By Uzo Ugwunze
It was all crying and wailing Friday, at Afia Ekwe Building Materials market, Ogidi/Ogbunike, Idemili North/Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State, following the submerging of the market by flood which resulted in the destruction of goods worth millions of naira.
Lamenting the huge loss to newsmen, one of the victims, Okechukwu Edwin recounts;, “We came to our market this morning, being Friday, and found out that the entire Afia Ekwe Building Materials market has been submerged by flood caused by last night heavy down pour.
“You can see the traders trying to pick some of the destroyed goods. The flood came from Ogidi and Ogbunike. There is a drainage system that passes through the market and I believe the drainage system may have been blocked with wastes which resulted in the submerging of the market by flood.
“Again the drainage system is narrow and needs to be expanded to contain the volume of flood that comes from Ogidi and Ogbunike communities. It is worrisome that leadership of this market is not interested in the welfare of the traders but only interested in collection of money from traders,” he fumed.
Contacted, the chairman of the market, Hon. Adinnu Onyechi, said that the flooding was an annual occurance that is a natural disaster even as he decried the magnitude of the damages done to the goods by the flood this time around.
“We experience the flood yearly and the last we witnessed the devastating effect was in 2019 before this very one that happened on the night of Thursday, when we came this morning, (Friday), we couldn’t believe our eyes, the destruction to goods was so devastating.
“The cause of this is that the drainage system that passes through the market is narrow that it couldn’t contain the volume of flood from Ogidi and Ogbunike communities. We don’t have the huge sum of money for this project of expanding the drainage system.
“We appeal to the state government to come to our rescue. Goods destroyed by the flood worth millions of naira. The victims are crying and pleading for assistance from government,” he stated.
Another victim, Chief Chinonso Okafor, while crying for Government’s intervention, disclosed that it was the attachment built on top of the drainage system that blocked the flood from flowing through the drainage system and thereby submerging the market.
“That attachment was built on top of the drainage and it blocked the gutter and resulted in the flood submerging the market whenever there is rainfall. Those places blocked should be reopened. The gutter crossed the expressway but was blocked.
“This flooding has not been happening until they blocked the drainage at Attachment line and the one at the expressway. We urge Governor Soludo to come to our rescue by ensuring that these blocked portions are reopened,” he pleaded