Yobe Environmental Protection Agency takes proactive steps against flooding across the state

Alh. Baba Kachalla Geidam, GM YOSEPA

Like every  other state, Yobe State is also prone  to perennial flooding which has become more like a ritual.

The state is however taken proactive instead of reactive measures as the Yobe State Environmental Protection Agency(YOSEPA)  is re-positioned to mitigate the ugly cases of flooding in the state.

The General Manager of YOSEPA, Alhaji Baba Kachalla Geidam while reacting to questions from ImapactOnline on the measures put in place by the state government said his agency is now rejuvenated to ensure that the menace of flooding in the state is reduced to its barest minimum.

Alhaji Kachalla added that though some of the causes of flooding could be man-made while others are natural, his agency has embarked on the sensitization and collaborating with   frontline communities in building their capacities on prevention and response to flood disasters whenever they occur.

“Sometimes even before government interventions, communities come together and clear their drainages and later report to us that they want us to go and evacuate the debris because they lack the capacity. What the community and the agency do is collaborative and symbiotic.

“Even if the community does not evacuate these drainages, the agency must do it yearly. Every year, the communities are at the receiving end so we normally sensitized them to make sure they protect their environment.  Once there is flooding they are at the frontline so they known the dangers of flooding and most of them have minimized the indiscriminate dumping of refuse around the drainage in their areas.

“You will agree with me  that communities also contribute to the flooding . We have gone ahead to sensitize them on  the dangers of drainage blockade in communities and we give them health talks. We also have collaboration with shop owner to watch the indiscriminate dumping of refuse”, Baba Kachalla explained.

 The GM YOSEPA also disclosed that, Yobe State Government through his agency has developed a workable template to minimize flooding  in six major towns including Damaturu, Potiskum, Nguru, Buni Yadi, Geidam  and, Gashua  across the state.

Going into specifics, the General Manger explained;” Every year the Yobe State government use to release some funds to excavate drainages across six major towns in the state. We normally restrict our activities to these six towns because it will entail on our time , resources and some of the local government doesn’t even have drainages.

“We concentrate our activities in Damaturu and excavate all the drainages in this town. There is a plan to excavate drainages in Yadi Buni, Potiskum, Nguru, Gashua and Geidam towns. We do engage in doing this. Places like Nguru and Gashua have peculiar problem because flood in that area is not caused by rainfall but by the overflow of Kumadugu Yobe River.

“In Nguru for instance, the topography is a wetland area and the water that discharges  from Hadeja barrage is the one that normally comes to Nguru. Once the water comes to Nguru we don’t have these gate banks that will control the water so there is always an upsurge of the water  into  Nguru  town with full force which cause  flood to  more than quarter of the town.

“But what the ministry now does is to go and do a stone pitching or embankments of sand-bags which will  hold the barrage of water for one year.

In Gashua, by virtue of its depressed geographical area is also prone to flooding. Here water coming from Hadeja and  the other water coming from Bauchi normally  forms a confluence at Karage  village and then advance to Gashua to flood the entire town. The force of the water is always so much that the water moves beyond Gashua,” he explained.

An open water Channel in Damaturu.

Speaking on Damaturu, the state capital, the GM identified some high risked flood areas like Nayinawa and Pompomari Ndjemena, while also concluding that, Damaturu has a depressed topography that collects water from different direction of the town leaving the centre vulnerable.

“The problem of Damaturu for instance also has  to do with the topography which is depressed. Water comes into Damaturu in all directions with full force. Once this water comes into Damaturu, it comes with a lot of river sand which block up all the drainage and  prevents free flow of water wherever  there is rain. The only thing  that will solve this is to dig a very big tunnel around Damaturu that will channel the water outside Damaturu to go and harvest towards the eastern side of the town   for people to use for dry season farming”, he suggested.

According to the YOSEPA boss, “Studies have shown that there are two major areas in Damaturu that are prone to flooding. One is a larger cluster of houses around  Nayinawa. The  water pressure that comes from the  northern part of the town come  through that area. The second one is Pompomari Njdemena where all that water form this town flows to.

 “At the moment, our people are in Malam Azara in that area. It is community collaboration with my agency to evacuate drainages in that area and they have excavated more that 1km and the agency will clear the debris. This shows how serious the communities are interested in dealing with the problem.

On people building houses on water channels, the GM noted that his agency also advise government to locate such settlement just as he maintained that a good number of them are illegal buildings.

“Those who normally build houses on water ways are illegal occupant and we always advised them to move away. But what I know is that government will not allocate such a place. But as an agency we meet the community leaders to sensitized the people against those practices,” he said.

An excavator working on water channels in Damaturu to allow free water flow after rains.

On the capacity of his agency, Alhaji Baba Geidam informed that his agency have a wheel excavator, a pay-loader and ten tippers truck, just as he boast of having the expertise in personale to match his mandate.

He noted that his agency is primed to be proactive instead of reactionary.

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