Flood: How to avert future occurrence in Nigeria  

This flood disaster which is said to be one of the worse in the history of Nigeria left in its trail hundreds of people dead, 3 million displaced, and 45,249 building submerged with many saying its impact will be felt for a very long time. In this write up, JOHN OBA looks examines the government’s effort at preventing future occurrence.   

Countries across the world have suffered severe submerged due to excessive flood that has killed thousands of people and caused unimaginable destructions. As usual, Nigeria has also tasted the bitter pile of flooding; it is ranked alongside Palestine countries as countries that are worse hit by the flood.

Earlier in the year, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources outlook report had warned that 233 Local Government Areas (LGA) in 32 States of the federation and the FCT fall within the highly probable flood risks areas. Also, 212 LGAs in 35 States of the federation, including FCT, fall within the moderately probable flood risk areas, while the remaining 329 LGAs fall within the probable flood risks areas.

But lack of adequate preparation led to the current disaster. 

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), reported that over 1.4 million people have been displaced due to the floods as of October 2022. Since July, over three million people have been affected in 34 states in the worst flooding the country has seen in over a decade. At least 603 people have died and over 2,400 have been injured.

Also, over 569,251 hectares of farmland have been destroyed or damaged by floods and billions of agricultural produces destroyed ahead of harvest season and may aggravate already alarming food insecurity.

While access remains a challenge in some affected areas, some isolated communities can only be reached by boat, delaying the response.

Yet, the challenges are not limited to the above, reports indicate that over 45,249 houses have been destroyed or damaged; hundreds of thousands of people have had their livelihoods and access to food compromised.  

The flooding has exacerbated an already bad situation of severe cholera outbreak that has killed more than 465 people and affected over 18,000 others in 31 states since January. Floods increase the transmission of water-borne and vector-borne diseases, such as cholera, malaria and typhoid fever.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), flooding and security concerns have led to reported population movements from places with cholera outbreaks to places not yet affected, increasing the risk of further spread of the disease. While the WFP estimates 1.83 billion persons or 23 per cent of the global population to be at risk of flooding.

Rice producers have warned that the floods could impact prices in the country; this is despite the fact that Nigeria is ranked by World Food Programme and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, among six countries facing a high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.  While the International Monetary Fund forecasts the flooding to worsen food insecurity and inflation already at over 20 per cent.

Experts insist that the impact of the current floods would have been much less severe in Nigeria if the federal, states and LGs had heeded warnings of impending floods and taken appropriate proactive measures.

The World Bank says flooding can potentially, “reverse years of progress in poverty reduction and development.”

Some of the states worse affected include Lagos, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo, Abia States, and the Federal Capital Territory.

Government’s action

Responding to the devastations, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, to inaugurate a committee that would within 90 days develop a comprehensive plan of action for the prevention of future floodings.

The President’s directive was conveyed to the minister in a letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, according to a statement on Monday by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu.

A week after the directive, Engr. Adamu in Abuja inaugurated a 30-member Steering and Technical Working Committees for the development of comprehensive plan of action for prevention of floods Nigeria.

While inaugurating the committees in Abuja on Thursday, Engr. Adamu, who is the coordinating minister, said the Presidential directive will be carried out under a two-tier institutional arrangement, consisting of this Steering Committee and a Technical Working Group.

He said the former, being the upper arm, is to steer the assignment in the right direction and to a logical conclusion in alignment with the teams of reference (TOR).

According to him, the Technical Working Group’s responsibility is to organize its work in accordance with the directives from the Steering Committee, and in areas when needed, form technical subcommittees and set the appropriate technical framework for the assignment.

“It is no longer news that the recent 2022 floods in the country have thrown several communities into hardship, submerged homes in over 34 states, and destroyed properties estimated at billions of Naira.

“Recall in May this year I presented the General Flood Outlook (AFO) for the year. The outlook showed 233 Local Government Areas (LGA) in 32 States of the Federation, and the FCT fall within the highly Probable Flood Risks Areas. Also, 212 LGAs in 35 States of the Federation, including FCT, fall within the Moderately Probable Flood Risk Areas, while the remaining 329 LGAs fall within the Probable Flood Risks Areas.

“Flooding incidences in Nigeria over the years have been caused mainly by overflow of silted rivers and poor drainage systems from localized rainfalls that generate flash flooding in urban areas,” he said.

He, therefore, charged the committee members to carry out this task with the utmost sense of responsibility, bearing in mind that “we cannot afford to fail in this national assignment.”

Also speaking, the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Hassan Abdullahi, said there is the need for the committee to see how they can proffer solution to naturally or man-made flooding.

He called on state governments to be strict with land allotment and citizens building on water ways, saying “these and more are the causes of flooding.”

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who is also a member of the committee, said the committee has a lot to do because it is not only to plan for the immediate, but also for the future.

He assured that his ministry is ready to collaborate with other arm of government to curb the menace of flood.

Averting food shortage

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Mohammed Abubakar, has revealed that a contingency plan is already in place, adding that a Revised Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was okayed by the council members.

“But what are we going to do, like I said, it’s to use dry season farming to compensate for this loss. In fact, we are planning to even produce twice during this dry season farming for some of the crops. In areas of conflict, we are recruiting additional rangers. We already have Agro Rangers that provide some measure of security on farmlands. We are recruiting more to do that.

“The President has specifically directed that we do everything humanly possible to make sure there is no food shortage in the country and I can tell you, there will not be any food shortage. In response to the flood, government has begun the construction of mini-earth dams to reduce the mitigation of the impact of flood disasters in Nigeria,” he said.

He added that the government is currently restocking the country’s strategic food reserves with 200,000 metric tons of assorted commodities.

According to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Mrs Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the government through her ministry, has established 44 shelters in 24 states and most of the persons of concern have been evacuated onto higher planes. NEMA has deployed interventions.

International supports

The floods have attracted international support and sympathies. In a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, King Charles III sympathised with Nigeria over the “devastating” incidents.

The African Development Bank has responded by donating $249m (N109.3bn) to tackle the flood while the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) donated $5m to the federal government to assist in tackling the flood and increase food production in the country.

Also, the International Federation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent (IFRC) has issued a Floods Emergency Appeal of $13 million to provide clean water, emergency shelter and cash to half a million people in several states.

Experts speak

Experts across the country have blamed governments at all levels for having misappropriated the ecological and disaster management fund over the years. They lamented that State governors and the LGs attach zero value to environmental issues.

Others blamed climate change, storms, earthquakes, heavy rainfall, damaged dams, and poor environmental practices.

To mitigate the effects of global warming, the World Meteorological Organisation suggests investment in integrated water resources management, a comprehensive framework for managing water resources and balancing social and economic needs, while protecting ecosystems, such as wetlands that mitigate flooding.

The federal government has also been urged to carry out integrity tests on structures affected by flood before people are allowed to occupy such buildings. No fewer than 45,249 houses were reportedly affected by flood across some states of the federation.

The Vice Chairman, Estate Surveyor and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, Steven Jagun, expressed the need for adequate integrity tests before occupants would be allowed to go back to their buildings after the flooding.

“In simple science, if water soaks anything, it affects it. Even if buildings are not completed, if water soaks it over time, it will start breaking. The iron in the building will lose its strength. Sometimes, the effect may not be felt immediately but overtime the building will start giving way. So it’s better for people to do integrity tests to see the strength of the building to guarantee that it’s still safe to occupy,” he added.