FLOODS: A Nation submerged in water, by Kazeem Akintunde

For the better part of last week, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, was in a quandary because almost half of his entire state was under floodwater with several lives lost and property worth billions of naira destroyed. As of Friday, over 700,000 persons have been displaced in about 300 communities and villages in five of the state’s eight local government areas. Aside from the eight local government councils, the entire state was also cut off from the rest of the country as the only road that connects the state capital, Yenagoa, to other neighbouring states, has been washed away. While those alive were reeling from the impact of the flood, those that have died could also not rest in peace as many corpses were washed up from a community grave in the area.

Consequently, human beings, both dead and alive, are at the mercy of a helpless Governor Douye Diri for succour.

Diri, after a statewide tour to access the extent of the impact of the flood by helicopter, had to hurriedly grant public servants one week break from work in a bid to prevent further loss of lives, hoping that by the time they resume this week, the water level would have subsided and people will be able to move using the remaining portion of the roads. For now, movement around Yenagoa and neighbouring community is majorly through canoe. While those affected by the flood have now been moved to higher ground, supply of food and water has presented a challenge. Left with little or no choice, many residents now make use of the flood water for domestic chores.

The flood is also a no-respecter of the highly placed, as the residence of former President Goodluck Jonathan in his country home in Yenagoa was also invaded by the unwanted guest.

A distraught Diri had to call on the federal government to come to the aid of the state as many of the citizens have been turned to refugees in their own homes. There is no electricity in many parts of the state as the power supply had to be cut off to prevent electrocution while the food and water supply have become essential commodities. The health implication of consuming unhygienic water is better imagined.

However, it is not Yenagoa alone that is suffering from the scourge of flooding in Nigeria. A total of 32 states in the country have been projected to experience severe flooding this year. States like Kogi, Niger, Rivers, Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Kano, Katsina, Yobe among others are currently under water from flooding, with some trunk A roads cut off in several parts of the country.

Already, 603 lives are reported to have been lost to the floods, which has affected 2,504,095 persons and displaced 1,302,589 persons across the country. Asides that, the disaster has injured 2,407 persons, partially damaged 121,318 houses, and totally damaged 82,053 houses. Food supply next year is threatened as 108, 392 hectares of farmlands have been partially affected, while a total of 332,327 hectares of farmlands have been completely damaged across the country. This would definitely have an impact on the prices of foodstuff that have already gone beyond the reach of many in the country.

In Taraba State, which is largely agrarian, the flood left in its wake, tales of woe as farmers lost a season’s harvest of newly planted crops while houses were also not spared. The glimmer of luck was that the water level receded within days, which enabled them to start recovering from the tragedy. It however made refugees of most of those living in the lowlands.

Again in Adamawa State, where the country is supposed to construct a dam, peasants and those living on the river planes were hardest hit, with low casualty figures, although farmlands and belongings were swept away by rain-engendered floods. However, when the water released from Lagdo dam in Cameroun arrived, it became overwhelming.
Benue State, which has had the unfortunate recurrent problem of flooding annually, had the double misfortune of higher volume of rains and the swelling banks of the Benue River, which is always a natural course down to River Niger to the ocean.

The result was the flooding of residential areas, with bungalows disappearing in the swollen banks of the river. Those who had gone to sleep before the river burst its banks simply died in their sleep as they were submerged, with the worst hit being women and children.

Kogi State is another devastated state in Nigeria, occasioned by flooding, as many houses simply disappeared from sight. Wild animals like snakes and crocodiles soon became the daily companion of the residents of affected areas.
Flooding in Nigeria has been a yearly problem. Indeed, as far back as February this year, the Nigerian Meteorological Services had warned that the volume of rainfall expected this year would be higher and that states should relocate people living on flood plains, but in our usual manner, nobody bothered to take proactive steps in efforts at disaster preparedness.

Despite the high volume of rainfall so far recorded this year, the release of a huge volume of water from the Lagdo dam in Cameroon worsened the already bad situation due to our negligence.

Construction work on the dam started in 1977 but was completed in 1982. The dam, built by the Cameroonian Government, was to generate electricity for our neighbouring country. After its completion, the Dam mostly overflows every year, which leaves Cameroon with no choice but to release the excess water. The released water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon cascades down to Nigeria through River Benue and its tributaries, thereby inundating communities that have already been impacted by heavy rain. Therefore, from the River Benue, this excess water gets through to cause devastating flooding here in Nigeria with states such as Kogi, Adamawa, Rivers, Bayelsa, Anambra, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, and about five others completely submerged.
Initially, the Cameroonian and Nigerian governments had agreed to build two dams so that when excess water is released from the Cameroonian dam, its effect will be contained by the Nigerian dam which would be two and a half times bigger. The Nigerian government agreed to construct the Dasin Hausa Dam in Adamawa State to lessen the impact of any potential flooding from the Lagdo dam in Cameroon. Regrettably however, the Dasin Hausa dam has not been completed since 1982 and this has led to yearly flooding in Nigeria.

Instead of working assiduously on the completion of the dam, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, is more concerned about initiating another fruitless round of bilateral discussions with authorities in Cameroon next month. “A delegation to Cameroon is to be led by the Permanent Secretary and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be requested to facilitate it,” she said. What she and her Permanent Secretary hope to achieve by the talk shop with Cameroon is yet to be seen as we cannot dictate to another country how to run their territory. The right thing would be for our government to reduce the corruption in the system that has prevented the Dasin dam from being completed after all these years.

Already, the United State Government, through the US Agency for International Development, USAID, has promised to provide $1 million worth of humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the unprecedented flooding in Nigeria. “We are filled with grief for the flood victims who have lost so much livelihoods, homes, and even loved ones,” said U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard. She assured that the United States would continue to stand with the people of Nigeria during this extremely difficult time.

Aside from the US Government, many countries have empathised with Nigeria during this difficult period and have promised to offer humanitarian assistance to the country.
At the home front, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has suspended his campaign to visit some of the ravaged states and empathise with the people. He was in Benue State last week where he met with the governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, and also toured some of the affected communities on boat.

The APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had earlier visited Jigawa State to empathise with the people and donate N50million to those affected. His counterpart in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, was also in Kano State to personally feel the pulse of the people and also donated N50 million to alleviate the suffering of the victims.

Julius Berger Nigeria Limited has also donated 25 empty containers to serve as temporary shelters to victims displaced by flood in Anambra and Delta communities. The Project Director of Julius Berger, Frederick Weiser, said that the company had been providing Internal Displaced Persons with treated water and some other relief materials. He called on good-spirited Nigerians to assist people in the IDP camps with relief materials.

It is hoped that the money so far donated would be used for what it was meant for and won’t end up in the pockets of government officials, as is usually the case. The devastating floods presently ravaging most parts of Nigeria have once again brought to the fore, the lack of empathy many Nigerians have complained about President Muhammadu Buhari. With few months left in the saddle, what would have gladdened the hearts of many Nigerians would have been to see their president leading humanitarian visits and relief efforts against the floods. There was no national address to assure Nigerians of what his administration is doing and what they intend to do to contain the floods and bring relief to already traumatized Nigerians. It is sad that he is holed up in Aso Rock and has not thought it wise to visit any of the ravaged states. This is another opportunity lost for him to directly connect with the people.

When Florida, in the US, was hit of recent by natural disaster, President Joe Biden was in the thick of it all. He visited the state and toured most of the affected areas. That is leadership and that is how to assure your people that you are there for them in time of crisis. Both presidents are 79 years old and should be seen to offer leadership and hope to their citizens. Hopefully, Nigeria would get it right with a president that will show love and compassion to her citizens next year.

See you next week.