Editorial
2013 Flood Alert: That NASS Warning
Last week Friday, the Nigerian Senate had cause to address the seeming indifference of Federal Emergencies and Disaster Management Agencies, when, the upper chamber of the National Assembly, directed its committees on Water Resources, Environment, Marine Transport and Special Duties to ascertain the preparedness of relevant ministries and institutions to contain the predicted heavy rainfall and impending floods in the country.
Since early this year, the National Meteorological Agency (NIMET) has repeatedly warned of devastating rain storms, far more calamitous than was experienced in parts of the country last year, resulting in floods with accompanying losses in human and material resources.
In fact, last year’s experience was such a national emergency that its aftermath in terms of logistics demands, medical intervention and indeed rehabilitation of displaced persons still remains a nightmare to many.
On the last count, no fewer than 1,500 lives were reportedly lost in nearly 12 states of the Federation, several left wounded, some of them fatally, while many Nigerians lost their homes and business places and were displaced. So disastrous and challenging were the flood that it took a special Presidential Intervention Committee headed by Alhaji Aliko Dangote and complemented by various states’ rehabilitation efforts to provide some measure of succour to victims.
The efforts of the Presidential Committee alone could not have been enough without commendable inputs by affected states, all of which still proved so capital intensive, that many Nigerians prayed that there never should be a repeat.
That is why the early alert by NIMET that this year’s rainfall would be far more than last year’s ought to worry all, particularly the Federal emergencies management agencies. Yes, a natural disaster of the kind envisaged cannot be totally averted, but its consequences can be minimised if anticipated and planned for, through early preparations and relocation of those in most vulnerable areas, among other preventive measures.
Indeed, it was to ensure such containment and protect lives and properties that the Senate decided that an investigation be carried out to ascertain the true state of dams, canals and waterways in the country. The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Eta Enang, and 39 others and which roundly condemned the seeming ill-preparedness of Federal agencies involved and tasked the Federal Government to be more proactive in planning for the impending disaster to ensure that lives and properties of Nigerians were adequately secured, this time around.
The Senators emphasised the need for the dredging and desilting of the River Niger, Cross River, River Benue and other inland waterways in Nigeria as a precautionary move towards averting greater danger of the floods. With the predicted disaster timeline of June and July, just around the corner, The Tide agrees with the Senate that unless adequate preventive measures were put in place, the impending floods could leave behind very disastrous consequences in human and material losses. Therefore, everything that needs to be done to avert such calamity should be done and in a timely manner.
With the ever-increasing changes in climatic conditions, there is no telling how sooner than predicted the heavy rains will set in. Already, some parts of the country have started experiencing heavy storms with frightening consequences. Last weekend for instance violent rainstorm wrecked unimaginable havoc on some communities in Etche, Rivers State and elsewhere. Even at such reasonable low levels, the devastation in human and material losses were huge.
That, should be sufficient warning to disaster management agencies; federal, state and local government areas and indeed all stakeholders and help challenge them to appreciate the enormity of the danger that lurks around, and accordingly fashion proactive measures necessary to manage the consequences that come with the elements.
By now, we expect that the affected public agencies should have started pursuing robust enlightenment campaigns to educate the citizenry on basic environment management culture, start clearing of blocked drainages and construction of gutters and canals, where needed. Efforts should also be made to consider relocation of those in most vulnerable areas to safer high grounds in order to avert a repeat of last year’s huge disaster level.
The Tide commends NIMET and the Senate for the timely warning and reminder in exercise of its oversight on executive agencies respectively and insists that it should not end with mere resolution but indeed go further to get the cooperation and commitment of the Presidency to ensure proper executive compliance in the interest of all. Beyond that, a working synergy among the various disaster management institutions, security establishments and governments at all levels will be key to achieving success, this time around. That is the only way to avert repeat of last year’s experience.
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.
