How Nsukka flood kills 9-year old girl

By Innocent Ugwoke

It was all tears in Alu-Udele, Nsukka Urban in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State as families, friends and residents were full of sorrows and tales of lamentations following the painful demise of Miss Ezinne Eze, a 9-year old girl who was drowned by the heavy flood that resulted from the rain that started around 2:15 pm on the 16th of June, 2017.

Investigations by Shepherd Communications revealed that the late girl was the first daughter in a family of 5 of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Eze who hail from Umuida, Enugu Ezike in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, Enugu State. It was gathered that the young girl went along with his younger brother behind their house to dispose of waste when she met her untimely death.
Addressing journalists, the father of the deceased who was deeply saddened by the untimely demise of her daughter spoke amidst tears.“I am not always around in the house and so I returned home as I usually do only to get the greatest shock of my life as I was told that my daughter has been drowned inside a gully near my compound. I was told that she went to dispose of waste materials and in the process lost her slippers to the aggressive flood.

“It was when she was searching for it in the gully that she got drowned. Immediately we noticed her absence in the house, we went in search of her through the channels of the flood but all our efforts proved abortive as we could not find her. We later found her dead inside the gully behind our house which we thought was just an ordinary drainage passage without knowing it was a very deep gully,” Mr. Eze bitterly narrated.

The residents of Alu-Udele in Nsukka town of the local government have in the past even before the construction of the new roads cried out to the government considering the poor drainage system constructed along the lane. It is recalled that a resident of the area popularly known as Mr. Currency the owner of Currency photos nearly lost his house to the dreaded flood that passes along Alu-Udele to Alor-Uno.

It is worthy to note that the once dreaded Enugu road which in the past had been in a very terrible state especially during rainy season has been properly taken care of courtesy of the urgent road intervention of the state government in Nsukka metropolis with a powerful underground drainage system that channels the flood coming from Enugu road, Orba road and Aku road.

However, despite the good works of the state government in the ongoing reconstruction of roads and drainage systems for proper channeling of flood, this ugly scenario that led to the painful death of Miss Ezinne Eze has without doubt revealed that more and serious work needed to be done to properly channel the drainage system at Aku road junction close to Kenechukwu Micro Finance Bank, Nsukka. It is this particular drainage channel that connects through Alu-Udele to UNN second gate that yearly takes human life because of total negligence. The same channel also leads to ZIk’s flat in Onuiyi, Nsukka where it has made the road impassable because of a big gully it has created. These whole channels lead to Alor-Unor in Nsukka.

Speaking with one of the observers at the scene of Ezinne’s death, the Chairman, Charity Organization, St. Theresa’s Cathedral Parish, Nsukka, Mr. Umeh noted that the charity group had written a petition about the condition of the drainage system after they visited the scene of the damaged properties of Mr. Currency through the Cathedral Administrator, St. Theresa’s Cathedral Parish to the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese.
In another development he continued: “We had to give a little stipend to the victims. Today it has happened again and the rain has not even started. The government should please look into the matter as the lives and properties of Alu-Udele inhabitants are in great danger. What will happen when we fully enter into the heart of rainy season?”

He commended the state government for the excellent and wonderful road constructions undertaken in the area but called for proper channelling of the drainage system.
“When you look into this drainage system that caused the death of this little girl, you will see that all the Enugu road drain, Orba road drain and Aku road drain are all channelled to this particular drain that cut across Alu-Udele lane. “We plead with the same government that did this beautiful road to come and construct a beautiful and reliable drain that will smoothly channel the flood properly without posing danger to the lives and properties of people living around the area,” he pleaded.
Another resident of Alu-Udele whose fence was pulled down and his house drowned as a result of the heavy flood, Mr. Okwor, the Catechist of St. Theresa’s Cathedral Parish, Nsukka regrettably condemned the menace of the flood, stressing it was caused by improper channeling of the drainage system during the construction of Enugu road.
He said the government has done a nice work by providing the people with a befitting road but added that the underground work of the drains and the uppermost one which was channelled to one corner at Aku Road junction should be properly channelled to its extreme where it cannot claim any life again.
He continued: “Apart from the death of the little girl which was the most grievous of all the damages done by the flood, it broke my fence and entered my parlour and rooms and destroyed many of my properties and belongings. There are up to three or more families who did not sleep in their house that night. We beckon on the government to come to our aid and properly channel the drainage system.”
A closer investigation into the nature and conditions of the drainage system reveals that lives and properties might be lost if urgent attention is not given to the situation at hand. The government needs to do the needful to guarantee the security of life and properties of the residents as things will get worse when we enter the peak of rain this season. Already some buildings have been evacuated by their inhabitants and more are being threatened.
There is no doubt that the construction and restructuring of roads are of utmost importance as it provides citizens accessibility to schools, markets, offices and makes their day to day activities easier. However, human life worth more than all the good things on earth since man is the measure of all things. There is, therefore, an urgent need to stop the dreaded stigma of robbing Peter in order to pay Paul. Construction of road is good as it makes life easier for the people but in a situation whereby it puts the people in more danger rather than give them more comfort, then we have sacrificed the needful to the essential.