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The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Disaster Management and Preparedness, Joseph Bassey, has described the recent landslide in Cross River State as the worst of its kind in Nigeria, warning that the disaster is beyond the capacity of the state and Federal Government alone.
Reacting to the disaster during an interview in Calabar, Bassey, who represents Akpabuyo, Bakassi and Calabar South Federal Constituency, said the scale of destruction “is above what we expected” despite early warnings on flooding and rainfall issued earlier this year.
“I don’t think anywhere in Nigeria has such magnitude of landslide. There’s nowhere in Nigeria so far,” Bassey said.
He noted that Cross River was listed among the states at high risk due to climate change and that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had even conducted simulations in the state.
“We had preempted this situation. We knew with climate change that very soon this would happen. Unfortunately, it has been very severe,” he said.
Bassey said that while the Cross River State Government had responded quickly, including Governor Bassey Otu inspecting affected areas in the rain, the resources available were not enough to handle a disaster of this scale.
“The state government has done well. They’ve reduced the negative impact. But truly, it’s above the state government. They don’t have the resources to run such massive projects.
“We’ll try to make provisions for more government interventions for Cross River State in the next budget session,” he said.
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Because of the magnitude of the disaster, Bassey said Nigeria must look beyond Abuja for support.
“It calls for not only the federal government. I think we are also looking at international organisations to try to see how they can also help us,” he said.
He identified other areas within Calabar, particularly in his constituency, as “seriously at risk” and urged residents in low-lying and landslide-prone communities to relocate immediately.
“Most of them ignorantly do not understand that these places are prone to landslide of that magnitude. They might think it’s just normal erosion. Life is better than taking that risk,” he warned.
Bassey linked the severity of the disaster to the region’s climate, noting that this is why major roads such as the Calabar–Itu Road are being built with reinforced concrete.
He said his committee is working with the Federal Ministry of Environment to scale up support for the state.
This year’s rains severely affected the state, causing three landslides in the Ikot Awatim, Boro Pit and Obutong communities in Calabar metropolis. The disaster also claimed eight lives, while properties worth millions of naira were lost.
