•After several years of abandonment, desilting of massive Idye Nenge water channel commences 

•Overjoyed traditional ruler says it ‘ll end yearly suffering of his people, commends govt 

•Urges speedy completion of project 

By Peter Duru, Makurdi 

FOR several years residents of Idye Nenge Phase II community in the heart of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, have been traumatised by the persistent flooding of the community whenever there is downpour in the town. 

The community that is home to over 3,000 households and the newly commissioned Benue Fashion Hub has over the years witnessed perennial flooding that sweeps away property and valuables of helpless residents. 

The situation in the community is usually made worse by the fact that it is host to the Idye Nenge water channel that runs through the community, conveying flood water from areas like Achussa, upper Idye and Nyiman communities, among others, down to Wurukum and into the River Benue. 

Unfortunately, due to the shallow size of the drain, it is usually overran by the large volume of water that comes from far and distant communities, resulting in the flooding of the host community and sacking of residents. 

Families residing in the community are yearly left helpless and traumatised whenever there is heavy rain and many who could afford it, were left with no other option but to relocate and seek accommodation elsewhere. 

Many who owned personal houses were reported to have sold such houses and fled the area over the unending flooding of their homes and the consequential loss of valuables to the yearly disaster. 

They had hoped upon hope to see an end to the suffering but on several occasions many families were left seeking for shelter in temporary camps opened for displaced persons pending when the floods would recede. 

But thankfully that heart-rending experience may have finally come to an end just when it seemed that all hope was lost, with the ongoing desilting of the heavily encumbered and massive channel that stretches over three kilometers down to Wurukum axis of the town. 

It was gathered that the ongoing desilting of the drainage being undertaken by the Benue State office of the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes, ACReSAL, will no doubt bring succour to the residents of the community who yearly expect the rains every season with so much despair and anxiety. 

This was much alluded to by an elated traditional ruler of the community, Zaaki Donatus Atese, who could not hide his joy when he spoke to Arewa Voice about the development. 

He noted thus: “This is what we have been expecting government to do to save our community from the incessant flooding and finally God has answered our prayers and this present administration has looked towards us. 

“For several years we have lived in this community as if we are living by the bank of a river and whenever it rains every resident becomes anxious and very uncomfortable. 

“In fact, we are always on standby to commence the rescue of our belongings in the event that the Indye Nenge drainage channel is overflooded given that this is the channel that receives the large volume of water that runs several kilometers from many communities and from here it is channeled to River Benue in Wurukum. 

“But because the channel has been abandoned for several years without any effort to desilt and build it, the drain became shallow and instead of receiving and providing the channel for the large volume of water that comes from other parts of the town, our community becomes the discharging point and we are all left at the mercy of the flood water which submerge our homes, properties and valuables. This happens repeatedly every year whenever there is heavy rain. 

“This is why our joy knew no bounds when we saw that an excavator moved into our community to desilt and expand the drainage. We cannot thank the present administration enough for undertaking this assignment to save the families whose lives and properties are threatened every year by the perennial flooding. 

“We want to also appeal to those executing the work to speed up the process before the rains commence because if they fail to finish up before the rains the entire project would amount to a waste and all that have been excavated would be washed into the channel and the purpose of the project would be defeated. 

“We gathered that ACReSAL in Benue State is handling the execution; we cannot thank them enough and we commend the government of Benue State, led by Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, for ensuring that his is done to rescue our community, homes and properties from the yearly disaster.” 

Speaking, the Information Officer of ACReSAL, Ephraim Hemben, who confirmed that the office was undertaking the project, said it was part of the ongoing exercise to open all blocked channels and drainages in Makurdi to allow for free-flow of water and avert the persist flooding of parts of the town. 

Hear him: “Countless number of drainages were filled up with refuse and other materials, thereby exposing communities to flooding. What ACReSAL is doing is to desilt the drainages so that we can remove the heaps of refuse, sand and other materials that block them to ensure free-flow of water and avert the consequent flooding that some of the communities suffer yearly. 

“We are taking it from the big culvert at the Police Zone 4 Headquarters down to the Wurukum area. It may also interest you to know that we are not just doing this at that community alone, we are heading down to Achussa community and we are desilting all the drainages within Makurdi Metropolis. It is a far-reaching intervention up to Judges’ Quarter area to tackle the 

flooding of communities in parts of Makurdi town. 

“As we do this we are also appealing to residents to ensure that they complement this effort by ensuring that water channels are not blocked with refuse and other materials to avert flooding of the town.”