Editorial
Tackling Flooding In Rivers
Obviously rattled by the devastation caused by the massive flash floods, penultimate weekend, in most parts of Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike empathised with victims of the disaster, and assured that his administration will work with relevant agencies to tackle the menace.
Speaking after inspecting the areas affected by the two days of torrential rainfall, the governor, who was accompanied by Julius Berger engineers and officials of the state Ministry of Works, directed relevant government agencies to take immediate remedial measures as well as embark on regular desilting of major canals, creeks and waterways in the flood-prone areas in the state.
The Tide, indeed, joins the governor in sympathising with the victims of the recent flood disaster, especially against the backdrop of the devastating effect it had on many residents and their properties across the state.
We are, however, saddened that in spite of the warnings by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), forecasting this kind of occurrence in the state, the flash flood still had a field day. Given the NIMET’s warning and in view of the fact that flooding has become an annual ritual in the state because of its topography, we had expected all stakeholders to have taken preventive measures to forestall this ugly occurrence.
We have observed over time that many residents and others doing business in the state are in the habit of dumping solid wastes into drainages and water channels, thereby inhibiting free-flow of water. While we urge residents to stop this unhealthy habit, we also call on relevant government agencies such as Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) to be alive to their responsibilities by ensuring that culprits are brought to book.
We are, however, glad to know that RIWAMA, last Monday, sacked desilting contractors for sabotaging government’s efforts towards checking flooding in the state, especially the state capital and its environs. Even at that, we had expected RIWAMA to have given the contractors close monitoring and not wait until disasters, like the recent one, had occurred before acting.
We also observe lack of synergy between RIWAMA and other relevant stakeholders, particularly Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning, and Ministry of Works, in prevention and management of disasters such as the recent flooding in some parts of the state.
More worrisome is the fact that despite the presence of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the state, its officials were hardly seen on ground before, during and after the disaster that trapped many victims for hours. It is unfortunate that as at the moment, NEMA is yet to provide the number of casualties and value of properties damaged by the flooding, let alone proffering measures to cushion the negative impact on victims.
This, to us, is sad and unacceptable. It is, indeed, a clear indication of the total neglect of its responsibilities to the people of the state. In fact, the sufferings of the people of the state in the aftermath of the 2012 flooding are still very fresh in our minds.
This is why we urge the state government to consider the establishment of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), equipped with adequate facilities and manpower to quickly intervene and respond to urgent and desperate disaster management needs in the state.
While we advocate the continuous desilting of canals, creeks, drainages and waterways, we urge residents, who have formed the habit of dumping solid wastes indiscriminately, to desist forthwith, so as to assist the state government in its effort to achieve a flood-free environment in the state.
There are moments in the life of a legislature when plain speaking becomes a public service. Senator Adams Oshiomhole provided such a moment on the floor of the Senate when he accused the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, of manifestly neglecting critical federal arteries in Edo and Delta States, and implored his colleagues to prevail on the Minister to adopt a more equitable and genuinely national approach to road infrastructure delivery. It was blunt, it was uncomfortable, and it was necessary.
The specifics of his complaint deserve restating. Drawing attention to the recent approval of some 20 new road projects despite the parlous state of existing ones, the former Edo State governor lamented that Nigerians cannot travel from Benin to Warri, Benin to Asaba, Benin to Auchi, or Auchi to Okene without encountering severe distress. He alleged a deliberate omission of these corridors from the national budget in the last three years, save for palliative interventions directed by President Bola Tinubu through tax credit arrangements. His question — “What have we done wrong?” — resonates far beyond the chambers of the National Assembly.
We lend our full and unequivocal support to that call. The Auchi-Benin Road, for instance, has been in a deplorable and near-impassable condition for several years, turning what should be a two-hour journey into an all-day ordeal of broken axles, extortionate fares, and despondent commuters. The media have, on multiple occasions, chronicled the suffering of motorists, traders, and students who ply that route. To describe it as a federal road today is to stretch the meaning of the term beyond recognition.
This pattern of sidelining is not confined to Edo or Delta. Even here in Rivers State, the disposition of the Federal Ministry of Works has left much to be desired, particularly along the Eleme axis of the East-West Road. That road, which ought to be a flagship of federal presence in the Niger Delta, has remained in a wretched state for long. Those who use it daily — workers at the Eleme Petrochemical Complex, the two refineries, Onne Port, and the countless ancillary industries — can attest to its deterioration. Work has proceeded in fits and starts without the sustained urgency such a strategic road demands.
The Eleme stretch is not a mere intra-state byway. It is the gateway to the nation’s economic jugular. According to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing’s 2023 Highway Condition Survey, only about 35 per cent of the country’s 36,000 kilometres of federal roads are rated as being in good or fair condition, with the remainder classified as poor or very poor. The East-West Road, conceived in the 1970s to bind the entire Niger Delta, remains unfinished in critical sections more than four decades after. If it had been treated as a priority, the perennial gridlock, carnage, and economic loss on the Eleme-Refinery junction would have long been consigned to history.
The irony is as painful as it is glaring. The Niger Delta remains the goose that lays the golden eggs. Data from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative [NEITI 2023 Oil and Gas Audit] show that the region still accounts for over 78 per cent of Nigeria’s federally collected export earnings and about 65 per cent of total government revenue. The National Bureau of Statistics [NBS Foreign Trade Report Q4 2024] similarly confirms that crude oil continues to dominate export receipts. By every metric of equity and economic logic, a region that sustains the national purse deserves first-rate consideration in the allocation of infrastructure, not afterthoughts and tokenism.
Road infrastructure is not largesse to be dispensed by favour; it is the skeleton upon which commerce, cohesion, and citizenship hang. When contracts are concentrated in one geopolitical zone while other zones are left to contend with craters, it erodes trust in the federation itself. The World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update [June 2023] estimated that poor transport connectivity inflates the cost of moving goods by up to 40 per cent and costs the Nigerian economy an estimated $1.5 billion annually in lost man-hours and vehicle maintenance. If we profess to be one country, then equity must be the compass that guides key institutions before any project is executed. Development must spread round, not pool in one place as though other regions do not matter.
There is also a grave security dimension that can no longer be ignored. The deplorable condition of federal roads has become a veritable enabler of criminality. The NBS Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey reported over 2.5 million incidents of kidnapping-related occurrences nationally, with transport workers identifying bad road spots as prime ambush points. When vehicles are forced to crawl at 10 kilometres per hour through failed sections at Auchi, Sapele Road, or Eleme, they become sitting ducks for armed gangs. Fixing bad roads, therefore, is not merely about convenience; it is about safeguarding lives.
By his intervention, Senator Oshiomhole has hit the nail on the head and reminded Minister Umahi of a fundamental constitutional truth: public office is held in trust. The Ministry of Works is not a personal estate where contracts are awarded according to whim or political convenience. It is a national institution funded by the collective resources of Nigerians, including the oil and gas rents from the very communities whose roads are now neglected. The Minister must demonstrate balance, transparency, and a pan-Nigerian outlook in the distribution of projects that impact the daily existence of citizens. Selective neglect breeds suspicion, and suspicion is corrosive at a time when the nation is preaching unity, oneness, equity, and justice.
Consequently, the National Assembly must go beyond rhetoric and assert its oversight powers with vigour. Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution [as amended] empower the legislature to investigate and expose any maladministration in the execution of federal projects. If an office holder is not acting rightly, it is the duty of the Senate and the House of Representatives to call him to order. Oversight must not be reduced to budget approval ceremonies; it must translate to field verification, public hearings, and insistence that the Federal Character principle, as enshrined in Section 14(3) of the Constitution, reflects in road awards.
Let the Auchi-Okene, Benin-Warri, Benin-Asaba, and Eleme East-West gangways be restored to motorable dignity. Let priority be given to completing existing, economically vital roads before embarking on new ones. If those who, through their resources, sustain the federation are sidelined in the distribution of tangible dividends, it tells poorly of our nationhood. Bad roads must be fixed, and they must be fixed now, with fairness as the guiding standard.
