When it rains in Gayawa, Muhammad Bako knows the road home could become a death trap.
Floodwater surges through deep gullies carved across major roads in the community, cutting off access and leaving residents stranded for hours. For those facing medical emergencies or desperate to get home, waiting is not always an option.
Some attempt to cross. Not everyone makes it.
“People have lost their lives here,” Mr. Bako said, describing the risks residents face during the rainy season.
Gayawa, a community in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State, is battling severe erosion that has damaged key roads linking residents to farms, schools, markets, health facilities and neighbouring communities.
Residents told this reporter that the crisis has claimed lives, delayed access to healthcare and drained household incomes. Years of appeals, they said, have failed to produce a lasting solution.
A Road Between Life and Death
For Alhaji Danladi Gayawa, the consequences of the damaged roads are measured in lives.
He said pregnant women and sick residents have died after failing to reach hospitals on time.
During heavy rainfall, floodwater makes movement difficult, sometimes cutting off routes used by residents seeking medical care.
For families facing emergencies, the delay can be fatal.
“Pregnant women and sick people have died because they could not get to the hospital on time,” Mr. Gayawa said.
Erosion at Her Doorstep
For Amina, an elderly resident, the danger has moved closer to home.
A deep gully has eaten into the front of her house, restricting her movement and leaving her dependent on neighbours and a walking aid.
Each rainfall threatens to worsen the damage.
She fears the erosion could eventually consume more of her home.
Livelihoods Under Pressure
The crisis is also taking a toll on commercial transport operators.
Muhammadu Habibu, a tricycle operator, said navigating the damaged roads frequently leaves his vehicle with broken parts.
The repeated repairs eat into his daily earnings.
Money meant for food and other household needs, he said, often goes into fixing his tricycle.
For operators like Mr Habibu, avoiding the roads is difficult. They remain vital routes for passengers travelling within and outside Gayawa.
Gullies Cut Through Major Roads
A visit by this reporter revealed deep gullies across Badaru Road, Mallam Natsahare Road and Agantasa Road.
The roads are key links between Gayawa and neighbouring communities.
During rainfall, floodwater sweeps through parts of the routes, forcing some residents to wade through water. Others take longer and more expensive alternatives.
The damaged roads also affect access to farms, schools and markets, residents said.
Residents Resort to Self-help
After years of waiting for government intervention, residents decided to raise money.
The Gayawa Development Association hired heavy equipment to level parts of the damaged roads.
Haruna Usman, a representative of the association, said: “The intervention provided temporary relief, but it did not stop the erosion.”
Usman said the scale of the problem is beyond what residents can address through community contributions.
Traditional Leaders Demand Intervention
Nasiru Saleh Ali, a representative of the District Head of Gayawa, acknowledged ongoing work on the Jaba-Gayawa Road.
Nasiru Saleh Ali, district head representative
However, he said “urgent attention must also be given to Mallam Natsahare Road.
The road serves as an important link between Gayawa, Minjibir and other communities.”
Leaving it in its current condition, he warned, would continue to expose residents to danger and economic hardship.
Government Responds
Efforts to get a response from the Kano State Commissioner for Works, Engr. Marwan Ahmad were unsuccessful.
In an earlier interview, however, Engr. Ahmad said the state government remained committed to rehabilitating dilapidated roads across Kano.
On his part, the Commissioner for Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Dr Dahiru Muhammad Hashim, acknowledged that “Gayawa is among communities severely affected by erosion in the state.”
He said, “The government was working to address the challenge.”
However, residents say they are yet to see a lasting intervention on the worst-hit roads.
Waiting for the Next Rain
In Gayawa, the damaged roads shape everyday decisions.
They determine how quickly a sick person reaches a hospital, how children travel to school and how much transport operators take home after paying for repairs.
And when the rain falls, residents must decide whether to wait for the floodwater to recede or risk crossing.
For Bako and thousands of other residents, the demand is no longer simply for a better road. It is for a safer community before another rainfall claims another life.
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