Body of soldier who died rescuing woman recovered in Kebbi flood

Residents lament how Ambode’s road inflicts pain on them

The body of Warrant Officer, Marcell Nwanko, of the Nigerian Army, who died while trying to rescue a woman in a flood last Thursday in Kebbi, has been recovered. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the body of Nwanko, of 223 Light Tank Battalion, Nigerian Army Zuru, was recovered at Unashi village of Danko Wasagu Local Council.

Both the soldier and the woman died in the flood on August 30. Already, Governor Atiku Bagudu had visited the barrack to condole with the commandant and family of the victim. He described the deceased as a quintessential soldier who died in the service of humanity.

“Nwankwo sacrificed his life in the course of protecting someone’s life, if all Nigerians will emulate this soldier and protect one another, no nation will be better than us,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, the Kebbi Stage government yesterday confirmed the death of a soldier and nine others in two separate flood disasters across the state. A statement by Abubakar Dakingari, Chief Press Secretary to Bagudu, said the flood occurred in two local government areas last Thursday, adding that the body of five victims were recovered at Kanya and three in Mahuta.

Bagudu had earlier visited the communities to commiserate with the victims. At Kanya, the village head, Alhaji Isah Dan Hassan, told the governor that many houses, livestock and farmlands were destroyed. He urged government to construct emergency bridge and provide canoes for the immediate evacuation of residents to safer areas.

During the visit, Bagudu also made a stop over at Waje bridge, where a young man was reported to have jumped to his death. At Fakai, chairman of the local council, Musa Jarma, said 48 houses and a bridge linking the town to other parts of Kebbi were destroyed.In Lagos State, some residents are lamenting the plights caused by flood owning to a road construction in their area. When it was announced that Faloye Street in Ijanikin would be one of the 144 local government roads to be constructed by the Lagos State government in 2016, residents living on the street who heard the news were happy. Thereafter, the contractor moved to site and the road was completed in August, with the residents excited about the development, but the residents’ joy was cut short, when a month after, rain fell and the whole place was flooded, especially those whose houses were around the tail end of the newly constructed road.
 
Some residents foresaw what befell them, reason they protested against the contractor, Tae-dos International Comm. Ltd, from digging sand from that section of the road. They also complained that the contractor was doing a shoddy job, as the drainage was not well channeled to convey the wastewater from Ketu bus-stop, where the sand dug was transferred.

The residents stated that because the drainage was not properly done, the water flowing in from the beginning of Faloye Street and Ketu Bus-stop gets stagnated at Adaloko Road junction, with nowhere to empty its content. As a result, almost half of the newly constructed road is flooded, with many residents living on the streets and adjoining streets finding it pretty difficult getting into their apartments. To be able to access their houses, many constructed wooden pedestrian bridges.
 
The residents are pleading with both the Lagos State government and the Oto-Awori Local Council Development Area to intervene by ensuring the drainage on Faloye Street is well channeled to convey water to Adaloko Canal.

A landlord, Mr. Wasiu Akanni, said the local government had been repeatedly informed about the plight of residents, but they seem unperturbed or have no solution to the crisis. According to him, when the contractor was excavating the sand from that section of the road, some residents complained, but some leaders in the community, who felt the contractor knows better as a professional, shut them up.

Another resident, Mrs. Chinyere Okafor, said rather than bring joy to the residents; the newly constructed road is inflicting pains on them. “Days after rain, many pedestrians would not be able to use the flooded section of the road.” She said the implication of that to her as a trader is low patronage.A worker at Oto Awori Local Council Development Area told The Guardian that the complaint of the residents had been noted and the local government chairman was already working on finding a solution to the issue.