Nigeria has continued to suffer its worst case of flooding in a long time due to torrential rainfall.
Millions of persons have been affected; over 600 persons have lost their lives in what has been described as the country’s worst flooding disaster in a decade.
Several hectres of farmland have also been submerged in the floods, leading to impending food shortage in Africa’s most populous country.
Response from government
The flood situation, based on recent media reports, has become overwhelming for the affected states, leading to the states calling for assistance from the federal government.
Many states, including Benue, Kogi, Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta, have lamented to the federal government for assistance, because the situation has become overwhelming for them to handle alone.
In responding to these calls, the presidency asked state governments to give an account of how they spent the monies allocated to them from the ecological fund to tackle floods and other ecological problems.
States like Akwa Ibom and Delta however criticised the central government for blaming states over the floods, accusing the federal government of playing politics with the flooding disaster.
The state governments however did not respond to the question of how they spent the monies allocated to them from the ecological fund.
From the response of the presidency, the federal government has already intervened by the allocation of monies from the fund; hence the states should draw up those funds to tackle the current emergencies.
Meanwhile, after a torrential rainfall last week Friday, buildings have been overwhelmed and perimetre fences have been washed away in different parts of Lagos State, including New Oko Oba community in the Ojokoro Local Council Development Area.
In response to this, the Lagos State government said it had stepped up efforts to clamp down on residents who built structures along drains and floodplains.
Although the incident was described as a flash flooding, the Lagos Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, in a statement, urged all enforcement arms of the state to step up their supervisory roles in ensuring the clampdown.
Calls from CSOs
Recently, a group of international civil society organisations urged the federal and affected state governments to declare a state of emergency to help contain the disaster.
The group, including ActionAid Nigeria, CARE International, Plan International Nigeria, and Christian Aid Nigeria, also asked government at all levels to find sustainable ways to curb the perennial flooding.
For its part, the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has asked that the federal, state and local governments share the responsibility of protecting their citizens from disasters and helping them recover.
The United Nations has also pledged continued commitment to supporting the government of Nigeria in this challenging time.
Flooding from Lagdo Dam
An engineer, Benjamin Olajumilo, has blamed the federal government for the recurrent flooding situation in the country.
‘When the Lagdo Dam was built between 1977 and 1982, Nigeria should have also built a dam, at least, two times the size of what they built in Cameroon’, the Punch quoted him as saying.
‘This is so that for whatever reason, when Cameroon releases the water from Lagbo Dam, there will be something to withstand the pressure’.
However, the federal government recently said that water from the Lagdo Dam is not responsible for the flooding that has devastated parts of Nigeria.
Combating the menace
In handling this crisis and for future purposes, state governments should introduce community surveillance and early warning systems for flood prevention and mitigation.
This should prepare states for hazardous climate-related events, as well as the establishment of proper water channels to avoid blocking waterways and ultimately encourage river dredging in the relevant states.
Photo source: Conflict & Development at Texas
