A large gully, caused by a substandard project in Kwarin Goje and Wailari Gari communities, has become a site for dumping unwanted newborn babies birthed by single mothers in Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State.
So far, five newborn babies have been dumped inside the ditch within a couple of months, and only one survived.
As the gully continues to spread year in and year out, it has started pulling down some houses in the area, just as it is harbouring some criminals who stay inside at night to perpetrate their evil acts.
It all started in 2024 when the villagers witnessed the first case of a baby dumped inside the gully, it was considered a rare case until similar cases resurfaced months later.
The cases of newborn babies being wrapped in bloodstained cloth and dumped at the gully site are becoming a source of worry to the villagers.
Some of the cases are still fresh in the memory of Kwarin Goje leader Kamisu Abdullahi.
He said, “So far, we found five babies here. Four of them were found dead, and only one survived. People are leaving the community because of this problem. This can only be addressed with the government’s intervention”.
As the gully spread bigger yearly, it became more dangerous, harbouring smokers and notorious criminals who were truncating the peace of the area.
Umar Nuhu Umar Kwajale, the head of the Wailari Gari Development Association, speaks more.
“The place is the hideout of criminals and smokers. They took advantage of the gully to carry out their activities. We are hoping this government will address our plight,” he said.
Also, Muhammad Sani Sa’idu narrates how he lost his 7-year-old son, Ibrahim Sani, to a flood after a heavy downpour five years ago.
Sani’s body was later discovered inside the gully.
“It rained heavily on that faithful day. So Ibrahim and Muhammad were just passing through, and unfortunately, they fell inside the gully, and the mound covered them.
"The elder brother survived. Muhammad was rescued, but Ibrahim died before we reached the hospital,” he said.
Besides, Manir Lawan Ibrahim is one of the victims rendered homeless by the gully erosion, as his 3-bedroom house collapsed during one of the heavy downpours in the area.
“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.
Farmers are also not spared as gully has eaten into their farmlands. Likewise, children found it difficult to go to school whenever it rained, a situation that prompted many villagers to desert the communities.
According to the villagers, the gully erosion started in 2007 when the 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 resident of Wailari Gari, identified as Abba Wailari, said, “Our community is now a dead trap thanks to the gully. The residents here are relocating to a safer community.
We have been trying our best to address the issue, but we can’t do it alone. The government must come in and rescue us”.
Another resident, Muhammad Ubale, says, “A lot of times whenever it rains, entering your own house will become a big task. Our children can’t even go to school because of how the place is usually flooded.
We hope that this government will save us from this gully”, he said.
The Committee Head of Wailari, Sulaiman Garba, laments that government officials had made several promises to address their plight for years, yet the situation persists.
“Previous governments have promised to address our plight, but nothing has changed. So we pleading with them to do the work for us”, he begged.
When we visited Kano State Watershed, Erosion & Climate Change Management Agency (WECCMA), the state-owned agency in charge of critical environmental challenges related to watershed management, erosion control, and climate change in August 2024, said: “Its engineers have studied the erosion and understood the level of damage in the affected communities”.
But speaking on the new developments, its Executive Secretary, Dr. Muhammad Khalil, says the project has been included in this year’s ecological funds budget.
“We categorize the erosion in Kano as large, medium, and small. The erosion in the communities is among the major erosions in the state. We also have large ones in Gayawa and Kwankwasiya.
This kind of project is capital-intensive. And, honestly speaking, one of them could consume N10 bn to execute the work.
Last year, we received a delegation from the House of Representatives Committee on Ecological Fund and took them to the affected communities.
So now it was captured in this year’s ecological funds budget”.
Dr. Khalil urged the affected communities to be patient, saying the government is sourcing money to kick-start the project.
“They should bear with us because the government is trying its best to get the funds for the project. I want them to be patient because we will finish the work before the end of our first tenure”, he assured.
Giving updates on some of its projects, Dr. Khalil says, “The agency has completed its Bachirawa Rigiyar erosion project last year” after the affected communities suffered from the environmental disaster for decades.
According to him, the Kano Government is working tirelessly to ensure it addresses the medium and small across the State”.
While the Kwarin Goje and Wailari communities are hoping that the government’s latest promise will yield results, they vow to continue demanding the government's intervention until action is taken to address their plight.
