The Executive Director, Centre for Environmental and Community Development (CECD), Mr John Akinnuba, has identified poor planning as a major cause of flooding in many cities in the country.

Speaking in an interview with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt, Friday, he said previous administrations in most Nigerian cities did not take time to plan the cities before developing them.

“One of the major problems is that we have not actually planned our communities to be resilient to the scourge of climate change.  Most of our cities were not properly planned before development – no drainages, no trees, the few existing drainages are blocked, how does water flow? he asked.

He said to confront the challenges posed by climate change which includes flooding, government should ensure that all structures built on water channels were demolished and the drains disilted for easy passage of water, adding that there should be a long term plan which would make provision  for proper drainage systems and more trees.

“We need to plant trees around our houses.  All these inter-locks and front house flooring are causing more problems.  Before, people used to plant trees in front of their houses which helped in controlling erosion. But these days, people build their houses and seal the surface of the soil with inter-locks, making it impossible for the soil to breath, thereby causing more environmental havocs”, he said.

Mr Akinnuba advocated that the issue of environmental sanitation should not be left for government alone, rather individuals and organisations should cultivate the habit of keeping their surroundings clean at all times He called for more enlightenment and education on environmental issues by government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), stressing that if people were aware of the consequences of their negative attitudes to the environment, they would desist from them.

On the issue of waste management in Port Harcourt, the environmentalist advocated for more solos to be provided in the city, and the refuse sorted out in different categories for easy evacuation or re-use.

Calista Ezeaku