With over 500 dead and 90,000 homes destroyed, the flooding ravaging parts of Nigeria has been described as one of the most devastating experiences in recent history.
The situation has left many communities reeling under floods, with little assistance coming from the federal government.
Many Nigerians have been confronted with flooding, droughts out of season, wild weather patterns, largely on the back of climate change.
Amidst growing suffering by millions of Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari has sent messages extending “heartfelt condolences on behalf of the nation to communities in towns and villages, as many lose relatives and suffer extensive damage to property.”
The situation is also threatening food security, as floods destroy several hectares of farmlands.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), a federal government agency with the responsibilities for dealing with national emergencies, was said to have earlier written to each of the 36 states of the federation through the governors, advising on the appropriate action to take in view of the gloomy forecasts of the rains this year.
Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, absolved the federal government of negligence in its response to the flooding.
Shehu said the “government at the centre should step in to directly address national emergencies”, describing local government and the states as the first responders in all situations.
He said: “Calls for the federal government to respond to all outbreaks of natural disaster do not just display an understanding of Nigerian law. While not a national-level emergency, the ongoing flooding is an emergency nevertheless.
“Nigerian lives and property are at stake. We call on governors of those states that have swung into action and engaged the necessary gear to continue with their efforts, and those that have not, to immediately face their duties of managing the flooding within their jurisdictions – that is the job that the President, governors and council chairmen have been elected to do.”
According to him, each of the three tiers of government has a sizable budget at its disposal, allocated monthly precisely for dealing with these state-level natural emergencies, as well as federal agencies dedicated to doing the same.
Shehu noted that the states have huge funds made available to them to address the flooding.
He said: “It is not clear why some of the state governments in question are not already drawing upon those funds to tackle the current emergency, and the general population is misguidedly calling on the federal government to intervene in all situations.
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“If those monies are, for whatever reason, no longer available, the affected states and local councils must immediately contact the relevant authorities to explain what has happened with those funds.”
BusinessDay gathered that under the prevailing revenue allocation formula, 2.32 percent of the derivation fund is set aside for ecology and disaster management.
Of this amount, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory get 0.72 percent, and the 774 local governments get 0.6 percent, leaving a balance of one percent for the federal government.
NEMA takes and manages the 20 percent of the ecological funds allocated to the Federal Government.
The North East Development Commission collects 10 percent, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, 10 percent; and the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, 0.5 percent, leaving 0.55 percent of the one percent to the government at the centre for ecological protection and disaster management.
“No one now denies its detrimental effects in all corners of the planet. Nigeria’s efforts led by the President have been acclaimed in Africa and globally,” Shehu said. “Instead of making headline grabbings, politicians should take the trouble to find out from the ministries and state governments what steps are being taken in the face of these challenges.”
Damian Ugwu, a research consultant, berated government’s lack of early response preparedness, despite timely warnings by relevant organisations.
“We are aware that the Cameroon authorities for example warned Nigeria about the release of water from the Lagdo Dam. The warning came early enough to enable the country to mitigate whatever challenges that were to have occurred,” he said.
He called on state governments to take necessary actions to relocate people from flood-prone zones and put in place permanent plans to deal with the flooding, which he said has become an annual nightmare for Nigeria.
