By Fatima Saka
The Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Comrade Abba Moro, has urged the federal government to create more dams in order to avert devastating flooding.
The senator disclosed this to Nature News.Africa correspondent on Wednesday in Abuja.
Speaking of, Sen. Moro said flooding has become a perennial occurrence that the country is suffering from. Adding that every season, NiMet issues warnings of heavy downpour of rainfall and likewise relates major catastrophes of climate change that are causing flooding.
He lamented that the issues of climate change and flooding whenever it is raised still has the same impact on the environment.
Sen. Moro further gave an instance of the lagdo dam between Cameroon and Nigeria overflowing and spills, which goes down to do other minor dams that cut across Nigeria. Adding that anytime heavy rainstorm occurred, the dams overflow with the torrential rainfall causing flooding into the river basins in Nigeria, the river Benue and Niger.
He added that the basement of these rivers are insufficient to contain the volume of water caused by different diverters which results in flooding in the cities and farms.
However, Senator Abba Moro, hereby urged the federal government to provide special intervention funds to the relevant agencies to construct receptor dams that will receive the flooded dams and dredge the rivers so waters can have free flow into rivers.
He also emphasised on consequences of flooding that;
“The flood comes because of torrential rainfall, flood comes because of these big dams overflowing, the river’s banks are full due to flooding.
“Create Receptor dams to receive the water that will come from the major dams, dredge the rivers so that the remaining water will now come down, eventually can find space in the basement and the flow, so that the banks do not overflow, to destroy the farms and the houses.
“The other one of sensitization is to tell the man and woman in the villages to look out, whether or not this water is coming, to take proper precaution.
The solution to the problem is to stop the water from coming. And that’s where the government comes in,”he added.
