Resilience Amidst Adversity: Taraba’s Gashsaka Community’s Struggle With Recurrent Floods. John Mkom

In the serene town of Gashsaka local government area, nestled within the picturesque Gashaka National Gunti Park, a heartrending tale of distress continues to unfold. Years after the haunting memory of a flash flood claimed the lives of seven corps members, the resilient community faces an ongoing battle against nature’s fury. As the heavens opened up once again, bringing forth torrents of rain, the scars of the past flood disaster resurfaced, leaving behind a landscape marked by loss and displacement.
The sad occurrence that happened in 2018 was a disaster that etched its mark into the heart of Gashsaka. News of the tragic drowning of seven Corps members at Kogin Salihu, known as “River Salihu” in the local Hausa dialect, reverberated across the nation. The incident occurred at the banks of Mayo Selbe, a tranquil river that had unexpectedly turned into a torrent of destruction. The collective shock and grief of the nation, however, did little to spur the necessary preventive actions from government authorities. As recent heavy downpours pounded Gashsaka in the early hours of Sunday, history seemed to repeat itself. The torrential rain waters triggered a new wave of destruction, washing away farmlands, decimating wildlife habitats, and sweeping away not just livestock but also the humble dwellings of the community. With homes turned to rubble and fields rendered unrecognizable, many found themselves dispossessed and forced to seek refuge in public structures, their stomachs grumbling with hunger.
Despite the glaring need for intervention, the aftermath of the 2018 tragedy seems to have fallen into the crevices of bureaucratic negligence. Investigation revealed a stark reality: no comprehensive study or preventive measures have been undertaken by any government authority, be it at the state or federal level. The pleas of the grieving community to prevent future flooding incidents have seemingly gone unanswered, leaving a void where hope for change should have thrived.
One of the unfortunate victims, Dauda Ali, shared the heart-wrenching account of his losses and pointed out that, “My house and all my food supplies were washed away,” he said, as he and his family took shelter at a public primary school in Selti, the local government headquarters. 
Adding to his ordeal, Ali disclosed that he had secured a loan from a Cooperative Bank to cultivate his rice farm, which is now among the flood’s casualties. “It’s a double tragedy for me,” he lamented, expressing a sentiment shared by many others.