Ten months after President Goodluck Jonathan released N400million to the Kaduna State government to cushion the effects of the September 2012 flood disaster that rendered about 5, 794 people homeless, the victims are yet to get succour.
The victims, who have vowed to fight their alleged ill-treatment by the relief committee set up by the state government soon after the disaster, claimed that they were given two measures of rice, one bag of cement and a handful of nails, two or three pieces of zinc as compensation.
The flood affected residents of 17 local government areas and claimed four lives.
Already the victims have written a protest letter to Governor Ramalah Yero on how the committee short-changed them in the disbursement of the funds, have appealed to him to probe the activities of the officials and ensure that they are adequately compensated.
The late Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa had in October 2012 set up a seven-man committee to work out modalities for the provision of relief materials and the rehabilitation of the victims.
Then, the committee was headed by Mr Abokie Galadima and had the commissioners of Works and Environment, the special adviser to the governor on Christian Matters, the representatives of the Bureau for Islamic Affairs, the executive secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) as members.
Galadima’s successor and current chief of staff to the governor, Alhaji Aminu Yahaya, told LEADERSHIP Weekend that the distribution of the relief materials was handled by the chairmen of the affected local government area, adding that, “We are not aware that some local governments are yet to distribute the relief materials to the victims. We will investigate it.”
He explained that the N400million came from the federal government, well-meaning Nigerians and the private sector.”
“From the N400 million, the state government spent N100million to buy materials to take care of the people that were displaced and another N100million to buy food items for distribution to the victims in February this year. In the 17 local government areas that were affected by the flood, the state government identified 5, 794 victims.
“So, when government procured the relief materials, it handed them over to the vice chairmen of the local governments along with the lists of the victims for onward distribution. After the distribution of the food items, we now used the balance of N200 million for economic resettlement. We gave another group of the victims, seeds and pesticides to go back to the farm and building materials to repair their houses,” Yahaya said.
When contacted, the chairman of Kaduna State Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and chairman of Kagarko local government area, Mr. Danjuma Akuso, said that the relief materials were yet to be delivered to the flood victims.
He said the delay in the distribution of the relief materials in his local government was due to diversion of some of the items by an individual.
One of the victims, who simply identified herself as Mrs Faith, told LEADERSHIP Weekend that she was given two measures of rice, adding that “It was a mockery of my plight and the good intention of the federal government in releasing the money to the state.
Another victim, Amina Anebi, said that she was not given anything by the committee for the loss of her properties.
In the petition to Governor Yero, the victims, who have formed themselves into an association to draw public attention to their plight, lamented that they were yet to be resettled by the state government.
According to them, “The flood committee set up last year by the late Yakowa robbed us of the huge amount of money donated by the federal government which to be shared among the victims.”
The group said that, “Instead of giving each victim between N100,000 and N400,000, we got pieces of zinc, two measures of rice, a bag of cement and a handful of nails and two pieces of planks. If the state government fails to address the matter, we will stage a peaceful rally at the Government House with the items given to us as relief materials and hand them over to the government because we don’t need them.”
One of the victims told our correspondent that, “Over 300 of us that were affected by the flood are still handicapped. I’m still taking refuge in my friend’s house. I am yet to recover from the losses that I suffered. I lost over N1million worth of goods to the disaster. And now the committee is compensating me with two measures of rice? This is wickedness.”
A resident of Ramat/Kaura Road, Ungwar Rimi, a suburb of Kaduna, Salim Kimza, who was a victim of the flood, asked: “What do they want us to do, they said they are giving us succour as if we are not human beings? Is the government serious about the welfare of its citizens at all?”
A member of the flood committee who sought anonymity admitted that what was given to the victims was not enough to alleviate their pains.
He said: “I know there will be problems. How can you give rice to people who lost their houses and other valuable assets to the flood? Some of us in the committee have advised that cash should be given to the victims, but some members opposed it and had their way. Some members of the committee went to the market and bought rice, zinc, school mattresses, blankets and nails which they shared to the victims.”
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