Collapsed bridges connecting some communitiesJigawa with Kano States are threatening the livelihood of locals who were displaced by the recent flooding.
The devastating consequences of the flooding, WikkiTimes understands, include loss of shelters, hike in transportation fares and general cost of living.
In a chat with BBC Hausa, a Kano Businessman, Musa Garba, who transports goods from Kano to Birnin Kudu in Jigawa State, said the bridge which collapsed in 2021 had greatly skyrocketed transport fares.
READ: Displaced by Flood, Struck by Hunger; Life Inside Jigawa IDP Camps
“We spend N500 instead of the N150 we used to pay for transport,” he said. “When we arrive at Kwanar-Huguma, we have to take another route to Birnin Kudu, which is not more than N150, but now we have to pay N500 to N600, because of the collapsed bridge.”
Musa also lamented that this problem had forced him to stop his business alongside other businessmen.
“We had to stop our business, even though there are other routes to Birnin Kudu but we people are scared because of security challenges,” he said.
In September, victims in flood-ravaged Birnin-Kudu, Gwaram and other places condemned their representative in the National Assembly for not coming to their aid, The Guardian reports.
READ: How Flood-ravaged Bridge Gives Residents Sleepless Nights In Jigawa
The flood which lasted for weeks, destroyed different parts of the state, collapsed five major bridges of Birnin-Kudu, Gwaram, Basurka and Baranda in Dutse Local Council and displaced scores and rendered them homeless.
The Guardian further reports that one of the affected victims of Kiyawa council flooding, Shehu Kiyawa, said: “Since the occurrence of a massive flood about a week ago, neither our Governor Badaru Abubakar, our Representative nor our Senator, among other political appointees have visited us to offer us assistance or provision of hygienic shelter, leaving us dying in starvation, hunger and diseases.”
