Maiduguri Flood: Residents Decry Expensive Canoe Rides

Residents of Maiduguri, Borno State, have lamented over the high cost of canoe rides, saying that operators were now ripping them off.

EKO HOT BLOG recalls that when floods swept through the city of Maiduguri last week, canoe owners volunteered to help move residents to safety.

But residents say they are now being ripped off by the canoe owners charging steep fees to move their belongings.

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With vehicles unable to move in many parts of Maiduguri, residents are relying on canoes.

Falmata Muhammed, a 48-year-old mother of three said she decided to move some furniture this week but was shocked when a canoe owner charged her N80,000 for a short trip, more than the monthly minimum wage.

After losing almost everything to floods, she was upset that “Some are making it a big business, using the disaster to make a huge amount of money.”

Fisherman and canoe owner, Mohammed Yusuf said he still moved residents for free but that some residents offered money to use his canoe.

Meanwhile, Governor Babagana Zulum has held an emergency meeting with United Nations Humanitarian Workers and other development partners on how to work collectively in addressing the impact of the devastating flood that has ravaged about 70 percent of Maiduguri, the state capital.

This came as he warned against indiscriminate opening of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps, especially in the already closed public schools without the permission of the state government..

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Zulum while welcoming the leader of the UN delegation, UN OCHA Deputy National Humanitarian Coordinator, Esty Sutyoke, said: “Now that we have succeeded in the rescue mission, and as the water recedes, we must collaborate together to avoid duplication of efforts in the affected communities.”

Among others, the governor said: “We need UN assistance in rebuilding the destroyed houses, hospitals, schools and critical infrastructures. We want to use this opportunity to thank UN, all stakeholders and individuals that have been assisted us in one way or the other in this trying moment.”

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