- Shocked residents walk on dry riverbed
- Why rivers dry up, by experts
By Job Osazuwa
Yesterday at the Kara Bridge, a shouting distance from the Ojodu Berger intersection in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, Ade Adebiyi loitered with a few of his friends.
He was in the area to confirm the rumour that had been making the rounds: That a section of Ogun River had suddenly dried up and had become dry land.
Mystery
“I heard this news on Saturday in my house at Mowe near the Redemption Camp, but by then, it was too late. So, I waited till this morning. As soon as it was safe enough, I quickly boarded a vehicle and here am I with some of my friends. I came to see things for myself. And I can confirm to you that it is true,” he told the reporter.
Since Saturday, Kara, a popular cattle market by the Ogun River, has turned into a centre of attraction. Thousands of people from Ogun State have been trooping to the bridge to catch a glimpse of the mysterious spectacle.
The mystery, which was said to have gradually started last Friday evening, left many in shock. Till now, everyone keeps wondering what could be responsible for such an unusual situation.
Residents of the area told the reporter that before the sudden miracle occurred, no one could dare the river without the help of a local canoe. Whether in the rainy or dry season, the river, many noted, had consistently flowed at high velocity. Many had drowned in the river after the boat, ferrying them suddenly capsized.
Until Saturday, the canoe was the only means of transportation for everyone, especially traders, crossing from the other end of the river to buy cows, rams and goats from the popular Kara Meat Market.
A new Mecca
When the reporter visited the place on Sunday morning, many people, including children, were seen trooping to the scene from all directions to catch a glimpse of the situation. All that was left of the once deep river were some seaweeds, green leaves brought from unknown direction to the spot.
At the other side of the bridge, the river was still flowing freely. But then, it would quickly stop and return as soon as it got to the new dry land.
There was a gridlock on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway bridge, as several vehicles slowed down to see why the crowd gathered around the river. Men of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), consistently prevented drivers that wanted to pull their vehicles over to get details of what was happening there from doing so.
The commission’s officials worked tirelessly to ensure a free flow of traffic. Policemen were also on ground to ensure that hoodlums didn’t hijack the situation to loot traders’ wares.
Mr. James Odey, a resident of Isheri, a stone’s throw from the area, told Daily Sun that he was at home three days ago when he heard people shouting and saw them running to Kara Bridge, that something strange has happened in the area.
He said: “My neighbours told me that the river was bringing some grasses from another direction and it suddenly stopped under the bridge, separating the big Ogun river. I ran here about 5pm on Friday and saw that the water was nowhere to be found.
“As you can see (pointing to the other end of the river), this place was flowing just like the other side until that Friday. There were no leaves, nothing else, except water. Then, we could only cross the river using the canoe. For more than 30 years that I have been living here, this has never happened. I can’t explain what happened; only God can.”
Another resident, Stephen Bishop, who said he was popularly known in the area as High Pencil, said: “My wife usually crossed the river to buy meat and other things at Kara Market. But when she got here on that Friday, she noticed that the first people that boarded the canoe were stuck in the middle of the river by the grasses. As at then, the grasses were not as many as they are now.
“She couldn’t cross the river that day because the canoe couldn’t return to pick other passengers. Then she returned home.
“I doubted when she narrated the story to me. I thought maybe she was simply scared of the water. She had to show me some pictures to convince me of what she said.
“When I got here, I was shocked and confused because this had never happened.”
Seaweeds for herbal concoctions
Amidst the excitement and confusion, the reporter observed that some people were cutting the grasses and taking them home for different reasons.
When the reporter asked one of the people, a young man in his early 40s, why he plucked three different leaves from the place, he said he was taking them home to prepare some herbal concoction for his personal use.
“This is not the handiwork of man but God. When I get home, I will soak these three types of leaves in water or dry gin, and drink it. I believe it is God that brought the leaves from wherever He brought them. It is my belief and it will work for me,” he said.
But Ahmed Akin said he was only taking the leaves home to be preserved so that he wouldn’t be doubted whenever he told the story.
Timileyin Wale, who came to the place with his friend, Ahmed Akin, told the reporter that the leaves could be a harbinger of good luck, hence his decision to return home with as much seaweeds as he could pack.
A symbol of hunger
Some others, especially women and elderly men, simply stood in the middle of what used to be the Ogun River, praying that the god who performed the miracle that consumed the river should perform some great miracles in their lives.
The reporter observed that the grasses came with some strange insects. Some of the elderly people around the scene interpreted the sudden appearance of the insects as a sign of hunger in the land.
The man, who refused to reveal his name, spent some time educating the people there on what the insects connoted.
“It is not ordinary; this is a spiritual matter,” he explained to the reporter. “Those insects are symbols of hunger in the land. For this to have happened means the hunger might persist for long.
“Despite that it rained this morning, this place has remained dry. You as a journalist might not be able to see what we elders can see because you are young.”
It was gathered that the youths from Isheri neighbourhoods were planning to organise a party at the scene on Sunday to celebrate the wondrous works of God.
Meat sellers, canoe operators lament
But not everyone is happy at the sudden turn of things at the area. Those who once ferried passengers in canoes as means of livelihood have been lamenting since the incident. They used to ferry passengers across the water, charging them N50 for a trip of less than two minutes. That is history for now, as people moved freely from one side of the water to the other.
Many of the youths walked on the seaweeds that now dominated where the river was, while some even slept on the seaweeds. Some motorcycle riders rode on the sudden dry land, shouting excitedly. And the residents and passers-by cheered them and hailed their courage. Many people stood on the dry river and posed for photographs.
A panel beater under the Kara Bridge, said he had been plying his trade there for close to ten years and had never seen such ‘miracle’
His words: “Since yesterday, people have been coming from different parts of Lagos and Ogun State to see what is happening here. It is pure magic by God. God is wonderful.
“Regrettably, the river, which has been very useful for those killing and selling cattle and other animals at the market, is now gone. Those who depend on it for their business, will have to start thinking of other sources.”
Why rivers dry up
Experts have adduced many reasons to explain why a river, lake or sea might suddenly dry up. In an article in the Mother Nature Network on May 20, Shea Gunther, a writer and environmental scientist, noted that the large population of human beings, numbering over seven billion, consumes water daily at alarming proportions.
“We use water to drink, make food, create energy, manufacture products, extract raw minerals from the earth and everything else in between. The average family of four can use 400 gallons of indoor water or more everyday, to say nothing of the massive quantities of water used by businesses, farms and industry.
“All that water has to come from somewhere, and it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that there are a lot of places around the world that are literally drying up. It’s never been harder to be a large body of water. In the face of warming temperatures caused by climate change on top of increased demand, some of the world’s largest lakes, rivers and seas are growing smaller with every season.
When we use more water than is naturally put back into the system, we draw down the overall supply. That simple equation is the brutal reality.”
An environmental expert in the area warned that residents should keep off the blocked channel for the risks of it opening up unexpectedly. He said some obstruction, including the seaweeds currently on its surface, might have blocked the flow of the river. He called on the necessary authorities to visit the site and unearth the cause of the mysterious ‘disappearance’ of a section of the river.