FG: 30 Years of Consistent Investment Required to Control Flood Menace

•Says it’s states, LGs’ task to provide temporary shelter

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The federal government has declared that it would take 30 years of consistent investment for the flood menace to be controlled in Nigeria.

Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, who made the this known yesterday, while briefing newsmen after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja.

He emphasised that nobody would be able to stop the phenomenon in the country, saying the government would only be able to minimise the impact of the occurrence.

Adamu said it was not something that could be achieved under one administration, adding that the present government was already working on a flood management masterplan that would take at least three years to complete.

While noting that flood victims ignored warnings to evacuate, Adamu also blamed tree felling and degraded soil for the massive impact of this year’s floods in the country.

On criticism about government’s preparedness to handle flood emergency,  the Minister said: “There is no technology on earth, none that can tell you the extent of the floods, none whatsoever. You work on the basis of data that you have before. Now that the rains have come that is what hydrology is all about, this is a record and now we’re resetting the clock.

“So that our future plans will now consider that this is the historical catastrophic level that we will not account for. That is what engineering does. This has never happened before.”

Also speaking in the same vein, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mrs. Sadiya Farouk, noted that it was not correct to say the federal government was not prepared.

According to her: “To say that the ministries were not prepared for this emergency or this disaster that was about to happen, it’s not correct. Because we have repositioned our warehouses to take stock of deployment as approved by His Excellency, Mr. President to be handed over to the ministry and we have deployed this grains to the respective states that we expect this flood is going to happen.

“So, to say that we were not prepared is really not correct. We did our best and we are still doing what we’re supposed to do.”

On his part, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, urged Nigerians to keep an open mind on the way government has handled the flood disaster in the country.

His words: “You see, I think we should be very broad- minded and open minded about this issue. I watched and I’m sure many of you watched on television, how two thirds of Pakistan was underwater because of this flood. If you watched like I did, how Florida was unable to handle this matter.

“You see, it is not a Humanitarian Affairs (ministry) or an APC affair, it is a human affair, and an environmental disaster. And I did not see any country that can prepare adequately, especially when citizens refuse to cooperate.

“As far back as February, NIMET warned everybody. People have built across channels. They’ve built on villages, they violated at will the planning regulations. 

“You see, let’s face it, what is happening today is happening all over the world. Let’s join hands together with all government at every level, with all NGOs and private sector. This is a human affair, it is a disaster, which does not make a difference between one party or the other, or one part of the country or the other.

“As we speak today, about five local governments out of seven in Bayelsa is under the water. And like the  Minister has said, we are receiving four times the amount of rain that we have ever received in the history of this nation.”

Also speaking, Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola, absolved federal government from blame for not providing temporary shelters for citizens in vulnerable flood plains who said they had nowhere to go.

According to him, it was the responsibility of states and local governments to do that.

He said from initial assessment, his ministry has identified 154 places where transport infrastructure worth N80 billion is impaired or damaged by the recent floods in parts of the country.

Fashola stated: “You see, first of all, let us be clear, this is not in Nigerian, unique problem. We see this all over the world. It’s a human issue. At least let us dimension that whether it was in Pakistan, Florida, these early warnings were issued. Some people left, some people didn’t leave. There are human issues.

“So, let’s just understand, first of all, is a human issue and let us not situate it as a Nigerian problem. Now, also realise that there are levels of government involved here. There is a federal government, there is a state government, there are 36 of them. And there are 774, local governments, those places relating to who builds where, who sets up the house, of course are local planning issues that are not the responsibility of the federal government.

“As my colleague in Water Resources has said, one of the things his ministry has done is to share the Flood Warning System. It is a big, pro marker that shows that when water reaches this level, you’re safe, if it gets to the yellow level is a warning to run.

“Those are some of the things government does. And it doesn’t mean everybody will relocate.

“But as we speak here, some people didn’t not relocate, some might have. But the job we have to do now is to bring relief to those who are impacted. That’s our job now.

“So, recriminating about what happened yesterday, doesn’t solve the problem. And what we have come to brief you about the steps being taken to make life livable, easy for the survivors, to commiserate with those who have lost people and property and to plan a way to make life better for tomorrow.

“What we have lost yesterday is gone. Let’s stop recriminating about it. And let’s focus on how we can ensure that we’re in a better position today and tomorrow and beyond.”