2022 floods: What FG could have done to avert the crisis

Over the last couple of weeks, pathetic stories of villages, communities, local governments and states in Nigeria inundated by floods have made the headlines and front pages. Figures from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on October 16, 2022 put the number of those killed at 603. Further statistics from the ministry says that 1,302,589 people were displaced; 2,407 people injured, 603 people dead; 121,318 houses partially damaged; 82,053 houses totally damaged; 108,392 farmlands partially damaged while 332,327 farmlands totally damaged.

What makes all this news sadder is that it was preventable, experts have noted.

Nothing strange about floods

Floods are not strange to the earth. From Biblical times, floods have existed. What readily comes to mind is the flood of Noah. But like Noah’s flood in the Bible, the current flood that has ravaged thousands of farmlands and displaced millions of people came with a prior warning.

A warning not heeded

In mid-September this year, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a warning that up to 13 states in Nigeria would experience flooding.

The Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, said the following states would be flooded. They are Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa.

Speaking on September 19, he said Nigerians should expect Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba dams located in Nigeria to overflow between then and the end of October.

He then added that the situation would worsen with the release of excess water from the Lagdo dam in the Republic of Cameroon.

He explained that “Based on our communication with the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), the Lagdo dam operators in the Republic of Cameroon have commenced the release of excess water from the reservoir by 13th September 2022.”

“We are aware that the released water cascades down to Nigeria through River Benue and its tributaries thereby inundating communities that have already been impacted by heavy precipitation.

“The released water complicates the situation further downstream as Nigeria’s inland reservoirs including Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro are also expected to overflow between now and October ending according to NIHSA.

“According to NIHSA, Kainji and Jebba dams have already started spilling excess water from their reservoirs.

“This will have serious consequences on frontline States and communities along the courses of rivers Niger and Benue.”

In August, it was the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) that warned about imminent flooding in parts of Kaduna, Borno, Delta and Bayelsa states between then and October, 2022.

And just as it was in the story of Noah’s flood, NEMA’s warning may have fallen on deaf ears of authorities in government. This is evidenced by the catastrophe expereinced by those affected Nigerians by the floods.

‘Emergency measures should have been taken’

“Rain monitors warned that there would be too much rain this year,” said Professor Emmanuel Ofoezie, a professor of Environmental Management, and head of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

“Cameroon is bound to discharge water from their dams when the water in the dam goes beyond safe levels. That is the best practice everywhere in the world,” he said referring to the release of water from Lagdo Dam which has been fingered to be the cause of the current flood.

This means that the current flood in Nigeria was not an ill-intentioned act by its eastern neighbouring country.

The professor noted that had the dam broken because water was not released, the flooding would be worse.

He added that, “We had this ill luck this year that it appears that the sea level is high. If the sea level is high, the sea will not take in any more water. When the sea level is high and the river level is high, the only option is to overflow onto the land.

“For the flood areas there is nothing anyone can do than to wait for the flood waters to dry up. Luckily we are coming to the end of the rainy season.

Ofoezie said that with warning coming its own agencies government ought to have taken definite emergency measures.

“Nigeria should have taken emergency measures, because NIMET issued a warning followed by NIHSA earlier this year.

NIHSA is in charge of hydrology – underground water supply and rivers while NIMET deals with the atmoosphere. They both issued warnings and specifically mentioned states that will be affected.

“This flood met every one unprepared. Government was supposed have prepared for those that would be affected. Give them warning to leave; prepare where they would go – months before the flood came! What has happened is a shame. Both states and Federal Government were supposed to have prepared for these victims long before the flood caught up with them in their houses. It is not that they did not know!

“What they are doing now is resettling people in schools. Where will children go to learn?”

A failure in agreement

The Cameroonian dam in focus is called Lagdo dam. It is now notorious as the source of the recent flood.

However, it has been reported that following the completion of the Lagdo dam in 1982, the Nigerian government, according to an agreement, was to embark on a similar project along River Benue.

The purpose of the proposed dam was to contain the flood water released upstream from Lagdo Dam and prevent flooding and destruction of property and loss of lives.

It was to be located in Dasin Village of Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

The Federal Government has failed to construct this dam, hence the flood.

Other prevention measures

“Since 2005 or thereabout, Nigeria has been planning to build check dams along the Benue River. There are so many things we have suggested to the Federal Government of Nigeria – build safety dams, and you can even reflux the dry areas.

“There is a way to channel the water that is coming. Using underground channels, you can direct water to dry areas that have been affected by climate change.

“And before you know it, you won’t have any dry land in the North!

“That is what they do in Israel that is a dry land and now looks like tropical Africa! We know what to do but won’t do it.”

Dr Taiwo Hammed, an expert in Enviromental Management and Toxicology, suggested that a network of canals can be established from the river systems, which generally leads to floods.

The lecturer in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Ibadan, also noted that reservoirs should be made for storing floodwater for example, artificial dams and canals should built along flood areas to help control the flooding, this also will provide water for irrigation of the farms especially during the dry season.

A future warning amid climate change

“This happened in 2012. It has happened in 2022. Let’s see if they will be prepared in 2032, or will we still be caught unawares,” Professor Ofoezie adds.

“This flooding seems to be happening every 10 years.

“Climate change is not a joke. Even those who haven’t heard of it hear it now. With climate change, it is not the weather you have this year that you will have next year.

“We may have a near-drought situation next year and things like that! This year, we had early warning, sufficient for government to have prepared for the people that would be affected!”