The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia
has said that lives could be saved and losses minimised if flood alerts were
taken more seriously.

Mrs. Mailafia who stated this shortly after inspecting
flood-ravaged parts of Bauchi, Benue, Jigawa, Kano and Plateau States while
addressing flood victims recently expressed personal anguish and pain of
President Goodluck Jonathan at the suffering the flood has caused the victims.

She expressed Mr. President’s sadness for the loss of loved
ones, all their life savings, possessions and homelessness.

“The monumental losses suffered in many states and the
destruction of lives and property calls for sober reflection.

It calls for review of our strategies and commitments
towards mitigating the devastating effects of climate change” she said.

She said that incidents of recurring flash floods in various
parts of the country, particularly in the North hitherto noted for drought
under underscored the reality of climate change.

The Minister reiterated the need for citizens, particularly
residents of flood prone areas to heed the early warnings of the Ministry on
impending floods and to promptly evacuate so that lives were not avoidably
lost.

She further urged Nigerians not to hesitate in evacuating
their abodes when directed to do so by local authorities.

The Environment boss advised residents against the dumping
of refuse on drainages, gutters and the blockage of canals which aggravates
floods. She advised against building of houses on flood plains or the river
banks and streams, inspite of prohibitions put in place by the town planning
authorities.

She called for the stoppage of tree felling which
contributed to environmental degradation and appealed to people to embrace and
adopt the use of alternative sources of cooking energy such as gas stoves in
order to preserve the country’s forests reserve.

The Minister observed that tree felling was detrimental to
the federal government’s presidential initiative on Afforestation.

She said the aim of the programme was to stem the tide of
desertification and the consequent loss of arable  land.

She called on the states that were yet to take advantage of
free seedlings available under the scheme to do so without delay.

The minister appealed to all Nigerians to take environment
issues more seriously and act individually or collectively to protect the
environment.

It would be recalled that the Minister of Environment is
heading a deligation constituted by the federal government last week to visit
flood affected states with a view to assessing the extent of flooding and
damage to take more remedial action.

Members of the committee include, the Minister of Water
Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe and the Permanent Secretary, Ecological Fund
Office, Dr. Mac John Nwaobiala.