Kano state governor,Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso has launched the construction of 792 houses, under the second phase of building free, spacious two-bedroom houses for victims of last year’s flood, in three local government areas of the state.
Under the first phase, 366 houses were constructed in Warawa, Makoda and Kunchi local government areas of the state.
Speaking during the occasion, the governor said the decision was informed by the fact that persistent flood have ravaged the same communities since he first came into office in 1999, adding that government had no option but to look for a lasting solution.
He said a committee of experts submitted a report to the government indicating that the areas affected by flood annually were located in river valleys, adding, “and it was suggested that evacuation and relocation of the people living around these areas is the only measure to prevent them from further being victims”.
Governor Kwankwaso said each house will cost about N800, 000 adding that the houses, which will be given to the peasants free because they are poor, are not just for ecological expediency but will save government the problem of disrupting academic calendar, by using schools as resettlement camps, whenever the villages become waterlogged.
In the meantime, the governor explained that after leaving their former villages, the victims are expected to convert their old environment to irrigation land to grow rice and other crops that will improve their economic status.
He therefore advised the beneficiaries of the houses to make optimum use of the opportunity to better their living condition, pointing out that the government has taken drastic steps including construction of roads with drainages, clearing of culverts and proper refuse disposal to minimize recurrence of flood in the state.
Governor Kwankwaso recalled that his administration had spent millions of Naira and worked with NEMA, Dangote Foundation and other stakeholders towards providing relief materials to about 10, 385 victims of flood in the state last year.
In her speech, the Minister of Environment, Hajiya Hadiza Mailafia described the initiative by the Kwankwaso administration as the first of its kind in the country, saying the Federal government indentifies with such commendable and far “reaching strides.
The Minister stressed commitment of the government to actualize the Green Wall Initiative as well as the coal powered stove project, to ensure sustainable management of the ecosystem.
On his part, the Director “ General, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi stated that data obtained from the Federal meteorological agency, NIMET, has predicted that Kano and some other states in Nigeria may record heavy rainfall this year.
He therefore mentioned that warning alerts have been sent to respective state governments, appealing specifically to the government of Kano state to carry out sensitization within communities at risk, to forestall any unpleasant occurrence.
The representatives of the beneficiaries, Ali Imam and Abdullahi Abdurrazzak thanked the state government for salvaging them through the provision of free residential accommodation, pledging their sustained loyalty.