By Emeka Alex Duru
(06054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)
Pictures and video clips of displaced Nigerians in many states of the federation, illustrate the impacts of flood in the affected communities. The sights are piteous and troubling. Those that survive, are considered lucky, being alive. Many are not, as they are washed off by the rampaging flood or killed by other factors related to it.
At such moments, you would notice senior government officials and health care providers, literally on heat, prancing about, making declarations and appearing genuinely in search of solutions to the menace. But two or three weeks after the waters have come down, life continues and nothing is done to prevent future occurrence. That is the sad story of Nigeria’s panicky control measures that have left the country losing out to floods every year. 2022 is another season of Nigeria’s flood of sorrow. If anything, the extent of flooding and its impacts have been more devastating.
Nigeria is currently battling its worst flood crisis in the last ten years. Government sources put the number of people killed so far at 300. Agency Reports however claim that more than 600 people have been lost to flooding this year, 1.3 million displaced, and over 200,000 homes destroyed.
In Jigawa State alone, more than 20 people were killed in the past weeks, aside the earlier 91 deaths recorded in the state. In Anambra, some citizens leaving flood-ravaged areas in the state, were drowned in Ogbaru council, when a boat ferrying them capsized. There was also a pathetic case of one Ginikanwa Izuoba in Enugu-Otu, Aguleri, who died when her house collapsed due to the impact of the flood. Many have really gone, under the challenge.
Only few states in the country are not affected by the surge. The worst hit are communities and states in the littoral regions, though upland settlements are not spared. Large number of families have been affected, while the number of displaced persons keeps rising.
Watching Bayelsa governor, Senator Douye Diri, the other day, as he recounted the impact of the disaster on his state, was discomforting. In practical terms, Diri has admitted that the state is overwhelmed and needs assistance from the federal government, local and international organisations as well as public-spirited individuals.
According to him, the flood has severely impacted lives and livelihoods, with nearly a million people in over 300 communities displaced and some deaths reported.
He said: “Over the last few days, floods have overwhelmed our communities and severely impacted the lives and livelihood of our people. The narrative is the same across Sagbama, Ekeremor, Southern Ijaw, Ogbia, Yenagoa, Nembe and Kolokuma Opokuma Local Government Areas. Businesses have been shut, properties lost and farm lands destroyed.
“Critical infrastructure like hospitals, roads, bridges and schools, including the state-owned Niger Delta University, Amassoma, the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, and the University of Africa, Toru-Orua, have been severely affected”.
The governor added that the state had been severed from the rest of the country as portions of the East-West Road, which is the sole access to and from the state, have collapsed. There can be no better expression of desperation and despondency.
Bayelsa is in trouble and requires help, urgently. That is the situation elsewhere. Out of the 36 states of the federation, 27 are battling with the floods. Even Abuja is under threat of water surge from Kogi State capital, Lokoja.
The disaster has also destroyed hectares of farmlands, worsening fears of further disruption of food supply. In Nasarawa state, it has affected one of the nation’s largest rice farms, Olam Nigeria Limited, which may lead to scarcity and hike in the prices of food items in the days ahead. There are already fears of the price of rice going up by December as massive flooding from River Benue damaged the company’s crops and infrastructure.
According to the Vice President of the company, Ade Adefeko, the incident affected its $20 million investment and about 25 percent of Nigeria’s rice needs. Nigeria already has challenges of food security and inflation. There are therefore, fears of bigger crisis ahead.
Road users are not spared the stress of the moment. The Lokoja-Abuja Road which connects the North and South has practically been cut off, paralyzing economic activities, including food supply chain on that stretch and prompting the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to issue travel alerts to travellers on that road to use alternative routes. This, of course comes with extra cost and loss of time in a period of heightened insecurity.
The flood should not have had the impacts it has on the country if relevant actions were taken at the appropriate time. During the rainy seasons –March to July and mid-August to mid-October in the South, and July to October in the North – the Benue and the Niger Rivers often burst their banks, resulting to flooding in Delta, Kogi, Anambra, Bayelsa, Adamawa, and Niger. The timing is predictable and can be managed. Unlike some natural disasters, flooding can be controlled with proper planning and provision of necessary infrastructure. But here, we do not. We only rely on sheer mother luck, which regularly fails us.
In many ways, Adaku Jane Echendu of Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada, is right that Nigeria’s flooding is mainly human induced with poor urban planning practices and inadequate environmental infrastructure being contributing factors. Citizens are also not sufficiently involved in the planning process. This leads to disdain and apathy towards formal planning institutions. In addition, existing drainage systems are clogged with rubbish. So, when it rains, the blocked drainage systems are unable to collect and channel the water away from residential areas. You can blame laxity in enforcement of relevant environmental legislations on this.
Government is alwaysusually quick to explain the flood on the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in Northern Cameroon. The lame excuse has come up this year, going by explanations by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in a terse press statement on September 19. The Agency said: “The Lagdo dam operators in the Republic of Cameroon have commenced the release of excess water from the reservoir by September 13, 2022. We are aware that the released water cascades down to Nigeria through River Benue and its tributaries thereby inundating communities that have already been impacted by heavy precipitation”.
No assurances were given to the people, no commitment made towards alleviating their pains. As far as NEMA is concerned, the tepid explanation is enough for the people to ‘find their level’, as we say in our local parlance. But that is where the government has manifestly failed in its primary duty of protecting the life and property of the citizens, in this case, not taking measures necessary to address the flooding situation beforehand. The construction of the Lagdo Dam started in 1977 and was completed in 1982.
Cameroon and Nigeria were supposed to build two dams at inception, such that the Nigerian dam, the Dasin Hausa Dam which was to be cited in Adamawa State, would contain water released from the Lagdo Dam at any point in time, boost electricity generation and aid irrigation. But this was not done, hence the excess water from Cameroon’s end has continued to cause serious consequences on frontline states and communities along the courses of Rivers Niger and Benue. Much needs to be done to correct the situation.
So, tackling flooding in the country, requires comprehensive measures from the government and the people. It is not an issue of adhoc arrangement or a chance for populist posturing by government agents. All hands must be on the deck in fighting the menace.
* DURU is the Editor, TheNiche Newspapers, Lagos