A FLOODGATE OF AVOIDABLE LOSSES

The authorities should take flood predictions seriously

No fewer than 205 persons lost their lives in different flooding incidents across 29 states so far in 2024. Some 225,169 others were displaced from their homes, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).  Flooding also left 2,119 persons with varying degrees of injuries with Kano State said to be the worst hit with 35 dead. It is followed by neighbouring Jigawa State with 34 fatalities. But also worrying is that hundreds of farmlands, schools, and health facilities have either been submerged or washed away in many of the states.

Although the National Economic Council has set up a committee on the issue, authorities in the country must be concerned that these losses that traditionally occur during the peak of the rain season are detrimental to the national economy. “Already, farmlands are already submerged and therefore there’s need for collaboration between all the tiers of government to ensure food security. The need for planning, collaboration and interaction to do that during the harvest time because the bumper harvest may not be as envisaged,” said Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed.  

It is one thing to have bumper harvest during the rainy season, but it is another thing to have the capacity to preserve the harvest for immediate gains of the farmers during the high demand for food that follows the dry season. That the focus has not been on pre-emptive intervention is why the federal government and the states would now be engaged in the all-too-familiar lamentation. Yet, reducing the alarming post-harvest losses in the agricultural sector has become very important. According to an assessment conducted by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, an estimated N700 billion in economic value was lost to damage caused by the 2022 floods in the agricultural-related sector. This includes the loss of 8.4 million tonnes of 14 crop varieties output, valued at N384.4 billion, the loss of N100 billion worth of fish and over N93 billion in the livestock sector.

Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters in terms of human hardship and economic loss. While the annual seasonal climate prediction report by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) provides critical information to help guide decision-making across all sectors of the economy, most Nigerians hardly pay attention until disaster comes. It is therefore no surprise that flooding has in recent years wreaked havoc in several communities across the country. 

Early in the year, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) identified 31 states as high-risk areas for significant flood impacts. It warned that most of the flood incidents would result from high rainfall intensities of long duration and poor and blocked drainage systems while warning of the health implications. Authorities in the 36 states had enough time to prepare adequate measures against the elements. But little or nothing was done hence we have now must contend with the tragedy of losing hundreds of people with hundreds of thousands of others displaced.

We hope the NEC committee will look at both short term and long-term measures to deal with this perennial challenge that claims dozens of our people while displacing thousands of others.