From shelter to ruins: Ekiti families count losses after devastating rainstorms

Rainstorms left several Ekiti communities in ruins, displacing families and destroying homes. The development leaves the elderly, particularly vulnerable, in an uncertain future, writes ABIODUN NEJO

Tears flowed freely in many Ekiti communities as residents, young and old, counted their losses in the wake of a devastating rainstorm that swept through their towns, leaving a trail of destruction. Homes that once provided shelter and security were reduced to broken walls and scattered rooftops, forcing families to seek refuge under the open sky.

For some, the disaster was merely a test of resilience, but for the vulnerable – particularly the elderly – it was a cruel turn of fate. In Ifaki Ekiti, 100-year-old Madam Ajayi, who has lived in the same home for decades, despite her blindness, now sits amidst the ruins of her collapsed house, unable to comprehend how the walls that had shielded her for many years had crumbled in a single night. “I don’t know where to go,” she murmured, tears streaming down her wrinkled face, as concerned neighbours tried to comfort her.

Similarly, in Ipoti Ekiti, 95-year-old Mrs Julianah Ademilua, frail and overwhelmed by the calamity, recounted the horror of watching her roof ripped away by the raging storm. “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” she sobbed. “Since Saturday, I have been without a home. Where will I sleep? I just pray the government will not forget me in my old age.”

The sight of elderly women, forced into uncertainty and despair, deeply moved the government delegation, led by the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, community leaders and officials who visited the affected areas. Traditional rulers described the situation as heartbreaking, noting that the hardest-hit victims were mostly poor, aged, and financially incapable of rebuilding their homes.

The coming of the rains this year with attendant destructive rainstorms in some areas left residents of many Ekiti towns homeless, in agony, frustrated and in a state of confusion about the way forward.

Communities affected by the rainstorm disasters included Ipoti, Ejiyan, Owatedo and Odo Owa Ekiti in the Ijero Local Government Area, Iyin, Ifaki and Usi Ekiti as well as some communities in Moba, Ado, and Ekiti East local government areas.

Officials of Ekiti State Emergency Authority and National Emergency Management Authority said enumeration and compilation were still ongoing to determine the number of affected buildings and households.

The affected residents were enjoying their peace in their respective houses before the rainstorms destroyed roofs and buildings and changed the story for the families and households.

The Olufaki of Ifaki Ekiti, Oba Adegbenro Falore, captured the situation, saying, “The most dejecting scenario to me was a 100-year-old blind woman, whose house was completely damaged.”

The traditional ruler, who said most of the affected in his community were aged and those who are financially incapacitated, expressed grief over what he called, “the frightening level of wreckage in this town in the trails of the rainstorm.”

The monarch of Ejiyan Ekiti, Oba Adekunle Adesesan Adepoju, while making a case for the affected people in the town in a letter to the Deputy Governor, Mrs Afuye, said the community suffered unimaginable losses arising from the early March rainstorm.

The Chairman of Ejiyan-Ekiti Development Council, Chief Adepoju Ajibare and the Secretary of Ejiyan-Ekiti Community Development Council, Dele Aborishade, who wrote the letter on behalf of the monarch, said residential homes and public facilities were largely affected, adding, “Many of the affected people are currently homeless as a result of the unfortunate incident.”

The Oluyin of Iyin Ekiti, Oba Adeniyi Ajakaye, who expressed sadness over the calamity and sympathised with the affected persons in his domain, sought prompt assistance from the government to the victims to keep them back on track.

Oba Ajakaye applauded the government for the quick response, describing it as highly commendable and a way of exhibiting leadership that will assuage the feelings of the distraught victims.

The traditional ruler said he called around 9 pm on Sunday to inform the government of the disaster and was surprised to see the delegation early on Monday.

“And you are here early today (Monday). This shows that the Biodun Oyebanji government recognises and respects the welfare of the people. We are happy that you have promised to help the victims, we are grateful about this,” Oba Ajakaye said.

Traditional rulers, including the Olupoti of Ipoti Ekiti, Oba Oladipupo Kolade and Oloja-Owa of Owatedo, Oba Adebayo Adewole, speaking on behalf of the affected persons in their communities, described the calamity as heartrending.

Oba Kolade said, “I nearly cried while going round to assess the level of damage, especially that mostly affected are women and children, that makes the matter so worrisome.”

On his part, Oba Oyedeji said, “Those affected are poor people who need emergency help to repair their damaged buildings and restore their hope.”

They, however, praised the government for rising promptly and the assistance promised the victims.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji, represented by the deputy governor, Afuye, who oversees SEMA, took time out to visit each of the communities affected by the rainstorm for assessment.

Speaking during the visit to the affected communities in the Ijero Local Government area early in March, following damage to over 50 houses, the governor sympathised with the victims and promised to initiate a process that would lend a helping hand for them to repair their damaged buildings in record time.

Oyebanji said, “I am really saddened seeing people homeless as a result of a rainstorm. Moving around the town, you could see that the disaster was enormous. We are promising you on behalf of the government that SEMA officials will visit here and do the enumeration of the buildings and value the damage. We are going to help you, God shall heal your wounds.

“We thank God that there is no loss of lives, that is our joy in this matter. The ruins are much, but we need rain to make our lives and farming flourish. But we have to do what is necessary to prevent damage to our buildings.”

On Monday, less than two weeks later, the governor, was also at Iyin Ekiti, Ifaki Ekiti and Usi Ekiti, where a rainstorm did damage to about 100 buildings, including residential buildings, police staff quarters, religious centres, and lock-up shops, spread across the three towns.

Oyebanji, represented by Afuye, assured the victims that the government would not abandon them to suffer at this trying time. He regretted how citizens were subjected to harrowing experiences of homelessness due to the incident in some parts of the state.

While reiterating that the government would provide relief materials to the victims to rebuild their damaged structures, Oyebanji restated the necessity for landlords to embrace maintenance culture, coupled with tree planting around residential buildings to break the storm.

To prevent recurrence, the governor charged landlords “to always take precautions by repairing damaged roofs and changing weak planks that can predispose their residences to unwarranted wreckage.

“Regular maintenance of old buildings remains the best option to avert annual rainstorms being experienced in some towns, thereby rendering many homeless and scores being sapped economically.

Oyebanji encouraged residents to embrace tree planting around residential areas to serve as a windbreaker during stormy rainfall and urged the traditional institution to propagate tree planting practice among the people at the grassroots.

He said, “We are not always happy when this kind of incident happens, because many will be rendered homeless and those affected will be seeking emergency financial assistance, which might be traumatising in most cases.

“This is the reason we have been preaching on local radio for our people to brace up for the coming rainy season, by way of making sure they look after their shelters, this is very important.

“We have always been standing by you and we will do the same under this circumstance. We will provide relief materials to support you in rebuilding your buildings. We assure you that we won’t abandon you to suffer.”

The Head of the NEMA Operations Office in Ekiti, Dr Kofoworola Soleye, said collation of the affected persons and buildings was ongoing in different communities, adding that “it is too early to state the number of affected buildings or persons.”

Soleye said NEMA officials went with the deputy governor on damage and NEEDS assessment to the affected communities, adding, “NEMA carries out support to SEMA. When a disaster is beyond the capacity of the local government or the state government, that is when we (NEMA) get involved to support the state.

“As we speak, there are places we have not yet gone to and they have reported destruction. It is when we collate, we then ask whether it is within the capacity of the state or local government where it happened.”

He, however, said NEMA had been sensitising the people on how to prevent or mitigate the effect of natural occurrences, advising that “the planning authority should make sure that houses are built in a way that it cannot be easily destroyed by nature.

“We have done such a campaign with SEMA in a bid to prevent and prepare for these occurrences,” Soleye said.

Governor Oyebanji, at the beginning of the year, before the commencement of the rain, had made moves to upscale the disaster management policy of the state. He also approved funds for the sensitisation of Ekiti residents on the need to be wary of actions that could promote or lead to disasters in their domains.

The deputy governor, speaking while receiving NEMA’s new Zonal Director, Mr Said Akinyode, in her office in Ado Ekiti, said the government was planning a holistic review of the law establishing SEMA to accommodate the Local Government Emergency Management Committee.

This, she said, was to allow for effective address and management of natural disasters, right from the grassroots to the state level, to avert wanton destruction of property and loss of lives.

Afuye said, “The proposed review was borne out of the government’s interest to boost the growth and development of the safety and well-being of people at the grassroots, in alignment with national and international best practices.”

The deputy governor, who stressed the Oyebanji administration’s commitment to partnering with relevant agencies in addressing all forms of disaster in the state, requested NEMA’s support “to help educate the people on the need to prioritise their safety.

“Let me appeal to NEMA to always double its support to the state with non-food items to meet the immediate needs of victims of natural disasters, especially those whose houses were affected by fire, flooding and blown off by the wind,” the deputy governor stated.