It has been hell of a time for motorist plying Abuja to Lokoja and the Eastern, and Western part of the country due to the flood incident that had made Lokoja unpassable. According to media reports, since the beginning of 2022 flood, 300 people have been killed in separate flood-related incidents, 100,000 have been displaced and 500,000 affected across the country. This is August statistics before the almighty Lokoja went under the water.
The first incident of the flood occurred in 2014 and had since then occurred every other year leaving behind woes of lamentation, horrible stories, death disease outbreak among others.
As usual, the media had made a show piece of the incident with fantastic headlines including“After Hell, it is Lokoja,Flood; Over 500 houses submerged, millions lost in Kogi, Pain, sorrow everywhere, Deaths, losses, tears as floods overrun Kogi, Worst flood for decades uproots 10000 in central Nigeria. Most media houses also did a post flood preview.
The National Hydrological Services Agency, a federal government body that does annual forecast of flood and other related incidence in the country has also been diligently producing annual outlooks to guide policy directions as well as ensure early preparations so that no one is caught flatfooted.
Inspite of the media outburst and the annual predictions from a government agency most states of the federation still do not give a hoot or are careless about such warnings. the Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, unveiled the 2022 Annual Flood Outlook, which indicated that high flooding will hit 233 Local Government Areas in 32 States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. So why are we then surprised about what is happening in Lokoja?
Is it that the state did not bother about the predictions, or it is waiting for allocation from the federation account to do what is necessary.
The outlook usually gives states amble time to put in place mitigation measures but as has become topical of our leaders they decided to wait till the last minute or worse they want to see the manifestation of the flood before they can act.
For a state like Kogi, what will be its excuse having suffered form the impact of flood in the last six to seven years?
Every year, a substantial portion of the state capital city, Lokoja usually goes under the flood from September and the situation will remain so till December and January in some areas, yet every year, the state is caught unawares.
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Governance is not about paying salary, which in this case Kogi is not regular. Governance is about looking after the overall welling being of your people. It is totally unacceptable that after seven experiences Kogi is still unable to find solution to reoccurring flood that has killed the dream of many and ended the lives of others.
Another funny angle to the whole flood saga is the statement by the federal government that state governments are not adhering to warnings and alerts about the flood. So, the only option left for the federal government is to annually pump billions of naira into another federal government agency, this time National Emergency Management Agency to provide relief materials to the victims that were lucky enough to have survived the flood.
It is important for us to remember that citizens in Kogi state are Nigerians, the federal government owe them duty to protect their lives and properties. The continuous blame game between the Kogi state and the federal government is not acceptable.
Nigeria is not the worse country on earth with incessant flooding. Why is it very difficult for us to learn from other climes how they are addressing challenges which we are facing.
The annual mortality arising from flood related incidences in the country no longer matter but it has gone to show the type of country we are operating. All over the internet are thousands of literatures relating to the flood activities in Nigeria. Research exist for Pre, during and post flood era. What else are we looking for to making a concrete decision that will forestall future occurrence.
How has the locals adapted to the flood, are there lessons from their experience that we can leverage upon to address the annual scourge? When will the NHSA visit the states and conduct on the spot analysis of some of the flood and adequately advise on how to avert it. Beyond providing annual alerts or outlook, how else can NHSA support states to address the perennial flooding.
As citizens who usually bear the pains of the flood, how are we helping ourselves to navigate this annual challenge. Are we only relocating before the flood and returning when it has receded?
Poor, non-existent blocked drainage systems are a major cause of flooding. Many residential areas have no drainage system and rely on natural drainage channels. It is a common sight for citizens to empty their waste into drainages when it is raining. This habit which is age long should be discouraged in every community.
Increasing urbanisation also means more areas are built with concrete and cannot absorb water, increasing runoff. There used to be environmental health officers who goes around to settlements to inspect all this things and apprehend violators but today, such things nol longer matters because like they said the rich are not affected but we should remember that the rich also cry.
