2022 Flood Disaster: Never Again

Nigeria is on the edge again. For several weeks running, thousands of homes cutting across many states of the federation, particularly in states bordering Rivers Niger and Benue and the entire Niger Delta region, have been submerged and destroyed by a raging flood which seems to know no barrier, as it spreads death and anguish in its path, day and night. Close to a thousand lives have been lost. And as communities continue to be cut off from help and reach, there are fears that many more lives are in danger.
Pictures and stories coming from areas already affected are heart wrenching and chilling. Homes are completely submerged, farmlands destroyed, property and domestic animals destroyed and swept away; health facilities, schools, places of worship and roads have all gone under water.
In Ogbaru, Anambra State, about 70 villagers trying to escape the flood in an overcrowded boat, drowned when their boat capsized. A family of six were pulled from their home in Nzam dead after flood ravaged where they slept. An 18-seater bus belonging to an inter-state transport company was swept off the East-West road into a river at Umeh in Delta State as the bus braved the flooded road. Pictures keep streaming in of families that just managed to salvage a few belongings wading through shoulder-high floods looking for safe havens. Children strapped on backs or carried shoulder high and many more horrid pictures.
How the victims, especially the ones whose sources of living like potable water, electricity, communications links, medicine and sanitation facilities have been cut off, are surviving it, can only be imagined. It is the same imagination for the sick, elderly and children, who cannot flee the disaster. We can only imagine the huge economic and humanitarian losses the nation has suffered in the current disaster.
A state like Bayelsa State, no longer has access out to the world. The only road leading out of the state has been submerged, the airport and the road leading to it at Amassoma are under water. All the local government areas are affected and the state capital which hosts the seat of government is under serious threat.
Curiously, response from government both at the federal and subnational levels has been slow, weak and tepid. In some of the states, there does not exist statutory emergency response institutions to tackle the emergency. Many of them have just set up adhoc committees to rush to the victims and affected areas to drop palliatives. And it has rather been clumsy because without the needed facilities and information, their efforts have been helpless and cosmetic.
While the disaster is raging, the Federal Executive Council with President Muhammadu Buhari presiding is holding a retreat within the safety of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike jetted out to Spain to hold a political consultation with three other governors. Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, is crisscrossing the country with the Presidential Candidate of his party, Atiku Abubakar, holding political meetings while communities in his state are under water. Even as the country is in an election year, the politicians are not rolling up their sleeves and folding their trousers to meet the victims in their time and places of need.
The best that some state governments have done, is to throw money at the victims in the hope that it will bring succour to them like Rivers State Governor announcing a donation of N1 billion naira and Bayelsa State Governor declaring a release of N450 million to fund supply of relief materials to the victims, very typical of Nigerian governments throwing money at problems instead of tackling the problems.
It’s surprising that the current disaster came and caught the people and government without preparations because the prediction for it had come from the disaster prediction agency, NIMET (Nigeria Metereological Agency) since February this year. Adequate publicity was given about where the flooding would assume disastrous dimensions. But it seems government departments that should have responded with preparations just went to sleep.
There were no temporary shelters set up with all the facilities of water, power, sanitation, beddings, mosquito nets, medicine and medical personnel to take care of victims in areas where the flood was predicted to occur. There were no rescue equipment like boats, helicopters and special logistics made ready to evacuate victims where the flooding was to occur. Even the disaster management agencies like NEMA, the SEMAs and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs were caught napping or quarreling amongst themselves.
We call on government, corporate organisations, international donor agencies and indeed good citizens to step in to save lives and property and provide relief to survivors. Efforts must be made to reach out to those caught behind the barriers of the flooding and render assistance to them. Every life is important and must be saved.
However, it is important that the disaster response mechanism of government in Nigeria be reenergized and improved. Those who have been irresponsible in the weak process should be removed and punished. There are enough policies and laws that can be invoked to give life to disaster management. The National Emergency Management Act, which gave birth to NEMA, also gave room for the establishment of state and local government emergency management agencies. There should not be any further dilly-dallying in setting up these agencies to respond, rescue and blow the whistles when necessary.
Experts have suggested the dredging of the two main rivers, the Niger and the Benue and their tributaries and distributaries and construct more dams to accommodate more water during high tides and rainfalls. Government should have the will to do this with urgency.
Government should also enforce development controls to stop people from encroaching on and filling up natural water courses and reservoirs. Some of these disasters have been caused by release of water from dams in neighbouring countries. Government must engage these countries in such a way as to ensure that such water releases are done with minimal or no damages at all to communities lying along water courses.
Government must always seen to be alive to its responsibilities of saving the lives and property of citizens at all times. We cannot afford further avoidable disasters such as this year’s and that of 2012.