Tackle recurring flooding with all seriousness

Negative effects of flooding had causes; uncountable loss of lives, damage to buildings and other structures in most parts of the country. These include sewerage system, roadway pavement which gulps multi- billion naira, bridges, canals, etc.


Water borne diseases are also associated to flooding. They include giardia, cholera that send many people to their early graves, typhoid, cryptosporidium and other diseases that still affect our communities.

Flooding damages large farm lands, causing the place unworkable, destroys and also prevents the crops from being harvested at the appropriate time, which results to shortages of food, thus worsening the current inflation that causes hardship for the average Nigerian on daily basis.

Sadly, not only human beings negatively suffer the consequences of floods, sometimes even animals are submerged and lose their lives.

There were reports of damage to power generation facilities including power transformers, which on several occasions result to power outages in many parts of the country. Additionally, it causes severe contamination of water for both domestic and industrial purposes and affects the economy.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had earlier warned that there will be flashes of flood in some parts of the country. It’s well known to most Nigerians that some areas are naturally prone to flooding. I suggest that certain measures should be urgently taken in order to reduce the suffering of the people. We should not continue to allow flood to destabilise the well-being of our people.

Elevation of flowing water is controlled by the geometry of the flow channel and, especially, by depth of channel, speed of flow and amount of sediments in it. Flow channel restrictions like bridges and canyons tend to control water elevation above the restriction. The actual control point for any given reach of the drainage may change with changing water elevation, so a closer point may control for lower water levels until a more distant point control at higher water levels is achieved.

Effective flood channel geometry may be changed by growth of vegetation, construction of bridges, and proper drainage. However, buildings, or levees within the flood channel, is paramount at this material time of uncertainty. This is because Nigerians have suffered more than we can bear. Government has to effectively utilise all within its arsenal to change the narrative for the better.

It’s necessary to properly utilise the ecological fund, which is an intervention fund by the federal government to address the multifarious ecological challenges in various communities across the country.
Government must ensure prime objective of its initiative is achieved, by judiciously funding ecological projects to ameliorate serious ecological problems nationwide. By so doing, flooding can be reduced to minimum level in our country.

Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani,
Galadima Mahmud street,
Kasuwar-Kaji, Azare,
Bauchi State.