The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has called for shared responsibility among the federal, state and local governments in Nigeria in terms of helping citizens recover from flooding.
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.
The floods have been described as the worst in the country since the 2012 floods.
‘I am deeply distressed by the scope of devastation and suffering that have befallen many Nigerians, caused by the rising floodwaters which have recorded human and material losses with several homes submerged by floods in Kogi, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe State, among others’, the IHRC Head of Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria, Dr Duru Hezekiah, said in a statement.
He said the delay in interventions by the government to find a lasting solution to the seasonal flooding in Nigeria is quite disappointing.
Describing it as inhumane, Hezekiah condemned the fact that amid the overwhelming disaster, not enough attention was being given to the menace in affected states.
He advised that all strategies should be focused on terming the flooding pandemic instead of focusing on the forthcoming elections.
Hezekiah called for the replacement of disaster-damaged public facilities like schools and health care facilities.
‘We need to repair or replace disaster-damaged public facilities like schools and health care facilities, and hazard mitigation assistance for funding measures designed to reduce future losses to public and private property’, he stated.
He urged states to make available to the public a toll-free telephone number in their situation rooms with the task of coordinating responses and obtaining urgent disastrous cases.
Photo source: UNICEF Ethiopia