In July 2020, seven-year-old Ibrahim Sani and his brother, Muhammadu Sani, residents of Kwarin Goje in Kumbotso Local Government area in Kano disappeared after a rainfall.
Hours later, Ibrahim’s lifeless body was discovered buried in a mound in the gully.
The two siblings were swept away by a flood after a mound of sand collapsed following the heavy downpour. Muhammadu was rescued, but Ibrahim was unfortunate; he was found dead.
Their father, Muhammad Sani Sa’idu told Nigeria Info that Ibrahim died before they could get to the hospital.
“On that faithful day, they were just passing through, unfortunately, they fell inside and the mound covered them. The elder brother survived it, but the youngest died before we reached the hospital,” he said.
Recently, other victims, Manir Lawan Ibrahim, his wife, and their newborn baby were rescued after their three-bedroom apartment collapsed during a heavy downpour.
“It rained one faithful Sunday, after a heavy rain I saw people outside my house. A few minutes later the front collapsed. They had to pull down the fence to save me and my family,” said Manir.
“I’m currently staying in a rented house till I get a better place. The government should do something about this,” he added.
While Ibrahim and his family now live in a rented apartment, another displaced landlord in Wailari Gari in Kumbotso LGA, Umar Jubril is squatting at his elder brother's house after a flood destroyed his six-bedroom flat.
“That’s my house. All the six rooms are gone. This is really painful. We stayed with my neighbors before I moved out to stay at my elder brother's house with my family.”
The damage caused by the gully erosion is currently threatening the only bridge that links the two communities, as disclosed by a community leader, Kamisu Abdullahi Usman.
“This is the only bridge that links us, but look at its conditions now. If nothing is done it will fall like the houses.”
Level of Damage
For decades, Wailari and Kwarin Goje have grappled with yearly gully erosion, which has divided the community’s landscape into two.
During the rainy season, residents often lose their property, leading to some becoming internally displaced.
I observed the destruction of new and uncompleted structures when I visited the communities.
Gully has affected more than a thousand people in the communities, including farmers who live off agriculture.
In 2007, the Kano State government constructed a single carriage road from Yanlemo to Gurun Gawa to improve the economic activities in the community.
Unfortunately, the construction was substandard and lacked proper drainage, making the location a death trap for locals.
A representative of the ward head of Wailari Gari, Lawan Bagobori, said the community lobbied the state government unsuccessfully.
“We have documented our plights to the relevant authorities but all to no avail. The affected residents are huge. Some have left the area because of this. We want the government to come to our rescue,” he said.
Kano Government's Efforts to Control Erosion
When contacted, the Executive Secretary of Kano State Watershed, Erosion & Climate Change Management Agency (WECCMA), Dr. Muhammad Kalil said his engineers understood the level of damage caused by the erosion.
He assured Nigeria Info that all necessary steps would be taken to address the problem.
Dr. Kalil also revealed that the agency has visited “the 44 LGAs to investigate the causes of erosion in the state.”
He identified sand mining as one of the causes of erosion in the state, saying the agency sensitized community leaders on its dangers.
Dr. Kalil however said “the agency would soon complete two major erosion projects in Bachirawa and Riyiyar Zaki” after receiving official complaints from residents of the area.
The Kano State government appropriated N4.6 billion for various projects in the 2024 budget under the State Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
Two billion of that was earmarked for erosion and flood control.
