Flood Devastates Idu-Ogba Community As Royal Highness Flees Palace, Counts Losses
The ravaging flood situation in the Orashi region has taken its toll on the oil-rich Idu-Ogba Community of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA), as properties including livestock of inestimable amounts, have been destroyed.
The heartbroken spectacle which has already left thousands homeless, did the unthinkable as the sacred palace of the paramount ruler of the community, HRH, Eze (Amb) Uche A. Umejuru was submerged, forcing him to flee with all members of his household.
The confounded royal father who spoke to National Network on phone on Monday described the incident as frightening and unfortunate. He said the unfortunate disaster has forced the people of Idu Ogba to embark on compulsory prayer and fasting to seek divine intervention.
“Unless this dreadful upsurge of the waters recede in the coming weeks, Obosiukwu and Osobile would go down completely and this is unthinkable.
“I had to paddle all the way from Ogbogu, to Obagi with my boxer-pants to Idu Obosiukwu and swam along to see for myself what is left of my palace”, he narrated, fighting back tears.
The Eze Okwu-Onu-Ka-Oha Idu Ogba noted that while divine intervention is being sought from the Almighty, Rivers State government should rise to the occasion to save the community from total submersion.
The royal father added that another issue of immediate concern, is the untold hardship, hunger and starvation which has been visited on the people.
“The situation calls for urgent attention. Government should do the needful. Declare a state of emergency in Orashi region, set up IDP camps at strategic locations. They should do something urgent to ameliorate this calamity”, he cried.
Eze Umejuru expressed fears that should the flood maintain the unfortunate momentum, the much talked about flood of 2012 could become a child’s play as several deaths have already been recorded in several communities of Orashi region.
Recall that it is exactly eight years since the disastrous floods of 2012, termed as the worst in 40 years many states in the country. The flood which began in early July of 2012 killed 363 people and displaced over 2.1 million people as of November 5, 2012.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states were affected by the flood, which also affected an estimated total of seven million people. The estimated damages and losses caused by the floods were worth N2.6 trillion.
Recall also that on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, the people of Idu-Ogba Community woke up to the grim reality that many homes have been submerged by the flood, a development that prompted Eze (Amb) Uche Umejuru to send an SOS to the Rivers State government. Sadly, no help came from the government and many families were yet to recover from that calamity when the current disaster struck.
