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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Benue State Government have begun preparations to test the state’s capacity to respond to major flooding, including evacuation, rescue, relief operations and coordination among emergency agencies.
The two-day orientation programme in Makurdi is preparatory to Exercise “Uwar Uma,” a full-scale simulation of riverine and urban flooding designed to identify weaknesses in existing response mechanisms before an actual emergency occurs.
“Uwar Uma,” a Tiv expression meaning “Saving Lives,” will test how early-warning information is received and disseminated, how communities react to imminent flooding and how emergency response is escalated from the community to local, state and federal levels.
Acting Zonal Director, North-Central, NEMA, Suleiman Mohammed, said the exercise had become necessary because of Benue’s vulnerability to flooding arising from its extensive river systems, floodplains, seasonal rainfall and concentration of settlements and economic activities around River Benue and its tributaries.
He said the prevailing flood risk demanded proactive and practical preparedness rather than waiting for disasters to occur.
“Early-warning information must translate into timely community action, evacuation, rescue, relief and recovery support,” Mohammed said.
According to him, the orientation is a critical component of the simulation as it enables participating agencies and organisations to establish a common understanding of the scenarios, objectives, operational procedures, responsibilities and communication arrangements.
“It is also intended to ensure that participants are familiar with the bottom-up emergency response approach, beginning at the community level and progressively escalating through the Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC), the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and, where necessary, to the federal level through NEMA,” he said.
Mohammed said the full-scale exercise would put existing disaster-response plans to a practical test rather than merely assessing them on paper.
“Against this background, the forthcoming simulation is designed to test our collective capacity to translate plans and early-warning information into effective action.
“It will provide an opportunity to examine how information is received and disseminated, how communities respond, how local structures activate their response mechanisms and how additional support is mobilised as the situation escalates.
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“The exercise will also test interoperability among the various agencies and organisations involved in flood disaster management.”
He urged participating organisations to maintain discipline, professionalism and teamwork, particularly in ensuring the safety of personnel, volunteers and members of the public during the simulation.
Mohammed acknowledged the support of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF and the World Bank, saying their partnership was helping to strengthen disaster-risk reduction and emergency preparedness in Nigeria.
He also commended Governor Hyacinth Alia for supporting the initiative, saying improved preparedness would enable agencies to respond faster and more effectively when flooding occurs.
Resident Representative of UNDP in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah, said the agency was partnering with the Federal Government through NEMA, Benue State Government and the World Bank to implement the full-scale flood disaster-response simulation.
Attafuah, represented by Sunday Amama, said the intervention was being supported under UNDP’s Sahel Resilience Project with funding from the Government of Sweden.
She said Benue’s selection as one of the states to host the exercise provided an opportunity to strengthen disaster preparedness, institutional coordination and emergency response mechanisms.
“It demonstrates our shared commitment to safeguarding lives, protecting livelihoods and building resilient communities,” she said.
Attafuah reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to supporting the Federal and state governments through technical assistance, policy advice, capacity development, innovation and financing to strengthen resilience and sustainable development.
Executive Secretary of Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), James Iorpuu, said the state was committed to remaining proactive in disaster-risk reduction and emergency response.
Represented by the agency’s Head of Administration, Samuel Atii, Iorpuu said the exercise was intended to “strengthen our preparedness, test our response mechanisms and improve inter-agency coordination for effective disaster management in the state.”
He commended NEMA, security agencies, development partners and other participants for their collaboration, saying their involvement demonstrated a collective commitment to protecting lives and property in Benue.
