Nigeria needs integrated flood management approach ― Minister

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has advocated for the adoption of an Integrated Flood Management approach to effectively manage the flooding using a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder approach.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq gave the charge during the Technical Stakeholders meeting for the review of draft National Multi-Sectoral Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.

In her remarks, Umar Farouq who called for proactive steps toward addressing the menace of flooding across the country argued that floodwaters can be harnessed for beneficial purposes such as agriculture, electricity and other uses.

The Minister explained that President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to work with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, relevant MDAs and stakeholders to develop a National Plan to coordinate various flood management responses and interventions across the country.

“Each year many people lose their lives, their homes and sources of livelihood due to flooding. For instance, in 2012, which is arguably the worst flood incident in the country, over seven million persons were affected.”

While presenting the Draft, the Deputy Director, Disaster Management, Dr Abubakar Suleiman stated that the 75-page document with eight chapters will guide stakeholders to systematically and sequentially prepare for, mitigate against, respond to and recover from flooding in Nigeria in a coordinated manner.

“This will enhance Nigeria’s ability to manage all flood-related disasters using a comprehensive disaster management cycle approach. The purpose of the plan is to provide relevant information and outline the response arrangements in place for a coordinated inter-ministerial multi-agency response to major flooding incidents.”

The stakeholders also resolved to review and add specific MDAs in the role and responsibilities table while issues of sourcing for funding were also discussed.

They also modified and developed indicators to measure the four key phases which include Preparedness, Mitigation, Response and Recovery.

In his closing remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Bashir Alkali who was represented by the Director of Humanitarian Affairs, Ali Grema congratulated the stakeholders from the states for completing a successful review of the Draft National Multi-Sectoral Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.

“This has been a rigorous and intense exercise given the timeframe to complete this task today. I would also like to highlight the importance of this Plan towards providing an institutional framework for managing floods in Nigeria.

“There are several plans and policy documents that cover Disaster Management and risk reduction in general, with little attention to flooding in particular.

“However, this plan provides a unique in-depth analysis of flood preparedness, mitigation and response at all levels and clarifies agency-specific mandates, roles and responsibilities, hence, the need of such document for the country.”

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Nigeria needs integrated flood management approach

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