Lamentation, misery in Nigerian communities as floods deepen pain of homelessness

Lamentation and misery in Nigeria have gone several steps higher as flood situation in many communities has deepened the pain of homelessness in the country. This is a new addition to daily dose of hunger in many families who, for reasons of bad economy, find it hard to feed even twice a day.

Several days of torrential downpour in many states of the federation, leading to the collapse of dams in some cases, have caused large scale flooding that has sacked families and washed away farmlands, forcing these families to safe places where they battle hunger, inconveniences and discomfort.

About 31 states and 180 local government areas (LGAs) have been severely affected by floods, according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This means that the low homeownership rate in the country estimated at 25 percent of the population must have dropped significantly following the floods incidents.

As a country with well over 200 million population, housing situation in Nigeria is dire. It has a housing deficit estimated at 28 million units with low homeownership ranking which data from World Population Review says is the highest in the world at 24 million.

Read also: Flooding: Nigerian communities struggle amid rising waters

This means that 24 million people in Nigeria don’t have homes, putting the country ahead of top nine other countries in this group, including Pakistan, 20 million; Egypt, 12 million; Syria, 6.6 million; DR Congo, 5 million; Bangladesh 5 million, and Colombia, 4.9 million. Others are Afghanistan, 4.6 million; Philippines, 4.5 million; and Yemen, 3.8 million.

Reports have it that due to changes in climatic conditions which is the reason for the heavy downpour, even in some unexpected places like the northern part of Nigeria, over 1,083,141 individuals have been impacted, leading to widespread displacement, loss of lives, and destruction of homes and livelihoods.

Across the country, flooding incidents have left about 641,598 persons displaced, 285 people dead, and 2,504 injured. Houses, farmlands, and critical infrastructure have been devastated with 98,242 homes affected.

Nigeria’s 28 million housing units deficit, according to Matthew Ashimolowo, Senior Pastor at Kings International Christian Centre, Maryland, Lagos, requires about 700,000 housing units to be built every year for the next decade to close.

Ashimolowo also noted that the deficit requires about $550 billion to close. But Nigeria’s annual total housing output is less than 100,000 units while the federal government’s annual budget for housing is not anywhere near $1 billion. Additionally, the totality of private sector investment in housing development in the country may not be anywhere near $100 billion.

“We have a huge problem on our hands in the area of housing and the present flood situation is just another major setback in that sector,” Edmund Nnaji, an estate developer, said in a chat with BusinessDay.

He noted that, although what is happening across the country is a natural disaster, it wouldn’t have been of this magnitude if people in authority had live up to their responsibilities, citing the collapse of the Alua Dam in Borno State which, according to him, was avoidable.

Read also: Flood prevention is the beginning of wisdom!

The UN Office report cites Bauchi, Borno, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Jigawa, as states where tens of thousands of individuals are struggling to cope with the aftermath the heavy flooding, noting that Borno alone has 414,000 affected persons, Bauchi has 94,022 affected persons, while Sokoto follows closely with 83,000. “In terms of displacement, Borno, Sokoto and Bauchi are also among the hardest hit, with 389,267, 48,000 and 36,000 displaced persons respectively,” the reports says.

It notes further that the destruction of farmlands has further aggravated the crisis, threatening food security in these regions, with Bauchi experiencing the worst hit with 50,000 hectares of farmland submerged. Access to affected areas has been significantly hampered by the collapse of critical infrastructure such as bridges and culverts.

“In Yobe State, for instance, culverts in Garin Gada along the Potiskum-Jakusko and Jimbam along the Bayamari-Dapchi roads have collapsed, making it difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to isolated communities. Damaged access roads in Damaturu and Fune LGAs have further hindered relief efforts, prolonging the suffering of displaced populations who are in urgent need of food, shelter, and healthcare,” the report laments.

It is also noteworthy that flooding has compounded pre-existing vulnerabilities, especially for those living in mud shelters. In Yobe State alone, over 5,865 shelters have been destroyed, leaving thousands without a roof over their heads. Those displaced are now exposed to further risks of waterborne diseases, particularly in areas where health facilities have been damaged or rendered inaccessible.

Nnaji commended financial assistance so far extended to people at internally displaces persons (IDPs) camps in Borno State, contending however that this assistance would have been better deployed to preventing the floods. “It is better to deal with the cause than responding to the effect,” he said.