By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
Floodwaters have submerged a major section of the Benin-Akure highway, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded and displacing farming communities in parts of Edo State.
The flood affected Uhiere, Owan, and Agbanikeke communities, destroying farmlands, inundating homes, and forcing many residents to flee.
Desperate farmers were seen using canoes to salvage remnants of their cassava and maize crops, while local youths ferried stranded travelers across the water for fees as high as ₦3,000 per trip.
Some travelers said they had been trapped at the flooded boundary between Owan and Agbanikeke for up to four days, with no official intervention in sight.
“I was expecting over ₦1 million from this harvest. Now it’s a total loss,” said Musa, a farmer whose maize farm was destroyed. Another farmer, Raymond Pemu, said he lost over ₦2 million to the flood.
A canoe operator, Amos, defended the fare charged for crossings, saying, “We’re not exploiting people; we’re saving lives.”
Residents expressed confusion over the source of the flood, saying it arrived suddenly.
“This is a federal road, and we’ve been here for days. No one can say where the water is coming from,” Amos added.
No fatalities have been reported as of the time of filing this report.
