Parents and guardians have been warned to keep close watch on the movement of their children and wards with particular emphasis on discouraging them from going to swim at the canal at Akiama Community.
This warning was issued by a former youth leader of Akiama Community, Ibifubara Allaputa in an interview with Kristina Reports on Saturday, February 19, 2022 in Akiama, while reacting to the drowning of two children aged 9 and 10 years, respectively, in the canal.
The incidented canal runs through from behind the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFMM) through the Akiama Road and evacuates at the Akiama Creek. The culvert across the canal was reconstructed last year by the Nigerian Navy in partnership with Evomec Global Services Limited (EGSL) to contain the flooding causing erosion in the area.
Kristina Reports learnt that children from different aspects of Akiama as far as the Ghana Woman bridge area come to swim in the canal when the tide is high.
Speaking with Kristina Reports at the scene of the incident, Alaputa expressed sadness at the loss of the two children, lamenting that the parents and guardians living around the canal failed to cooperate with the leadership of the community to keep off their children and wards from the canal leading today’s incident.
He regretted that despite several efforts aimed at dissuading the children from swimming in the canal they had remained adamant, informing that the corpses of the two children were discovered lying on the mud after the river had ebbed, noting that it was unfortunate that the two children had to die this way.
“Yes, earlier this morning it came to my information when I was at my place of work; they called that some kids drowned while swimming at the canal at the back area of Akiama. they came here to swim and two of them lost their lives.”
“It was this early morning when the place dried up that we saw the corpse. I had to call the Police and also the parents that are here to came and identify the children.”
Ibifubara Allaputa, who is also the Director of Pollution at the Bonny Youth Federation (BYF), noted with regrets how efforts by the community to discourage children from swimming in the canal was yet to yield results, warning that henceforth any child caught swimming there will be handed over to the Police.
“Children from the age of 11, 12,13 to 14 that came from far and near to swim here. When their parents give them things to go and sell, they come here to hangout. We found out that these children come from as far as Macaulay, Ghana woman, opposite Navy Base, all over Bonny at large, to swim here and it’s not good for their own safety.”
“We, the community here, have been trying to resist them, to chase them, sometimes their parents come barking at us and making issues with us. We have even flogged and seized their short knickers and slippers in order to stop them.”
“We even found out that they have different axis they use to come in immediately the water pops up. But henceforth any child we catch here will be handed over to the Police.”
“So, we are advising every parent that have little children to warn them to desist from this canal and if they know that they sent their children to the market to sell things they should tell them to stick to where they are going and not come to the canal because it is very, very dangerous.”
This tragedy is avoidable, if we can return to communal leaving and be our brothers keeper.