By Dada Ahmed.
Photo credit: CNN.
Most discerning minds in Nigeria argue that they are not unmindful of the fact that, natural disasters- the links to natural hazards- as the name connotes, are inevitable in human experience but that the effect of the 2022 flood in the country remains a wound they will find it difficult to heal for years to come.
The 2022 flood in Nigeria, the worst of its kind in the history of natural disaster in the country, has come and gone but left the victims bemoaned to mourn the loss of loved ones, set tongues wagging as to the property worth billions of not trillions of naira destroyed amid the excruciating social, economic and psychologically traumatic experience that visited thousands of homes.
All of a sudden in October last year, Nigerians woke up to the grim reality of the call of nature manifesting in the rising and overflowing of a body of water, especially onto dry land, and before anybody could Jack Robinson, many houses and their occupants had succumbed to a catastrophic development in over 60-year history of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.
Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people, a landmass of over 900,000 square kilometers, and endowed with abundant natural and human resources, was a shock to its foundation as 33 of its 36 states of the federation were submerged when the last year flood came calling.
The statistics of the 2022 flood, revealed by the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA) show that 662 persons lost their lives, 3,174 suffered injuries and 2,430,445 individuals were displaced. These figures are frightening and saddening to a country confronted with enormous social and economic challenges.
The National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, estimated that the agriculture industry alone lost about N 700 billion to the 2022 flood.
This grim revelation, agriculture experts' garment, remains a serious contributory factor to the current astronomical rise in the cost of food in Nigeria today.
Hassan-Odukale, an insurance expert said the agricultural market, which he noted contributed 26.97 percent to the national Gross Domestic Product, GDP, in 2022, remained the most vulnerable sector to flood devastation.
As if the devastating effect of 2022 is not enough, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency's (Nimet) prediction of rainfall in 2023 has sent fear into the spines of many Nigerians, most especially those living within the bank of River Niger and Benue and other large body of waters in the country.
According to the January 2023 forecast by NiMET, an agency charged with the responsibility of advising the government and people of Nigeria on all aspects of weather and climate,2023 would witness the early onset of rainfall accompanied by flooding.
Punch newspaper quotes the organization as saying that “starting in March, coastal areas in the south-south, particularly Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers, will experience torrential rains."
The Guardian, one of the popular newspapers in Nigeria, recently caused some of its correspondents to feel the pulse of the nation by filing stories regarding the flood in some states of the federation to test Nimet rainfall prediction in the country.
At the end of the exercise, the tabloid came out with the screaming headline that reads, "Flood of fury: No respite for Bayelsa, Kogi, Rivers, 30 others ahead of another cloudburst."
Apart from the media, the egg heads in higher institutions of learning in Nigeria have also joined the concerted efforts aimed at checking the effect of floods in Nigeria.
The Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State, demonstrated this nationalistic zeal by hosting a cross-section of stakeholders to its first International Conference on the theme: “Flood and Sustainable Development” held on 14th - 16th June 2023 at the University’s permanent campus, Felele and its College of Health Sciences, Adankolo.
The conference had 50 paper presentations by scholars and researchers across the globe, with two lead papers presented by Professor Jimmy O. Adegoke of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri -Kansas City, and Professor Temi Ologunrisa, the Vice-Chancellor, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitikupa, Ondo State.
Participants rose from the three-day conference by calling on the government and other stakeholders to channel efforts and resources towards preventive measures to avert flood disasters rather than providing relief only after it has happened.
They made the call in their communique signed by the Chairman of, the Local Organising Committee for the conference, Prof.Muhammed Suleiman Audu, and the Secretary, Dr. Joseph Olaniyi Folorunsho.
After extensive intellectual discourses, the conference observed and submitted that: "Flooding as a phenomenon had had a devastating effect on human population and there there is the need to mitigate its effect by bringing together, the town and the gown for a collaborative effort in tackling this disaster.
"The strategic importance of the confluence of the Niger-Benue Rivers in this perennial flooding and the forum has provided the avenue for gaining a better understanding of the ecological and environmental factors that contribute to floods in the Niger-Benue trough;
"That flood is inevitable in human society because of natural and anthropogenic factors but measures must be put in place to tackle its effects on humans and the environment."
The stakeholders also called on relevant government agencies to synergize to proffer lasting solutions to the problem of flood in the region and its environs - a good instance being NIHSA’s efforts at producing an Annual Flood Outlook to manage flood
According to them, since flooding is universal, reflecting the broader challenges posed by climate change, there is, therefore, the need for deliberate efforts, by the government, to adopt a multi-pronged approach.
This they urged could be through investment in resilient infrastructure such as building and maintaining robust drainage systems, creation of reservoirs, flood barriers, divergent structures, and implementing sustainable urban planning practices.
The communique added that flooding had negatively impacted communities in the Niger-Benue, exemplified by the loss of human life, damage to properties, destruction of crops, loss of livestock, non-functioning of infrastructure, and deterioration of health conditions owing to water-borne diseases.
It identified the effect of flooding to include other socio-economic impacts of flood such as decreased purchasing and production power, mass migration, psycho-sociological effect, limited economic growth and development, and low political participation, discontent, or loss of trust in authorities leading to social unrest.
The stakeholders further urged that floods in communities along the Niger-Benue Trough could be controlled through the construction of floodways (man-made channels) to divert flood water, regular dredging of the inland waterways, channels, and rivers, construction of levees and dykes, sensitization, raising of roads to reduce run-offs and prevent water being diverted to homes at lower elevations and clearing of drainage;
"Nigeria needs to have a development plan that adequately provides for flood disaster management.
"The challenges of flood risk in the Niger-Benue Trough and Nigeria are a result of inadequate flood control structures as the existing ones are either too old and weak to perform maximally – aging dams, inadequate dam monitoring and maintenance, lack of flood risk awareness, inadequate solid waste, sewage, drainage, and flood zone management; no integrated water resources planning at national and state level;
"There is a need for improvement in collecting, assessing, and sharing environmental and climatic data for planning, policy, and investment purpose, including better coordination between MDAs;
"There is a need to ensure community participation in planning, implementation, and monitoring of disaster preparedness activities- development of effective early warning on floods and dam water releases and a good knowledge of hydro-meteorological parameters are germane to any flood management strategies in the Niger-Benue Trough;
"There is the need to build the capacity of communities and invest in institutions saddled with the responsibility of flood prevention, control, and management;
"There is a need to begin to build climate-smart infrastructure that is durable and sustainable such as dams, drainage and roads, review of the existing land use laws and an urgent need for preparation of a flood sensitive master plan.
"Land use planning should move beyond relying on national elements and incorporate a combination of structural and non-structural measures to reduce flood," they also advised", the participants added.
The communique noted that media literacy played a critical role in enabling individuals to critically evaluate and interpret flood-related information to ensure a more informed understanding of risk and promote responsible decision-making therefore," there should be incorporation of media education into existing disaster preparedness plans.
The participants resolved that FUL, given its strategic location and willpower, shall establish a center for flood prevention and management in Nigeria charged with the responsibility of leading innovation and intellectualism in the area of flood research.
They, therefore, called on the Federal Government to make or enhance annual budgetary provisions for flood control and management, to avert perennial flood disasters in the confluence city of Lokoja and other flood-prone areas.
All said and done, it is instructive to note that the reality of natural disasters in human existence is a fact man must live with as long as life exists.
However, since man is not a slave to his environment, compared to other living organisms, the need to continue exercising caution in indulging in acts capable of igniting natural disasters cannot be over-emphasized.
The Federal University, Lokoja must be commended for blazing a trail in this regard in the state with a clarion call on other higher institutions of learning to emulate by joining the vanguard of saving humanity from the devastating effect of natural disasters such as floods.
Dada Ahmed is the Publisher of The Reporters, an online news media.
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