The flood disaster, which ravaged the ancient city of Maiduguri, has opened up a new opportunity for some canoe paddlers, who are cashing in due to high service demand.

Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, has been submerged following last week’s breakdown of spillways at the Alau dam.

Consequently, residential areas and farmlands were submerged, while the flood cut off roads and displaced thousands of households.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who went around the metropolis reported that people were using canoes to move from one point to another, a trend that provided the paddlers with opportunities to earn more money.

In some of the flooded areas, such as College of Agriculture, Muna and 505 Housing Estate, the water forced residents to hire canoes to enable them to access their homes.

A paddler, Haruna, said he charged N5,000 and above to ferry a passenger to the flooded residential quarters and other affected areas.

According to him, most passengers went to their homes for damage assessment or to collect belongings.

He said: “It depends on the distance and what a passenger is going to do. If we are to carry some items, then the charge will rise up to N10,000 or more.”

Also, some fishermen and children enjoyed a good fish harvest in the flood-affected areas. While fishermen used proper fishing nets, the children used mosquito nets and bare hands to fish in the receding waters and artificial ponds created by the floods.

One of the children, Danladi, said the experience was worth it because they made good fish catches.

“Sometimes what we catch is enough for soup when we mobilise in groups. Most of the fish are tiny. We fry or roast them to eat,” Danladi said.

Meanwhile, the Borno State government reopened the Maiduguri Central Market, known as Monday Market, for businesses 10 days after the flood.

Also, the North East Development Commission (NEDC) donated N3 billion to the state government to support small businesses affected by the disaster.