A pathetic moment in campus
My name is Duruji Francis, a Nigerian and a student, studying Mechatronic Engineering in Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, sited in the core of the Niger Delta region. Is a water land or will I say, a land surrounded by water. You can't dig one feet in Bayelsa soil water seeing water, that's why I initially said is a water land.
Since 2012, Bayelsa state has been experiencing flood and this flood normally occur between the 10th and 11th month (October and November) of the year. After 2012 flood in Bayelsa State, no flood has been recorded to surpass the 2012 flood until this year 2022.
In 2020 which was the COVID-19 era, during the flood that year, my house was affected to the extent I couldn't recover any of my reading books or cloths. The whole property I lived with as a student was lost to the flood expect my school documents that I traveled with during the COVID-19 break.
When school resumed, I relocated to the place I am staying now thinking that am free from flood not knowing that the worst is yet to come.
This year's flood wasn't a joke, and the worst thing is that it came all of a sudden to us. I lost my properties again, this time not all because I was in school that period and I had to vacate some of my properties that I can carry to a flood free area.
Is been recorded these 2022 flood is the highest flood experienced in Bayelsa state. Life's was lost, properties were lost, people were displaced from their homes, people living comfortably were made homeless all of a sudden. All the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps across all the local governments in Bayelsa were congested with different Caliban of people, people now pitched their tent on bridges and roads, sleep, cook and bath their because they're now homeless, no transportation in or out of the state expect by air, food became scares and hunger became the traits of the day no more flood. Farm lands and crops destroyed by flood, market and shops flooded, goods destroyed; cost of living in Bayelsa state during this period was very high, to the extent what you buy #100 before the flood, you buy it over #1000 and that's if you see it.
The flood even uprooted some buried corpse in the cemetery and you can see corpses floating on top of the flood.
I watch people lost there loved ones, starve and sleep outside all night, under cold and mosquito.
It was really a very bad experience for me in Bayelsa state which I never wish to experience again or my children experiencing it.
During the flood
When the flood was gradually going down
Note: I don't have total ownership of these photos uploaded here.