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One year after, the killer flood in Maiduguri, a reporter’s diary of survival moves by residents, the medical sector, coordination errors, leading to more challenges beyond the damaged Alau Dam

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5 months ago

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One year after, the killer flood in Maiduguri, a reporter’s diary of survival moves by residents, the medical sector, coordination errors, leading to more challenges beyond the damaged Alau Dam

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Sometimes God creates Providence for mankind. We may not know the weight of His handiwork until something unusual happens and we begin to reflect and surely thank Him for the miracle that resonated with us mere mortals days or months after. Its been one year since the deadly September flood from Alau dam that devastated the Borno State capital Maiduguri. And yet the pains felt by many residents are still fresh as yesterday. Especially those whose loved ones are now part of the statistics recorded as missing or dead.

Many affected residents have moved on by relocating from the customs/ Muna water basin area while others have returned trying to pick the pieces of their lives together again in what is left of the old structure. The Alau dam tragedy has not gone away from the hearts of many residents who lost human lives which to me as a watcher of events is the most valuable of all the losses. One year on since the raging flood attack on the state capital, many residents are still counting their losses like wounds from the 15 year old insurgency.

For me, its one year of narrow escape from a devastating flood that would have consumed me if I was living in the heart of the customs area. This is because I almost paid for an accommodation few months to the flood. Only God that would have helped me because I have never swam in my life before. And even when one knows how to swim, the torrent of the raging dam water was so fast that one needed to be careful not to be swept into any of the major tributaries of nearby rivers with fixed routes to move to the dark deep abyss of nowhere.

Most residents of greater Maiduguri who spoke with this reporter in that axis said that they have never seen such devastation in their existence. The flood which rushed into town with such high velocity at the wee hours of the night of September 10 consumed a large part of Customs area right up to 505 housing estate and landing at the farm centre general area killing several vulnerable residents in its trail. It virtually encompassed the fertilizer plant and the adjoining farm centre housing estate which is currently undergoing rehabilitation by Governor Babagana Zulum. About 150 people were said to have perished in the water which took over the entire post office like an intimidating sea with all manner of dangerous snakes that escaped from the zoo. Other animals like the lion have been so caged that they refused to move out. One year after manager of the zoo, Don Best Abatcha is still raking his brain on how he would replace all those animals that were killed by the angry flood. All his customers have gone while some have relocated from the town after the flood. On a whole, sources who should know claim that about 15 percent of the city centre was submerged in water right up to post office.

How I escaped the flood

For me, I was supposed to have been in my apartment at customs that fateful day in September 2024 but the negotiations with the caretaker had gone sour and I had to dump the house for very strong reasons.

First, the place had been battered by the previous tenant and second the toilets were unkempt and needed repairs for privacy when using it. I tried to negotiate by getting him to repair the place, but he would not bulge. That to me was why I had to look elsewhere for a much more decent apartment. I actually stumbled on another at the other side of town close to the 7 division of the Nigerian Army. That ill fated apartment i avoided was located about 60 metres from the main entrance to the customs office. All the residents on that part of the town lost every thing they had called material things. Not one was spared. And I would have been one of them if not for divine providence. The only people and institutions spared partially were those who had one or two story buildings like the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH).

Reactions by survivors of the flood

I recently drove down to a restaurant to eat just opposite the customs area where I was supposed to have been residing but the place was a shadow of itself. The igbo lady name withheld almost in tears went into a litany of woes while narrating her experience in the past year. ” I lost everything in that flood. The water took away my utensils and pots and I had to start from scratch. That is why you could not recognize this place when you parked earlier. It has indeed changed and we still try our best to survive. Watin man go do even if dem refused to compensate some of us with the 100k, they announced will reach us. Will I comit suicide? she chuckled.

“I saw you when you arrived but was wondering why you did not come out of the car. Did not know you were struggling to locate the place.
Customer, I never knew you were the one but welcome to the relic of the old place you used to eat lunch. We thank God for being alive but I must tell you we went through hell and back since last year.

“We were surrounded by water when it happened so we had no where to go to. We rushed to the peak of the customs fly over and stayed there for two days but it was on the third day we were rescued from being killed in case the water had risen more than the ground floor of the customs building which we were seeing. The thing started slowly on the 9th but by 2 am of the 10th of September, we would have become history if that fly over was not there. We looked towards Gwange, it was water, our front was also water and it was rising slowly to consume us. Well one year after, I thank God for his mercies. Recording her woes in my brain I sat down finally, took my lunch and drove off towards Gwange area, glanced at the renovation done to the police division and then off to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). One year after the Gwange police division has really bounced back. Normal police activities were going on. The place looked more presentable now than it was about a year ago. A lot of houses and shops have been renovated one year after. Some actually got compensated by the Gujibawu committee while many others did the job themselves. The tension on mechanics who had to bring back to life hundreds of cars has gone down. Many residents who could afford the bill never waited for the committee to compensate them. They have all moved on hoping to see each day as it comes.

UMTH one year after

With the will power to go on and Professor Ahmed Ahidjo on the driver’s seat, a lot of recovery has taken place in the UMTH. From recent briefings by the Chief Medical Director (CMD) Ahidjo, repairs have taken place on most of the high grade radiation machines now working. A brand new MIR machine has been donated by Emeka Offor.
Lots of Damage was done especially to equipment on the ground floor while the first floor was relatively peaceful on that fateful day. The CMD noted in one of his recent briefs to newsmen that over 20 billion naira worth of property was destroyed by the flood. But they have been able to stand on their feet now in spite of all odds. Lots of items have been replaced but more needs to be purchased to keep the hospital going on.

The assistance of the medical sector

One year after the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Damboa road has since returned to normal duties. The urgency to save souls about to perish in the flood has gone down because every one seems to be fine now. The surveillance pillar has gone back to its primary duties. Hunt down any strange scourge and put an end to their existence. They hardly have time for petty politics or debates over the next route Ebola will take if they are careless. And what if they are not as vigilant as Stella Adadevoh who knew it but stood her ground to take the bullet for Nigerians.
Before I close my notebook, let me report to you that those who were saved miraculously are still alive to tell their tales of survival. Others who assisted in burial of loved ones have put the episode behind them. None of them were exempted from the tragedy. They were all touched in one way or the other because one friend or colleague or relative lost someone in the flood. Business premises of loved ones at Monday market area were devastated by the flood. Some of their relatives lost shops at post office. And they had to support them because the flood committee largesse did not get to them.
On a whole, they did their best ensuring that opportunistic illnesses were not allowed to spread all over the town. Sadly, the ministry of information could not work effectively with the health sector to synchronize statistics to fish out what is needed by news hounds. The Commissioner was doing his briefing in a separate venue while the entire health sector was briefing as a team at the EOC. That was a wrong precedent which did not help the media coordination.

What future for the Alau Dam?

It is obvious that the Alau Dam has come to stay regardless of the threat it still poses to residents of Maiduguri over 20 km from where it is located. At least 80 billion naira has been voted for the repairs of the dam by President Bola Tinubu. And as things stands now, we are awaiting the rehabilitation work to start so that the facility can return back to safety. The entire population in greater Maiduguri has been on red alert expressing fears that the water may still rise beyond expected limits. To reduce the fears of residents, Governor Babagana Zulum has actually visited the facility several times to ensure that the safety of residents is not compromised. He has directed the site engineers to watch and ensure that the water never goes beyond a particular level.

Regardless of these assurances, the Maiduguri/ jere axis which has formed the greater Maiduguri was also not spared from recent flash floods during the ongoing rainy season. So this time around, apart from the latent threats from the Alau Dam, Chibok, Damboa and parts of Biu suffered tremendously from the flash floods from the rains in the state. As expected Bulumkutu, Abuja talaka, Dala and environs where equally threatened by flash floods. One year after many people don’t want a repeat of the last flood. For residents in Maiduguri, their very existence is threatened whenever they see any form of unusual water rising towards them. The last flood was a terribly bad omen. Nobody wants another flood in Maiduguri no matter how small.

One year after, the killer flood in Maiduguri, a reporter’s diary of survival moves by residents, the medical sector, coordination errors, leading to more challenges beyond the damaged Alau Dam

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IBUAM: Redefining the Nigerian Aerospace and Systems Through Aeronautics Disciplines

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1 week ago

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February 17, 2026

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IBUAM: Redefining the Nigerian Aerospace and Systems Through Aeronautics Disciplines

By: Balami Lazarus

The Wright brothers invented and flew the first airplane in 1903. They never knew that they had set the growth, development, and progress of the aviation industry with their invention.

Following the establishment of Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management (IBUAM), Nigerians are optimistic that it will redefine with sophistication the aerospace systems, giving a new definition of the aviation through her academic courses by the quality of graduates that shall come on board sooner or later with made-in-Nigeria aircraft, their parts, and other related inventions.

I remembered one of my bright students whom I taught some years past, who has clamped and insulated her mind and interest to studying aeronautics engineering; my encouragements for her were endless.

And here we are, with a university that will give every candidate equal opportunities in his or her course of study, where future global stars are going to be trained to rule the aviation industry and her economy—national and international—through IBUAM academic disciplines.

The emergence of specialized universities in Nigeria was a big reality in the realm of our educational systems. These universities are no doubt making progress towards improving specialization by their trained professionals in various fields of studies for economic growth and industrialization, like what IBUAM is intended to do through one of her courses rarely taught in some Nigerian universities.

IBUAM is here to cater to the near-starved aviation needs of human capital and material resources through aeronautics engineering systems/management.

All courses at IBUAM are important for our nation’s development and in the aviation sector. Interestingly, IBUAM has state-of-the-art facilities to enhance teaching and learning—hangers, special workshops, tools, materials, and equipment. Her classrooms/lecture halls are also equipped with modern/standard facilities meant for effective and qualitative academic teaching and practical lessons for excellent performance of her students in their various courses. Therefore, IBUAM is doing the right thing in our education space and time.

Before I started this work, I was focused, mind made up on one fundamental course offered at IBUAM, and by all standards, that will automatically change the foundation and structure of the aerospace, which will provide Nigeria with aircraft and parts through the Aerospace Engineering course (B. Aerospace Engineering). This academic discipline is where students are expected to be trained in the science and skills of aerospace engineering “meant for designing, building, aircraft maintenance, and spacecraft systems.”

Therefore, this course of study and its related associates (metaphorically) will redefine the aviation aerospace and its science of engineering arts/skills, provided IBAUM academic teaching and learning are capped with practicals.

Engr. Isaac David Balami

whose passion for education and aeronautics is rooted in IBUAM, said that courses of study are all in the womb of JAMB requirements for candidates seeking admission in IBUAM: “For better and further understanding of our admission requirements and equal opportunities, I refer intended candidates to go through the JAMB prospectus.”

With no iota of doubt in my mind, this university will put Nigeria on the international aviation map of progress and value.

Balami, Publisher/Columnist. 08036779290

IBUAM: Redefining the Nigerian Aerospace and Systems Through Aeronautics Disciplines

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Fela, Seun Kuti, Wizkid and the Erratic Beliefs of The Generation Zees in Nigeria

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1 week ago

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February 16, 2026

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My Binoculars:

Fela, Seun Kuti, Wizkid and the Erratic Beliefs of The Generation Zees in Nigeria

By: Bodunrin Kayode

One of the most unintelligent discussions I have heard in recent times is the comparison of a human institution like Fela Kuti to any ordinary individual. It sounds so dumb, awkward and misplaced that sometimes one wonders why so called “right thinking people” wander into such useless discussions like the impulsive Z generation known popularly as genzees. Most generation Zee fellows are adventurous and misuse communication using the latest Ai technology which makes them to assume they are smarter than even the millennials, born before 2000 who are much more closer to them than the generation X which reigned long after legends like Fela Kuti was born.

This is because they can make enormous amounts of money through music or any crafts with the help of the AI technology. Those who find themselves in the culture, art and music are the worse because they become millionaires by just talking or singing any rubbish like they do in the contemporary music at times and it is called “content” fit for consumption. Some even use very foul languages not fit for the airspace yet unfit presenters and uneducated DJ’s call them influencers following after the way of the west where all manner of crude and uncouth behavioral pattern becomes the norm. There is no reason for the comparison of Fela a “baby boomer” to a restless kid like Wizkid. It is an abomination and should never happen under the sun. It’s a sin for anyone to make such comparison because Fela is the founder of the genre of the music most of the genzee musicians are singing today. How does an angel or a mere mortal compare himself to their Creator? Such thoughts should not be allowed to take place at all. It’s disgusting.

Wizkid’s obscene challenge of Fela’s position as the founder of afro beat as it is known today

Imagine a badly influenced genzee element who calls himself Wizkid wakes up and suddenly realizes that he is actually an adult fit to contest superiority with an institution like Baba Fela Kuti. As far as some of us who witnessed the great “anikulapo” Kuti first hand in his shrine can remember, Wizkid was not born when Fela challenged ruthless military authorities to account for their wicked deeds against the people. Consequently, it is really needless for even Seun Kuti to be in a hurry to defend the larger than life pedigree of his father. That too will be heavy for Seun to stand up, carry on his head and defend. He should have allowed all those who were mentees of Fela to get up and take up verbal arms against attention seeking detractors led by this Wiz Pekin way nor know say the thing way elders de see at the foot of a palm tree e nor go see am at all even if he climbs up to the top of the tree. It is often said in Yoruba language that ” Atari ajanaku kii se ewu omode” meaning that the head of an elephant is not the kind of load a child can carry.” And this is for Wizkid who has refused to grow up. Fela’s daughter aunty Yeni and Femi Kuti have placed it succinctly in recent responses to the altercation between Seun and WizKid. And the summary of what they said is that it was pointless fighting for someone who became an institution long before his demise. And long before Wizkid was born or started imitating the nuances of Baba Fela in the name of Afro beat. Fela was idolized by millions of mentees all over the world and we don’t need to ask the family to produce evidence of this. That history was removed from the curriculum of genzees making it difficult for them to understand the past is not their fault. It is a calculated plot of the oligarchs who have an agenda and would not want even millennials to remember who was Funmilayo Ransome Kuti the mother of Fela and what role she played in raw activism against the jack boots of colonialists in Nigeria.

Abani Eda, the deity who walked around with death in his pocket

Fela regarded himself as the ” abani Eda” the strange one who changed his name from Ransome Kuti to Anikulapo Kuti meaning he walked around with death in his pocket. That itself was a dangerous threat to the military who hunted him day and night looking for faults to kill him. He never gave them the opportunity to humiliate or intimidate him even after killing his mother Fumilayo Ransom Kuti whom they thought was his spiritual backbone. Rather, it made Fela more daring and horned the activist in him further. Incarceration equally never broke him because that is always the bottom line of any dictatorial government involved in repressive tendencies.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, Fela Kuti was not just an individual that can be messed around with but a deity of some sorts who fought the deadliest battles in his life against injustice. A man that built the foundation for a genre of music which is now called “afro beat” today and one badly brought up genzee brat just wakes up to name drop and equate himself to Fela the oracle of afro beat in the whole world..it’s so insulting and unintelligent of him to even conceive this kind of talk about “I big pass your papa” “or i get money pass your papa” while thrashing a beef with Seun Kuti. It was arrant nonsense that should never be allowed to be prolonged afterwards Fela reached out to the entire world with his popular pidgin English lyrics which dominated even interviews with international news media houses. Of a truth, this talk about who is greater should not even arise because it is uncalled for, insulting and a dangerous mark of disrespect against the iconic statue of Fela Kuti.

For young people like Wizkid who do not know who Fela is, they should go take a look into his background because none of them were born when Fela dared to speak to power including military governments which was in vogue in Nigeria before 2000 when the generation zees started coming into this world.
My advice to the Kuti Family is to ignore the young man because we all know about his dangerous genzee influencing roles and exigencies way beyond what Fela would have tolerated in his Ikeja Shrine.

Fela, Seun Kuti, Wizkid and the Erratic Beliefs of The Generation Zees in Nigeria

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Anatomy of Electronic Platforms: The Honey Badger Attitudes/Character

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2 weeks ago

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February 14, 2026

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Anatomy of Electronic Platforms: The Honey Badger Attitudes/Character

By: Balami Lazarus

As a young boy I have heard of this small-sized animal, the honey badger, called “Dagi” in the Hausa language, that belongs to the Mustelidae family of otters, weasels, ferrets, and a few others of its kind. It has a white, single stripe pattern on its back. Honey badgers are rated the most fearless animal on earth today, its size notwithstanding. It has no respect for territorial boundaries or the privacy of other animals in the wild.

Honey badgers move and hunt freely at any point in time. They are known for their large appetite; anything goes for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Honey juice and snacks are their favorites. Honey badgers fight other animals without hesitation, undermining the consequences. This is the behavior and activities of some individuals on their platforms.

The pictures painted in words are typical of the anatomy of some electronic platforms in this age of digital systems, where many more honey badgers have emerged.

I am a member of some platforms and am writing this piece from experience. As a groping participant of my platform who always tried to make meaningful contributions with glitches of qualitative and educative postings in an attempt to facilitate the free flow of information among members of my group.

Social platforms have made it easier for the free flow of ideas and information accessible to every member of the group, with information at his fingertips.

Platforms that are not properly organized or are not professionally inclined in accordance with their professions, trades, or vocations are always overtaken and controlled by members with the character and attitudes of honey badgers.

Electronic platforms are supposed to be a place where members are informed/receive good information or put on notice.

While bereavements, ailments, and other unfortunate postings are the traffic of some electronics platforms. More so, some are flooded with all such birthdays—humans and animals. In fact, some members are known for soliciting birthday wishes. Without apology, many are birthday beggars: “I am one today; celebrate with me.”

I pray leadership of platforms that are faced with such viruses should endeavor to make corrections to achieve their objectives.

Balami, Publisher/Columnist. 08036779290

Anatomy of Electronic Platforms: The Honey Badger Attitudes/Character

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