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Nigeria is experiencing its worst flooding in a decade, forcing 1. 4 million people from their homes. The central town of Lokoja is in one of the hardest-hit places, Kogi State, and locals are doing their best to cope.
For the past three weeks, Mohammed Sani Gambo has been a canoe home.
The fisherman and father of 11 is one of the lucky few in his community of Gadumu. Living in a two-story building allowed him to move his circle of family and belongings to the most sensitive floor, away from flooding.
“When the water started to rise, we thought it wouldn’t be too bad,” he says, “but the next day the total position flooded. “
There are now another 27 people living in two rooms at most in their house. They are crushed between mattresses, sofas, pots and pans, everything they can take away from the emerging waters.
“Not everyone who lives here right now is my family,” he adds. “I also received the neighbors who had nowhere to go. I couldn’t leave them there, so I welcomed them. “
He’s lived in this for over a decade and is used to flooding, but this year has been different.
“The volume of water this year has been higher than in previous years. The water is superior. Because of the volume of water, we saw snakes and other rodents. “
Kogi State is no stranger to seasonal flooding.
Its capital, Lokoja, lies at the confluence of two of West Africa’s largest rivers: the Benue River and the Niger River. During the rainy season, rivers overflow and flood.
The local government says poorly structured practices are also partly to blame.
“One of the reasons it’s worse is that other people keep building in areas of water plains,” said Abdulahi Abubakar, acting secretary of the Red Cross in Kogi state.
“As soon as the flooding subsides, other people return to the same places and block the water channels. “
He says they asked the government to relocate other people permanently so they can leave the floodplains.
Mr. Sani Gambo says he and his circle of relatives would like to move but have nowhere else to go.
“When we built this house, our farm worked well, things were going well, but now things are not going as well as before, the economic scenario has changed, we can no longer build a new house. Even buying land now is very difficult. “
Her neighbor, Alami Ibrahim Yunus, also needs to move but can’t. She was widowed when her husband died from the coronavirus and says she can’t rebuild or fix their house.
Nigeria’s economy has been affected during the year.
Although it is traditionally Africa’s largest oil producer, its production has been affected by the theft of pipelines in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
Inflation is also at an all-time high and many Nigerians are struggling to make ends meet. This flooding will only affect communities that are already struggling to cope.
The World Food Programme and the U. N. Food and Agriculture Organization said last month that Nigeria is among six countries facing a higher threat of catastrophic degrees of hunger.
Experts there say the reasons for seasonal flooding in Nigeria are complex and come with poor infrastructure and erosion, but climate replacement is making the challenge worse.
With extra heavy rains expected, the scenario in Kogi State remains precarious and existing flooding is not expected to subside for a month.
Why is Nigeria flooded?
Nigerian boat by chance of fate kills dozens fleeing floods
A short film to Nigeria
Everything New from Nigeria from the BBC