Flood takes over Senate President, Ahmed Lawan’s hometown

Gashu’a, the headquarters of Bade Local Government Area of Yobe State and the birthplace of the incumbent Senate President, Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan is in recent time grappling with perennial flooding as the rainy season intensifies.

For the residents of the ancient town, the raining season is gradually becoming a burden they have to contend with every year, as they consistently live in agony as a result of perennial flooding.

The agony is always exacerbated during the raining season with the consistent downpour resulting in the submerging of the public infrastructures especially township roads, thereby severing some parts of the community from the others.

Personal property are equally not spared as the perennial flood bares its fangs annually.

An anonymous said, “Anytime it rains, our dilapidated roads become flooded. We will be cut off from the rest of the town. Year in, year out, we continue to record huge economic loss.”

Another resident also said, “It is unbelievable that a community which produces the number three citizen in Nigeria is currently in deep distress”.

It was gathered that a move was recently made by the Senate President to facilitate the construction of an 8-kilometre road in the town, but many criticised the effort, saying it is grossly insufficient.

As of the last census, Gashu’a has a population of 125,000 and is located on 12°52’5″ N 11°2’47” E.

Available records showed that the ancient town is also on the Yobe River, a few miles below the convergence of the Hadejia River and Jama’are River and its average elevation is about 299 meters.

This, perhaps, is some of the reasons why the town is battling with perennial flooding every year with little effort made by authorities concerned to arrest the situation.