect im 30 year-old wife Habibat and four pikin, Abdulatif-12 years old, Latifat, nine years old, Rahimat -five years old and di four month old baby Hamida all die on Saturday wen heavy rain cause flood for dia area.

Im bin go im village for Kogi state to farm to provide food for di family afta e loss im job as security man.

Di moni wey e make from security work several years ago na wetin e use build di family dia house for Giri before di flood demolish am and destroy everytin wey di precious to am.

“E still be like dream and I dey feel say I go wake up one morning and realise all these tin na joke” Sadiq explain.

Since e get di news, Sadiq neva stop to cry as e search all di water ways and stream, hoping say e go find dia deadi bodi and pay dem im last respect.

But di search till date neva yield any result and sake of dis, Sadiq dey sad, hopeless and unable to give im eye sleep.

” I bin faint wen I hear di news and if anibodi tell me say dis kain tin fit happun to me-I go say na lie”

” I neva fit understand say my wife and my pikin don die and di painful tin be say I no even fit get dia bodi bury so dat once in a while wen I miss dem, I fit go to di grave and see dem” im tell our reporter as im dey cry.

flood

BBC
Giri Flood pictures

How e happun

Habibat na teacher for Divine gift Academy for di area.

Since di husband loss im job, na she dey support her family wit di ten thousand naira salary wey she dey make.

At about 6 am dat day naim di water begin rise to roof level. Before she go notice wetin di happun, di water break into her house and di pikin dem begin float on top dia bed for di water.

Flood

BBC

She bin hold di new born pikin to her chest and begin shout for epp but epp no come.

Abdurazaq Amore wey witness di whole incident say im watch how water pack her and her pikin but im no fit epp.

Her death still dey shock members of di community- her friend Charity Williams describe her as hardworking woman.

Homes/Businesses destroy

Flood

BBC

Di destruction wey di flood cause for Giri still dey visible wen our reporter visit di community.

More than 30 houses na im di water destroy instanta and many of those wey di affected still dey count dia loss.

40 year-old Afiniki Auta loss everytin to di flood- she and her six pikin dem plus husband barely escape.

She don dey live for di area for six years now and all her sweat don dabaru.

Mrs Jacob Francisca na widow and na tailor work she dey use to take care of her pikin dem since im husband die three years ago- now her house and shop water park am.

Dem want goment to epp dem.

Poor Construction cause of flood

Flood

BBC

Giri Gota na home to plenti poor plus those wey di work for di informal sector.

Many of dem build dia personal houses dia afta dem no fit afford rent for Abuja main city.

Di leader of di community, Bako Ndazhaga say flood don di happun for di area but no one don cause dis kind destruction.

E blame di situation on on top di small gutter wey Dantata and Sawoe do for di area.

E say instead of dem to construct bridge, dem go do bus culvert wey no fit hold di volume of water for di area.

” Na for 2010 na im Dantata get di contract but e dey clear say di one wey dem construct no fit hold di water” im explain

Di oga of FCT Emergency Management Agency, Malam Abbas Idris say dem dey try search for Sadiq wife and e remaining three pikin as dem don find and bury di first pikin.

E say flood wahala dey high for four local area council for di FCT, AMAC, Gwagwalad. Kuje and Kwali and goment dey try map out all di flood area to ensure safety of di pipo.