Teacher in Nigeria loses dozens of relatives and pupils in devastating floods

MOKWA, Nigeria (AP) - On May 29, Mallam Hassan Umar stood waist-deep and barefoot in muddy water, his eyes on the remnants of his Arabic school, now reduced to sludge and shattered wood by devastating floods.

The Islamic teacher, clutching only the threadbare clothes he escaped with, started shouting the names of the pupils he housed and might never see again.

Some pupils tried to escape with him through the back of the house, which also doubled as the school. But that attempt quickly turned perilous.

The tightly packed layout of the neighborhood, combined with the absence of a proper drainage system, made the floodwater quickly rise and surge through the maze of homes with violent force, leaving no clear path to safety.

In the chaos, he could only watch helplessly as the water overwhelmed some of the children, sweeping them away.

Mokwa, nearly 380 kilometers (236 miles) west of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, and a major trading and transportation hub where northern farmers and southern traders meet, has become a scene of mass mourning after torrents of rainfall early last Thursday unleashed devastating flooding.

Officially, the fatality count from the sudden and intense flood that built rapidly within five hours has crossed 200. Locals say the actual number could be far higher, with more than a thousand still missing.

Many were Almajiri, the poor boys sent far from their families to study the Quran under the care of Islamic teachers, living in packed, informal schools and often a common sight in northern Nigerian urban centers where they roam the streets for alms and food.

Haruna Yusuf lost 14 relatives - apart from 12 Almajiri children he helped his father teach - to the flood. Clutching a rosary, he prayed for them.

Among his deceased relatives was his brother Islamila, who had managed to swim against the flood tide. Seeing others drown, he decided to go back.

"He did not make it out again," Yusuf said of his brother. "He was consumed by the water, while trying to save others."

"In our house and school, we are still searching for 12 Almajiri pupils and 14 family members, including my brother, my uncle, and his pregnant wife and their three children," he said.

In the Rabba community, near Mokwa, the collapse of a key bridge due to the flood has cut off access to two schools.

Pupils of Rabba Nursery and Primary School, like Salamatu Salihu and Hussaina Aliyu, must wait for a canoe to ferry them across a flood-swollen river.

Often, the boats don't come. When they do, the children arrive at school drenched, late, and frightened.

Hussaina, 11, raised a red flag over safety.

"No life jackets," she said. "Some days, we wait long for paddlers who may not come. I'm scared, but I still try to go."

A teacher, Fatiman Alhassan, said that attendance has plummeted since the bridge collapsed. "Children arrive at 9 a.m., already behind in lessons. Many miss class altogether," she said.

Abdulmueen Abdullahi, lost six family members, including his mother, elder brother and four other siblings.

He was not at home those "terrible early hours of Thursday," when his surviving sister called him. "I met all our properties and my six family members washed away," Abdullahi said, breaking down mid-interview, gripping a reporter’s hand.

Isaac Koni stared quietly at the space where his photo lab once stood. Three days before the flood, his lab was redesigned and stocked with new photo material and equipment ahead of the Eid al-Adha celebration. Koni's 12 staffers all survived, but his 30 million Naira ($19,000) investment was lost.

While the government has turned a local school into a camp for the displaced, the shelter is virtually empty. It was slow to be ready, and most of the survivors had already started taking shelter in the remains of their destroyed homes or moved in with relatives.

The government started distributing relief materials, including food items, on Monday.

UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene specialist in Nigeria, Theresa Pamma, said the agency is on the ground to help survivors access basic healthcare and prevent disease outbreaks.

Mokwa is the latest in a series of communities across Nigeria devastated by seasonal flooding, worsened each year by climate change, poor drainage, and a lack of disaster preparedness.

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Adebayo reported from Abuja, Nigeria.

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