For most part of last week, before residents of Bauchi state could wake up from their sleep, their possession had been destroyed and they became instant refugees, having been displaced from their homes when rainstorms hit them like a tsunami. Our Correspondent, NAJIB SANI, reports
Excessive heat
For the past couple of weeks, residents of Bauchi state experienced excessive heat due to lack of rainfalls despite the fact that months of May and June used to be raining periods.
The development became a source of concern among the residents of the state, especially those who are into the business of farming.
But last Saturday’s downpour in the town turned to be a disaster as it was followed by a windstorm that wreaked havoc in all nooks and crannies of the town and its environs.
Our Correspondent reports that the heavy rainfall commenced at 4pm, after the completion of the popular horse gallop known as ‘Hawan Daushe’, one of the traditional activities marking Sallah festival which takes place at the Bauchi Government House and lasted for two hours, thereby destroying buildings, trees, roofs, and electric poles.
It was reported that the buildings and trees that fell down sent several persons and animals to their early deaths.
Although the exact number of casualties were yet to be ascertained, Blueprint gathered that 13 persons and many animals were killed, while some sustained injuries as a result of the disaster in different places.
Funeral prayers
A politician in the state, Malam Sani Al’amin, said seven people lost their lives at Tirwun Area, while a lecturer at A. D Rufai College for Legal and Islamic Studies, Misau, Ibrahim Ismail, noted that he attended funeral prayers of three persons who lost their lives to the storms in Kandahar Quarters and two other victims behind Vocational Secondary School, even as one person died in Gudum, all in the state capital.
Aside those who were killed or wounded, hundreds of houses, shops, schools, offices and electric poles were also destroyed by the windstorms.
The Bauchi regional office of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) disclosed that over 300 electric poles and many transformers were affected.
JED’s Head of Technical Unit, Engineer Abdullahi Hussaini, made this disclosure on Monday, while briefing newsmen after inspecting the affected areas.
According to him, communication masts, insulators and armored and aluminum cables were also badly affected by the disaster in parts of the town.
He said his office was currently preparing report which would be forwarded to the headquarters of the company in Jos, for further action.
The Company while appealing to Bauchi residents to exercise patience for the concomitant darkness they would experience following the calamity assuring that they would fix the damaged electric poles and transformers as soon as possible.
“The Company is working tirelessly to restore back power supply in Bauchi town. So, customers should exercise patience a bit. We also appeal to the state government to assist us “. He pleaded.
Casualties
Some of the notable places affected by the ‘mini tsunami’ include, Daar Communication PLC, owners of African Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower FM radio whose mast had fallen down thereby making the stations to go off air, Zonal office of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Tatari Ali Polytechnic, as well as College of Education Kangere, among others.
In an interview with Journalists, the Provost of the College of Education Kangere, Hajiya Hadiza Usman Isah, revealed that the level of damage done by the windstorms in the school was enormous.
According to her, their school classes, staff quarters, hostels and offices were up roofed and where important documents were also destroyed. She appealed to state government to rehabilitate the affected structures in good time so that their academic calendar would not be affected.
Students recount ordeals
Narrating their ordeals, some of the students in the college disclosed that their valuables such as books, cloths and foodstuffs were damaged by the windstorms.
They called on the state government and relevant bodies to come to their aid.
It was observed that many schools did not reopen immediately after the Sallah holiday as classrooms were up roofed by the windstorms.
Abubakar gives rehabilitation directive
Meanwhile, the state Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, flanked by the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, who went round some of the affected areas directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to provide assistance to the victims.
He equally set up a committee comprising wards heads to assess the impact of the damages in their respective wards with a view to submitting comprehensive report to the government.
When contacted, the police spokesman of the State command, DSP Kamal Datti Abubakar, said they were yet to collate statistics on casualties of the disaster, noting that families of the victims did not officially report to the police because of their belief that it was not a man-made disaster.
He however said policemen were deployed to strategic locations to protect public properties from being looted by thieves and vandals.
“Normally when there is a disaster, some people take that advantage to loot. So, we sent out our officers to enforce law and order. Our duty is to protect lives and property of the people “. He stated.
Condolence messages
Blueprint observed that prominent personalities and politicians have been sending condolence messages to victims of the windstorm.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, in a press release issued by his special adviser on media, Turaki Hassan, who sympathized with the people of the state over the incident called on relevant federal and state agencies to quickly provide relief materials to the victims in order to alleviate their sufferings.
“I am deeply touched and saddened by the news of yet another natural disaster in Bauchi and some towns and villages which caused various degrees of injuries and destroyed several properties in the affected areas”.
“I also urge relevant government agencies to quickly move in and provide immediate assistance to the victims of this disaster and come up with necessary emergency preparedness and early warning mechanisms to mitigate the effects of such natural disasters”. He said.
Succour to victims
While praying to God to prevent future recurrences, Dogara assured that he would on his part provide succour to the victims within the shortest possible time.
It would be recalled that similar incidents occurred few months ago in 11 villages of Duguri District, Alkaleri local government, where three persons were killed and Burgel and Shall villages in Tafawa Balewa local government of the state.
Commenting on the development, public affairs commentators opined that the catastrophe was caused by bad environmental practices such as unnecessary deforestation.
Aliyu Bashir Almusawy, said climate change was already here and was predicted a long time ago that Africa would bear the brunt of the climate change more than any part of the world.
He lamented that despite the impending calamity, people in the state pay little or no attention to the danger by recklessly cutting down trees to make charcoals which is now a lucrative business in the state without planting another ones as substitution.
“The windstorm that ravaged thousands of houses in Bauchi today is a clarion call and a reminder that the impact of climate change is real. Our reluctance to take action will only worsen the intensity of the calamity. It is up to us to promote awareness by engaging our population to wake up to the looming humanitarian crises ahead or the posterity will curse us for doing nothing to safeguard the planet “. He postulated.
