Nation
2021 Floods: NEMA Calls For Stakeholders’ Effective Response
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has called on stakeholders to work together to strengthen community resilience and response to floods in the country.
Director-General, NEMA, Mr Mustapha Ahmed, made the call at a National Consultative Workshop on 2021 Flood Preparedness, Mitigation and Response, yesterday in Abuja.
Ahmed said that the workshop was one of its expedient steps necessary to collectively prepare for and provide strategies to strengthen flood risk mitigation and response among emergency stakeholders.
He said following flood incidences in many parts of the country, the agency
is monitoring the situation to activate Emergency Operations Centres in the affected areas for search and rescue.
Ahmed said that there had been reported cases in 210 Local Government Areas in 32 States and Federal Capital Territory with attendant loss of lives, livelihoods and properties.
He added that the agency on its part would also be conducting assessment to support the displaced persons.
“As part of our collective responsibilities Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) need to always come together with the view to plan for effective response to flood, to save lives, destruction of properties and infrastructures.
“Since the release of climate prediction NiMet and Flood Outlook by NIHSA, NEMA carefully series of activities to flood preparedness, mitigation and response measures, most of which have been implemented,” he said.
The director-general, while commending the stakeholders for their performances in the past, added that the agency would continue to count on their continuous cooperation and collaboration towards saving lives, properties and attending to the distressed in the society.
The Tide source reports that the event had as participants, Executive Secretaries of all the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), representatives of Centres for Disaster Risk Management Studies from six universities and Heads of NEMA’s zonal, Territorial and Operations Offices.
NEMA in a report said a total of 2,353,647 people were affected by the 2020 flood disaster.
It also said that 69 lives were lost compared to the 158 lives but only 277,555 affected in 2019.
In a statement signed by the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, to commemorate the anniversary, HYPREP described the anniversary as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s environmental restoration efforts, noting that the project has made remarkable progress in implementing the recommendations of the landmark UNEP report released on August 4, 2011.
The UNEP report had revealed extensive oil pollution across Ogoniland, severe environmental degradation, and serious public health risks resulting from decades of petroleum operations. It also recommended an initial $1 billion fund to commence the cleanup of the affected communities.
According to HYPREP, the Federal Government formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in 2016, while the Project Coordination Office was established in 2017 to drive the implementation of UNEP’s recommendations.
Zabbey said the current administration has continued to prioritise the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Providing an update on the cleanup, the Project Coordinator disclosed that 30 of the 65 contaminated sites identified by UNEP have been fully remediated, while work is ongoing at several medium- and high-risk locations. It also stated that more than 1.5 million mangrove seedlings have been planted as part of what it described as the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, with over 1,000 hectares of shoreline already rehabilitated.
Zabbey further revealed that 49 Ogoni communities have been connected to potable water schemes through multiple water projects and booster stations aimed at providing safe drinking water across the region.
In the health sector, he said the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital in Kpite and the 43-bed Cottage Hospital in Buan are nearing completion, adding that several existing health facilities have been upgraded with modern medical equipment, while five ambulances have been donated to improve emergency healthcare services. The Project Coordinator also disclosed that a three-year human health biomonitoring study is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
On economic empowerment, Zabbey stated that the Project has created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained thousands of Ogoni youths and women in various vocational and technical skills, including software development, cybersecurity, aviation, commercial diving, seafaring, mechatronics, and creative arts. The project also reported awarding scholarships to more than 1,000 students, providing grants to small businesses, and supporting persons living with special needs through skills acquisition programmes.
The statement further highlighted ongoing legacy projects, including the Ogoni Power Project and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which it said is about 96 per cent complete. HYPREP also welcomed the recent designation of the Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site of International Importance and pledged to continue promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem.
Marking the anniversary, Zabbey said the progress achieved over the past 15 years demonstrates the collective commitment of government, development partners, stakeholders, and local communities to restoring Ogoniland. He called for renewed collaboration to sustain the cleanup effort, promote environmental sustainability, and support the long-term development of the region. 3