Sadiya Umar Farouq
Contrary to perception in some quarters, Bayelsa State now reeling under floods is not among the 10 most affected states in the country with Jigawa State occupying the top position.
This is according to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk, who appeared at the Ministerial Media Briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday.
Reacting to the claim recently made by the Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, that as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, she was not humane over the treatment of areas hit by floods in Bayelsa and other parts of the South, she said it is Jigawa that is the most affected by the current floods.
“It will also interest you to know that Bayelsa is not even amongst the 10 most hit. I think Jigawa is number one and we have taken intervention to Bayelsa and it’s still ongoing. We’re using the Nigerian Air Force to access the inaccessible areas.
“These are natural disasters, we just hope and pray that we don’t see that again. It is a global phenomenon and the government is up and doing in this regard,” she said.
The Minister added: “You mentioned this issue of the Humanitarian Minister not being humane. This is a natural issue that we are facing and I think, with every sense of responsibility, I’m carrying out my duties to the best of my abilities, the best I can in service to this nation and in service to humanity and I think by mere looking at me, you know I’m humane.”
Recall that Clark had said: “We have a Humanitarian Minister that is not humane, who was only active to carry out school feeding of school children who were confined to their homes during the Covid-19 lockdown.
“In such an urgent situation of ravaging flood, she has decided to maintain a disquieting quietness. Bodies like the National Emergency Agency (NEMA), were not able to take proactive measures. Where is the mother of the nation, the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari? Her fellow women are in deep agony, seeing their children dying of starvation and treatable minor illnesses because there is no medication.”
However, Mrs Farouk said with the assistance of the Nigerian Air Force, her Ministry had taken relief materials to Bayelsa alongside 27 other states.
She stated: “I’ve mentioned that we have officers in all the states and they are supporting the states officials to give support to these victims, where it is possible for us to visit, we have visited, but the most important thing is the response which we have given; a very quickly response for the states affected.
“We have a plan in place, a flood emergency preparedness plan. It is in place and the federal government has a role to play in this and we have started operationalizing that plan. That plan has just been approved by Federal Executive Council In September this year.”
Speaking on the evacuation effort before the floods arrived, she said despite the early warnings, while some people agreed to move, others refused as they argued that they could not abandon their ancestral homes.
She said going forward, the federal government will consider enforcement of evacuation advice for people living around riverbanks and flood-prone areas to avert loss of lives from flood disaster.
The Minister added: “Let me use this opportunity to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Lives have been lost, very unfortunate. There were early warnings and hence, early actions by all; the national sub-nationals and even individuals that were prone to this disaster.
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“We have erected temporary shelters, about 44 of them in 22 states, some people moved to those shelters, while others did not. Very unfortunate and I think at this point, I quite agree that there should be enforcement going forward.
“We’ve mentioned 12,000 metric tons that was given to us by Ministry of Agriculture, but that is in addition to other interventions, it’s not just the 12,000 metric tons. If you look at it, I didn’t mention rice and other food items and even non food items that we have provided. So it’s not just the 12,000 metric tons that was provided.
“How much we will need, that will also be after the assessment, I cannot really say how much federal government… and the people, the real people that are affected are going to be the real people that will be provided the support because we have on the spot assessment.”
Mrs. Farouk further explained: “We are working with the local authorities, with the affected communities to gather this data of the affected persons. So, I want to believe, I’m optimistic, that these targeted beneficiaries will be the ones that will be given these interventions.
“Yes, enforcement is very key and I think going forward that is what should be done so that it shouldn’t be a matter of choice for one to be evacuated. It shouldn’t be, really, because we are talking about human lives here. That will have to be done.
“We have, as I mentioned, evacuated those that agreed to be evacuated. Some people feel these are their ancestral places and so they do not want to live, or they will not live and then they face the consequences, but we hope that next time people will heed these early warnings and then will heed to the evacuation programme.”
She also affirmed that farmers who lost farmlands as a result of the floods will get compensation from the federal government at the end of a comprehensive impact assessment by the National Food Security Council, to ensure food security in the country next year.
According to her, “You may recall that we have a Presidential Committee on Food Security. Now, we are doing the assessments of those farmlands that are destroyed and we’ll submit our report to the food security council, which is being chaired by His Excellency, Mr. President, and the vice chair is His Excellency, the Governor of Kebbi State.
“Once that is done, we’ll know the next step to take, but definitely, farmers will be compensated and that lost means of livelihoods is also to be compensated accordingly. We the intervention we hope is coming very soon, the dry season farming is going to cushion that and very optimistic about that. We don’t hope for food shortage.”
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