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….lists other proactive measures to stop the perennial flood
A development expert and Coordinator, Global Development Initiative (GNI), Engr. Micheal Ale, has tasked the Biodun Oyebanji led state government in Ekiti State to urgently seek for intervention from the World bank on the perennial flood that ravages the state.
Ale said it was high time the state government harvested a team of intellectuals that are in the academic community in the state to assisting in drafting a request for help from the World Bank so that the perennial flood in the state could be a thing of the past.
He also urged that there is need to urgently create strong institutional framework that would combat the perennial incident of flooding in the state. Engr Ale who also deal with water drilling business and has been an expert on water resources management , urged the people to desist from daring the flood whenever there is heavy rain so that they do not fall victim of being drowned in the flood.
He made the remarks in a statement he made available to newsmen on Tuesday following the deaths recorded of residents of Ekiti state who fell victim of the heavy rain and were washed away in the accompanying flood on Monday.
Advocating for the continued implementation of a development master plan for the state as part of the steps to curb perennial flood, he said : “Flood is a global issue and all countries must be prepared to handle it well. Flood causes problem in places where there is a crowd of people. So, when there is development in a community, there is a need for a development master plan which would make it possible for people not to experience challenges when it is raining. Such development covers drainage system and the proper attitude of people during rainy seasons. There is need to channel the passage of water properly so that when flood occurs, it does not cause havoc.
So there is a dire need to plan our environment well in a way flood would not cause problems when it rains heavily. Such plan is very important.
Speaking further, Ale said: “While forecasting of the weather is good , there should also be practice measures to curb flooding. The announcement enlightening people on the cautionary steps to take to avoid being victims of flood should be made much earlier not when the rainy season starts. In most cases what causes heavy flooding in Nigeria and other parts of Africa is attributed to the opening of Lagdo dam in Cameroon. Anytime it is full and it is open, it causes heavy flooding from that part up there into Nigeria. The forecasting from our meteorologists needs to be followed with information on how people can manage it. World bank had once intervened when there was massive flooding in lbadan, they made a very big drainage that has since solved the problem. The Oyo state government then asked for help from the World Bank and they gave it and solved the problem once and for all. Ekiti State can do the same. We should not just forecast, but let us ask for meaningful intervention. The state government can set up a committee of experts who will work on a very big project that would address the flood issue holistically and solve the problem once and for all, like it has been done in lbadan.
“Ekiti state should ask for help from FG and from the world bank to assist in solving the problem once and for all. We are a state with great intellectuals. We should not be witnessing this kind of problem.
It is true that we the people can do something and what we are doing now is part of it. NGOs can also advocate and educate people on how to avoid flood. We ought to have started such advocacy long ago before now so that the people would be better informed and enlightened. But the major thing is for our state government to urgently reach out to the world bank and FG to assist on this issue.
”There should also be building control so that we don’t have a situation whereby building would block water ways. What is happening now is much bigger and that is what can solved the problem.
We mourn those who have been drowned in this on going heavy rain but I want to urge our people to ask for help. We know our Governor has been doing well and the Commissioner who spoke on flooding today earlier has done well. But I want to advise that our experts in the higher institutions should be approached to work on a proposal to the World Bank and seek for help. But before we get the world bank help ,our state government should urgently assist us to start constructing drainages around. We are highly educated people in Ekiti. We also urge our people not to dare the flood when there is heavy rain so that we don’t fall victim of the flood. When it is flooded we should be patient for the water recede before we move in it .
“Development is something a collective plan. We must have a master plan for development. I know Ekiti has such plan, so, we should adhere to such plan so that as we develop, we don’t disrupt channels that protect us from floods. Our government should be proactive in this matter and take concrete steps towards getting ecological fund and world bank assistance .
”Another rainy season, another tragedy in Ado Ekiti. Reports again of citizens washed away at Ureje, Elemi, Odo-Ado and Faglo – an elderly woman, an okada rider, young Nigerians trying to cross a bridge.
“Whether the victims are three or four, the real question is not the body count. The question is: why does Elemi River flood every single year? We have made a national mistake. We campaign for good leaders, we pray for good leaders, we blame bad leaders. But development does not come from good leaders. Development comes from strong institutions. With strong institutions, even a bad leader is confined to a system that benefits the masses. With weak institutions, even a good leader becomes helpless.
“Flood in Ado Ekiti is predictable. NIMET predicts it. The rivers are known – Ureje, Elemi. The causes are known – building on waterways, blocked drains, no dredging before rainy season, refuse in canals. If it is predictable and preventable, why does it happen yearly? It is because we have no institutional framework that enforces consequences. We must ask the following fundamental questions: Where is the active Town Planning institution that stops a man from building on a flood plain at Oke-Ila or Nova Road? In 2013, Governor Fayemi said houses without approval on flood plains would be demolished. 13 years later, the same houses are still there, and new ones have joined them; Where is the Waste Management institution that penalizes dumping refuse in drains? We dredge in January, citizens fill it with waste in March; Where is the Emergency Management institution with functional early warning? People were still attempting to cross Ureje Bridge while water was over the bridge.We need a system where dredging MUST happen every November, whether governor likes it or not, and a Monitoring and Evaluation unit that publishes compliance,” he said.
Engr. Ale listed measures that must urgently be taken in Ekiti to prevent perennial flooding that claims lives and properties. He said : “Ekiti State has a 30-year Development Plan. It clearly states flood control, sustainable urbanization and environmental resilience as pillars. But where is the Monitoring and Evaluation?
“Development without M&E is a press statement. Every flood in Ado Ekiti is a violation of the State Development Plan, but there is no quarterly M&E dashboard that says: “Elemi dredging: Not Done. Ureje desilting: 40% Done. Building approvals on waterways: 15 illegal approvals.
“If we had a statutory M&E Agency reporting to the House of Assembly, not to the Governor, with powers to publish compliance, flood would reduce by 70%. Ekiti House of Assembly should pass a Flood Resilience and Urban Planning Enforcement Law that makes annual dredging of Ureje and Elemi mandatory before March, creates 50-meter no-build buffer zones, and criminalizes building without drainage clearance.
“Like Oyo state government earlier did, Ekiti needs an autonomous agency with World Bank / AfDB partnership, with 5-year funding ring-fenced, not subject to yearly budget politics. Government should periodically publish Ekiti State Development Plan compliance report every quarter. Let citizens know which ministry failed. We should not praise divers for rescuing 5 people at Ureje Bridge. We should query the system that allowed 800 commuters to be trapped at Ureje bank in the first place.
”Nigerians, let us canvass for good institutions, not just good leaders. Good leaders come and go every 4 years. Strong institutions protect us for 50 years. With the right institutions, a bad leader cannot build on a waterway, and a good leader does not need to beg citizens not to dump refuse in drains.
”The flood that washed away our brothers and sisters in Ado Ekiti did not happen because the leader is bad. It happened because the institution that should have stopped it does not exist, or exists only on paper.
“May God comfort the families affected. And may we finally build systems that stop the next flood before it comes.”
