Commentary: Anambra Flood, Obiano And The Federal Government

WRITTEN BY CHRIS EGBUNA
Governor of the old Imo State, the late Chief Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe, counts among the leaders, living or dead, East of the Niger, that many Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry. Mbakwe was the Second Republic Governor from 1979 to 1983, who was re-elected for a second term in 1983, and was in office until the military putsch that scuttled civil rule in late December of that year.
Like Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State today, Mbakwe was and is still acclaimed as one of the South-East leaders that dutifully accounted for his days in office, with several achievements to his credit. However, Chief Mbakwe’s story cannot be complete without reference to the Ndiegoro flood disaster of 1980, viewed as one of the worst in the country’s recent history. Several days of continuous downpour and the accompanying flood disaster left Ndiegoro, a suburb of Aba in the present Abia State, in ruins. Indeed, the flooding got to roof top levels in some areas.
Mbakwe invited the then President Shehu Shagari to Ndiegoro to personally witness the extent of destruction the floods perpetrated. As he was conducting Shagari round the disaster area, Mbakwe’s emotion gave way because of the extent of damage the flood did to life and property; and he started shedding tears. That was what earned him the nickname of ‘Weeping Governor’.
Mbakwe did not cry because he was a weak leader. Not at all! He wept because of the intense passion he had for the well-being of Imo people. For, leadership, in the reckoning of British-American author, Simon Oliver Sinek, “is not being in charge. Leadership is taking care of those in your charge”.
This happens to be the screen play in Anambra State, where Governor Obiano found himself in a similar situation as Mbakwe’s in 1980. Reports indicate that last year, flood claimed four lives in the state between August and September. Among the victims was Okechukwu Osadebe, the 18-year-old son of the late highlife music maestro, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe. Early in August, Obiano was in tears when he visited Umuria Village, Anaku in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state to commiserate with the Achebe family of Umuezechi kindred, which lost a pregnant woman and her daughter to flood at Anaku following a heavy downpour.
The governor personally got to the victims’ compound, where he presented point five million naira to the family of the deceased to help mitigate the pains of the loss. Obiano also paid condolence visits to the families of the late Mr. Michael Ejimofor Okolie of Ubaru Village, Igbariam; and the late Mr. Godwin Ezinwa of Achalla-Uno, Nteje, both of whom died in a flash flood. Another victim was named as a nine-year-old Benedict Izuchukwu, a primary three girl and student of Light International School, Okoti, in Ogbaru LGA.
Until the flood disaster of last year, Anambra witnessed its last major flood crisis in October 2012, when flood sacked eight Local Government Areas, with Anambra West and Ogbaru LGAs completely under water. Homes, farmlands and means of livelihood and productivity estimated at billions of naira perished, though the loss of lives was minimal with just four casualties reported then. That of last year, homes and farms were also submerged, and four people lost their lives. Ogbaru LGA seems the worst hit, as all the 16 communities in the council area were submerged and hundreds of people displaced.
Governor Obiano, at the last count, set up 28 holding centres. Within the confines of its resources, the Obiano administration remained steadfast in the delivery of basic necessities to the camps. They included buckets, mattresses, mats, mosquito nets and blankets from the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
The state administration even helped those residing in flood-prone communities to relocate. At a point, all primary, post-primary and tertiary schools in Ogbaru LGA were temporarily shut to save lives first. The government evacuated residents of the affected areas and relocated them to designated holding centres. The centres were provided with sanitary facilities, water boreholes, beds, cooking utensils, and foodstuffs. A number of water ambulances and other marine transport vehicles were on standby as well.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in Anambra State then to see things. Ndi Anambra thought that the VP’s visit would now accord the state the urgent attention it deserves from the centre. Governor Obiano, his government and the people of Anambra need immediate help to steer the state away from persistent flood-inflicted harm. A natural disaster like flooding requires effective and lasting containment measures, not recurring shedding of tears, showing of sympathy and catering for displaced persons.
Working closely with Governor Obiano, for example, the Federal Government needs to weigh the possibility of constructing dams across the state to absorb excess water and save flood-prone areas from disaster each time Rivers Niger and Benue overflow their banks. Now seems the right time to find a lasting solution to Anambra flood crisis before it snowballs to a magnitude that would divert Obiano’s attention from the good works he is doing in the state.