Saturday, July 19, 2014

The lingering pain of Nigerian flooding

Ola Ajayi in AllAfrica.com via the Vanguard (Nigeria): While some survivors of the flood disaster recorded in some parts of Ibadan metropolis are trying to put the incident behind them, others are yet to come to terms with the painful reality of the incident where a make-shift bridge collapsed and emptied those on it into the raging flood.

While it is true that the State Government has reconstructed the collapsed bridge and also provided free transportation system for residents of the area, those affected are still nursing the scars of that disaster, saying that the experience was still fresh and too painful for them to forget in a hurry.

Following claims by the state government that there was no casualty as reported in the media, Vanguard Metro, VM, tried to locate some of the relatives of the victims of the flood. It coincided with the day that Senator Olufemi Lanlehin who represents the Oyo South visited the residents and gave them items to reduce their trauma.

Some of those interviewed were furious and said it was unfair to say there were no casualties at Apete where they claimed they saw many people being swept away by the flood. To get the truth of the matter, VM accosted one of the students of The Polytechnic Ibadan who then volunteered to lead the correspondent to the children of one of the dead victims, the late Kamoli Jimoh, a father of seven children....

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