By Sam Kayode
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum has called on residents of greater Maiduguri to ignore any threat over a possible repeat flooding of the city by the Alau Dam.
The Alau Dam which collapsed almost a year ago used to be the main water reservoir and source of drinking water for residents in Maiduguri when its dykes collapsed last year, and submerged the entire city killing several residents.
Several people are still missing till today in spite of the fact that the State Management Environment Agency (SEMA) alleged that over 150 lives were lost to the raging flood water which traveled almost 20km to cause such a havoc.
The fears of the residents this time around is predicated on the fact that the water in the Dam has been gathering momentum recently coupled with the inability of the standing flood committee to manage annual floods in the city.
Fears of residents were equally heightened when flash floods that hit the city of Maiduguri last week caused the collapse of eight buildings further covering a graveyard, and rendering many residents homeless.
Speaking during a recent inspection of the Alau Dam, Governor Zulum recalled that few days ago, the contractors handling the rehabilitation of the collapsed Alau Dam raised an alarm that the volume of water in the Dam was increasing.
The Governor posited that based on the alarm raised, the Borno State government in partnership with the contractors were able to mobilise and fully opened all water channels in the Dam.
He added that the water is now running freely, even as the volume of water in the Dam is seen receding as expected with less threat to the populace.
The Governor further said that he was told that the level of the water has dropped with about 14 Inches within the last few days, stressing that he believed the level would continue to drop further making it safe for nearby communities.
” Based on our engineering knowledge, we concluded that there is no cause for alarm. We shall continue to monitor the progress of work in the dam.
” However, I have to warn the people of the state to desist from building on waterways. We have to be careful. We also have to ensure that all the standards are adhered to. ” Said Zulum.
In response to the recent annual floods affecting the capital city the Governor assured that the Borno State government will soon embark on massive drainage of waterways of the city.
On the likely delay in the rehabilitation of the Alau Dam 10 months after the disaster, Governor Zulum noted that government has a process of executing its projects but is happy that the contractors have mobilized to site.
” We had a lot of concern that the pace of the rehabilitation is slow, but now we can see that the contractors are on the site. We have to commend President Bola Tinubu for approving N80 billion for the rehabilitation of the collapsed dam. And looking at the mobilisation by the site, the contractors are working.
” We want to look at the master plan of the State and ensure that all waterways are cleared to allow inflow of water to the rivers.
” We must enforce certain environmental standards to make progress. It is better for us to safeguard, take early warning measures rather than remedial measures after the incident might have occurred. ” Said Zulum.
