Floods Everywhere, Wreaking Havoc

River Niger has gone berserk, following unprecedented
increase in its volume by the release of water from four dams. This is in
addition to the persistent rainfall in recent times.

Along its path, from Lokoja, Kogi, in the northern part of
the country, to Bayelsa, in the southern part, the river leaves tales of
destruction, exacerbated by water released from the Kainji Dam and Shiroro Dam,
both in Niger, as well as Jebba Dam in Kwara and Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.

It began as a child’s play but before daybreak, floods have
taken over towns across the country, particularly neighbourhoods along the
river banks and the riverside areas; wreaking havoc.

Few people took the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and
National Emergency Management Agency serious when they issued early warnings
that owing to climate change, the country would have a lot of rainfall, between
August and September in particular.

All things being equal, planning, preparations and
management by all stakeholders ought to have promptly commenced to mitigate
looming disasters.

However, it was business as usual: wining and dining
continued along the river banks, farmers busied themselves with planting, while
erection of buildings along the river banks and flood paths continued unabated.

Few Nigerians could even lay claim to knowing what climate
change is all about, in spite of orchestrated campaigns and public sensitisation
activities about the phenomenon. To most Nigerians, God is always in control.

Climate change, which has since become the most topical
environmental issue, is the result of greenhouse gases, principally carbon
dioxide, which are building up in the atmosphere and helping to trap heat.

Scientists claim that this has caused the climate to change
globally, causing ice-melts in some regions and flooding in others. In the past
years, the world has been strategising on how to tackle climate change.

It was, however, not until the water had risen to a
precarious level, for instance, in Kogi, that some residents ran atop trees.
The hapless ones got drowned in the floods, while palliatives were being given
out in camps set up for displaced persons.

Observers maintain that if the people had promptly heeded
the warning and relocated to safer places before the flooding, perhaps, a lot
of lives and property could have been saved. The situation, they add, is
compounded by apathy of most Nigerians toward weather forecasts.

The Lokoja-Abuja highway ,a major thoroughfare between the
southern part and the northern part of the country,  is no longer passable and has to be closed.

NEMA has listed other vulnerable states to include Rivers,
Niger, Benue, Cross River, Katsina and Imo,

According to the agency, the areas that have experienced
severe flooding since the onset of the rainy season include the coastal states
of Lagos, Ondo, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.

For instance, the Kogi flooding claimed more than 11 lives and
destroyed a lot of property.

Mrs Alice Ogedengbe, the acting Executive Secretary of the
Kogi State Emergency Management Agency, said: “The most affected local
government areas are Ibaji, Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Kogi and Kotonkarfe which have
about 20 camps with over 7,378 people.’’

Elsewhere in the country, rescue operations are ongoing,
corpses washed ashore are being picked, displaced persons are being sheltered
in temporary camps, while several residents watch helplessly as their
buildings, livestock and crops get submerged.

In Kano State, no fewer than 19 persons have been confirmed
dead and several others were injured in 30 out of the state’s 44 local
government areas.

In Zamfara, more than 50 persons died in floods, while the
state government has spent N200 million to assist flood victims in Maru,
Maradun and Anka Local Government Areas.

Besides, NEMA says the flood has destroyed 325 houses in
Kaduna State, while in Katsina State, no fewer than seven persons have been
reported dead.

Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo also said that N100 million
would be released to cater for some 30,000 persons who were displaced by
flooding in Etasko East and Etsako Central Local Government Areas.

“Never in history have we had such a natural disaster in the
state. Just as we are concerned, so also is President Goodluck Jonathan,’’ he
said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has engaged the services
of three construction companies to free the submerged Lokoja-Abuja Road from
the flood menace.

Minister of Works Mike Onolememen, said that Jonathan was
visibly touched by the people’s plight, as the Kogi flooding had affected key
national structures, while threatening to cut off the link between the northern
and southern parts of the country.

“We are here on behalf of President Jonathan; he is deeply
touched by the sufferings of Nigerians affected by the flood; it is a national
emergency.

“It has touched on key national infrastructure because the
Abuja-Lokoja highway accounts for 70 per cent of traffic between the north and
south,’’ he said.

Onolememen said that the magnitude of the Kogi flood had
never been experienced in the last 100 years.

Also speaking, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia, the Minister of
Environment, said that the flooding was very unfortunate.

“The situation is worsened because we do not obey
environment rules; this is traumatising,’’ she said, adding that states and
local government councils should do more to discourage property development
along river banks and flood-prone areas.

Gov. Idris Wada of Kogi described the flood disaster as a
major human calamity and a tragic experience for the people of the state.

However, the Senate has requested the President to present a
supplementary budget for the victims of the disaster.

The Federal Ministry of Information has also directed the
broadcast of public enlightenment messages, aimed particularly at communities
along river banks.

Concerned citizens are, nonetheless, asking certain
questions:

“Must a disaster occur before the country begins to put
things in place? Why do people obstinately refuse to relocate to safer places
even when there is imminent danger? Why should people not generally take
environment issues serious?’’

They argue that water, unlike fire, accumulates over time
and gives a long notice before it overflows and causes destruction.

Dr Adewale Oyeniyi, an environmentalist, urged relevant
authorities to organise pragmatic enlightenment campaigns on environmental
issues for the people.

He underscored the need for the sensitisation activity,
particularly now that the citizens were becoming more conscious of the fact
that weather predictions could be very accurate.

“Our attitude to the environment is deplorable, a situation
where drains are blocked, where people are allowed to live in buildings built
on flood paths should end,’’ he said.

Oyeniyi said that channelisation of water to other rivers,
apart from River Niger, should also be encouraged.

“If that practice had been adopted, River Niger could not
have over-flown its banks, leading to destruction of lives and property,’’ he
added.

Besides, Oyeniyi said that water releases from dams should
be done continually; adding such releases should be made regularly because of
earlier predictions that volume of rain this year would be more.

Apart from causing disruption to the environment, flood
disasters could also affect the people’s health and disrupt academic calendars,
while causing food insecurity.

The spate of flooding across the country has obviously
affected farming activities, further threatening the country’s food security.

Mr Haruna Muhammed, Chairman, Mile 12 Market Management
Committee, said that there was a perceptible shortage of green vegetables in
the markets due to the flooding.

“If you visit some vegetable farms now, you will be amazed
to see how flood has eroded whole farms, leaving nothing for the farmers to
harvest,’’ he said.

Muhammed, who noted that it was quite easy to manage floods
in vegetable farms, nonetheless, conceded that the current situation was
overwhelming and far beyond the farmers’ control.

Mr Sarki Ibrahim, the head of Lille, a village in Nasarawa
which was ravaged by floods, appealed to the government and affluent
individuals to come to the aid of the affected farmers.

Mr Bolaji Alonge, a farm developer, however, attributed the
current shortage of food in the country to the drastic change in climate.

He, however, proposed that Nigerian farmers should embrace
all-season planting, noting that all-season farmers were quite few in the
country.

As floods continue their rampage, many observers propose the
adoption of anticipatory measures, good planning procedures and effective
management techniques in handling downpours and resultant floods in the
country.

Buki Ponle