(Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke, the Executive Governor of Osun State. an indigene of Ede town)
(Grassroot Political leader in EDE, Alhaji AbdulGaniy Amoo Tiamiyu urges National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to assist the victims)
By Olabisi Kazeem (Imam Ailaka)
Ede (Osun) FLOWERBUDNEWS: Residents of Ede, who had been eagerly waiting for the first rain of the year to cool off the excruciating heat, were shocked when it finally came last Sunday, turning out to be a disaster for the community.
The rain, which was accompanied by hailstone, wreaked havoc on roofs of some buildings and destroyed many properties in some homes, forcing many people to take refuge with neighbours or in temporary shelters.
The rain, which started around 6.30: pm with strong winds lasted about 20 minutes but left behind trails of sorrow and anguish as trees and electric poles were uprooted.
Experts attribute the intensity of these early rainfalls which are becoming increasingly destructive to climate change. These often violent initial rains are typical of the pre-monsoon season in West Africa.
Some of the residents who spoke with Flowerburdnews correspondent attested that the first rains of the year often accompanied by strong winds, causing widespread disruption to residential, educational and medical facilities with some incidents causing injuries and displacement.
Till date, many victims are yet to effect repairs on their properties because of lack of funds, while debris of the fallout of the disaster litters around the community.
A female hairdresser, who was attending to a customer, with her children in a container shop close to her house located off Ede Federal polytechnic, said she escaped death by whiskers when the storms pulled off her container and threw it over a nearby fence.
The woman who lost her hairdryer and other accessories, was however, thankful to God that no life was lost. She urged relevant agencies and the state government to assist to mitigate the effects of the storm on the victims.
Similarly, another victim, who identified himself as Hassan Nafiu, said that the roof of hiss house was completely destroyed in the disaster.
He said :”I was at home when it happened. It started with drops of ice blocks and eventually, roofs started flying here and there. About 20 buildings and several electric poles were affected by the storms in my area.
Also, another resident, Jamiu Ademola who owns properties in the area, said it was unfortunate that rainstorm of less than 30 minutes could cause such havoc, destroying electric poles, houses and shops.
He described the incident as natural disaster which could not be blamed on anybody and called for the assistance to mitigate the colossal loss.
According to him, it has been a busy time for artisans, carpenters and bricklayers who have been working from one place to the others and consequently, the cost of building materials have gone up within the last few hours.
Meanwhile, a community leader, Alhaji Abdul Ganiy Amoo Tiamiyu has called on the residents to take pro active measure to prevent natural disaster effects on lives and properties.
Alhaji Tiamiyu who resides in Iso-Isu area of Ede North, said; ”I couldn’t explain the kind of wind that blew last Sunday but called on humanitarian agencies to come to the aid of those who can’t afford the cost of repairs.
He used the occasion to call on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to assist the victims of the recent rainstorm in some parts of the Ede area of the state.
He said the interventions is needed to ameliorate the sufferings of the affected people, especially the less privileged in the society so as not to jeopardize their well-being.
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Established by Hon. Biola Lawal, a former Acting Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), FLOWERBUDNEWS is a consortium of active veteran journalists, experienced Multimedia broadcast experts and image makers.
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Lawal, on his part, is also a former Honourable Commissioner for Information,Youth, Sports and Culture of Osun state, his home state.
Biola Lawal had also successfully served two tenures as Press Secretary to the ECOMOG Force Commander in Liberia during the Liberian and Sierra Leone Civil wars. He was an outstanding NAN Defence and War Correspondent for many years.
The retired NAN Acting Boss holds the honour of being the only journalist that served two terms on the ECOMOG international assignment due to his high professionalism and decency.
He is a Co-Author of the book; ECOMOG, A BOLD ATTEMPT AT REGIONAL PEACEKEEPING! Edited Mrs Magaret Voght. The book remains the most. factual, detailed and authentic book on the ECOWAS sponsored ECOMOG Military operation.