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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 have been 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 and appearing desperately 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 a recurrence. That is the sad story of Nigeria’s panicky control measures that have left the country losing out to floods every year. And 2022 is not an exception. If anything, the extent of flooding and its impacts have been more devastating.
Nigeria is battling its worst flood crisis in the last 10 years. Government sources put the number of people killed so far at 300. Agency reports, however, indicate 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, in addition to 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.
Only a 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 State governor, Senator Douye Diri, as he recounted the impact of the disaster on his state this year alone was discomforting. 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 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs. Nigeria already has challenges of food security and inflation. There are, therefore, fears of bigger crises 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 man-hours in a period of heightened insecurity.
The flood should not have had the impacts it has on the country if necessary actions were taken at the appropriate time. During the rainy season, 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 states. The timing is predictable and can be managed. Unlike some natural disasters, flooding can be controlled with proper planning and provision of infrastructure.
We agree with Adaku Jane Echendu of Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada, 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.
On its part, government is always quick to explain the flood on the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in northern Cameroon. But that is where it has mostly failed in taking measures necessary to address the situation. 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 ad hoc arrangement or a chance for populist posturing by government agents. All hands must be on deck in fighting the menace.
