Environmentalists have accused certain Nigerians of having a bad attitude and building on water channels and drains, which hastens floods in neighborhoods, cities, and towns.
The experts in a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the South South area also attributed the problem to the ineffective waste management of the government.
They claimed that the government disregarded flood predictions made by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMeT).
The respondents added that poor application of current regulations and the lack of active municipal planning legislation were contributing factors in floods.
They contend that certain states’ laws are out-of-date, while others cannot put them into effect because of corruption.
The experts continued by saying that these errors had seriously damaged the nation, resulting in the loss of numerous lives and assets as well as the eviction of numerous people.
To combat the threat, they asked the government to implement preventive steps right once at the state and federal levels.
The Lagdo Dam in Cameroon released water on September 13, 2022, according to Mr. Princewill Ayim, Director General of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency. This information was included in an early red alert from NiMeT.
“Unfortunately, there was no proactive measures taken by the Federal and State Governments to prevent the water from causing havoc in Nigeria.
“The Lagdo Dam has contributed largely to the flooding being experienced in some states in the south,” he said.
According to Mr. Osita Obi, an environmentalist in Calabar, maintaining consistently clean drainage systems along with an efficient waste control and management system would help reduce flooding.
Anthony Okon, a town planner with the Cross River Town Planning Service, claimed that the obstruction of streams and the sinking of buildings during flooding were both caused by the indifference of town planners in constructing projects.
The deluge that is destroying the nation, according to Inanigie Audu, the chairman of the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners’ Edo branch, was caused by unplanned and unrestrained human activity throughout time.
Audu observed that towns and cities had been allowed to expand unchecked and that the services of town planners had not been used to ensure proper development.
He claims that developers even go so far as to sand-fill swampy places and construct on waterways.
“There are natural drainage created by nature such that when town planners are designing a building layout, they recognise these natural drain areas.
“And when rain falls, water naturally drains into them as provided by nature.
“We need state governments to domesticate the Urban and Regional Planning Decree of 1992 to empower and protect town planners to carry out their duties effectively,’’ he said.
He regretted that Nigerians and the government had made the issue worse by disobeying meteorologists’ warnings of dangerous weather and climate conditions.
According to Audu, the issue of climate change makes it essential for the government to take different action.
Mr. Abass Ibrahim, an environmentalist from Auchi, encouraged the federal government to step up measures to lessen climate change’s effects on the nation.
Ibrahim, a lecturer at Auchi Polytechnic’s School of Environmental Studies, claimed that the current torrential downpours had an effect on the soil’s ability to absorb a large amount of water.
“This means that the flowing water will have to find a channel for itself. In situations and where flood plains have been blocked by buildings, the implication is flooding,’’ he said.
The expert cited inadequate environmental management, deteriorating drainage infrastructures, and trash dumping in waterways as contributing factors to flooding.
Ibrahim, however, advised Nigerians who reside in flood-prone areas to abide by NiMet’s weather forecasts and take the necessary precautions to avoid human casualties and property damage.
Meanwhile, the Etsako Central Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo recently experienced flooding that drowned residences, mosques, markets, schools, and no fewer than 12 communities’ worth of churches.
The towns are Ake Island, Ifeku Islay, Udaba-Ekphei, Anegbette, Ukpeko Orie, Ofukpo, Agbabu, Osomegbe, Udochi, and Yelwa.
Among the crops impacted by the devastating flood are rice, cassava, vegetables, potatoes, and peanuts.
Mr. Isaac Omoaka, a victim from the Udaba community, claimed that since his birth, he had never witnessed such flood destruction and added, “This year’s flooding is 10 times that of 2012.”
Chief Geffrey Ugbodada, the traditional chief of Anegbette, claimed that the flood had caused his people immense suffering and left them homeless and defenseless.
“Our people are very hardworking farmers who do not depend on government or support from anyone to earn a living,’’ he said.
However, he asked the government and kind-hearted Nigerians to provide aid to those affected by the flood tragedy in Nigeria.
Also in Delta, Chief Sylvanus Ejezie, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), pleaded with the government to provide food and other supplies to the victims, particularly farmers, to help them recover from the catastrophe.
Ejezie bemoaned the loss of his more than 70 hectares of rice plantation, residence, and mill, and added that Omelugboma and other Oko settlements were all drowned.
“I have lost everything; over 36 hectares of rice farm in Omelugboma here in Oko, and another 40 hectares at Ngegwu, Ajaji, Illah to flood.
“Also, flood has taken my rice mill at Abraka in Asaba; there is nothing left for me.
“The situation is terrible and it will be difficult for me to start all over again without government support,’’ he lamented.
Dr. Godfrey Enita, the Delta Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, lamented the flood’s severe effects on the nation’s economy and farmers in particular.
“We visited some hectares of rice farms which have been taken over by flood. This is massive destruction running into millions on naira; these are all large scale farms,” he lamented.
Enita expressed hope that the government would help to lessen the impact and noted that field officers had been instructed to open desks for the enumeration of victims.
Chief Adim Nwokobia, the chairman of the Fishery Cooperative Federation of Nigeria’s Delta, bemoaned the difficulties facing the economy of the country, including insecurity, high input costs for agriculture, growing inflation, and floods.
He asked the government to solve food insecurity by providing actual farmers with soft and interest-free loans, grants, and equipment to increase food production.
According to Nwokobia, no country could survive on crude oil alone without the food required for development. He also foresaw a food shortage and starvation if the flood continued unabated.
“As we speak, my fish farm at Camp 5, Anwai, near Asaba which is running into millions of naira has been submerged.
“So, having lost everything, even if the flood stops today, I will find it difficult to start my business again without the assistance of government.
“If nothing is done quickly to arrest the yearly flooding in the next three years, there will be no food to eat even if you have money to buy.
Mr. Joseph Abu, a waste management specialist in Port Harcourt, claimed that in addition to climate change, Nigeria had not yet put environmental rules for flood control and prevention into place.
He pointed out that managing non-biodegradable debris like plastic that also gathered in drains and impeded free water flow in the nation’s most populous cities was a difficulty.
According to Abu, most inhabitants enjoy throwing trash down drains either out of habit or because there aren’t many dumps outside of residential neighborhoods. He added that this has led to recurring flooding over the years.
In a similar spirit, Mr. Fegalo Nsuke, another environmentalist, asserted that government had a greater role to play than the population it supervised.
‘’If government is failing to set and enforce standards, citizens will naturally flout rules.
“Sadly, the flood has created security issues and emergencies with children, girls, women and young people becoming vulnerable to abuse and crime,” he said.
Nsuke criticized the lack of cooperation between the government and town planners and added that they lacked the legal authority to supervise new developments.
Together with him, Akpabio Ufot-Akpabio, a town planner from Akwa Ibom, advocated for the need to implement proper and comprehensive physical planning, management, and development in order to reduce flooding throughout the nation.
Some states are still using antiquated colonial town planning rules, according to Ufot-Akpabio, a representative of Akwa Ibom in the Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC).
However, Dr. Sunday Ntoiden, the Federal Ministry of Environment’s controller in Akwa Ibom, argued that even in cases where town design was flawless, Nigerians’ mindsets needed to alter to avoid the threat.
“You see people carrying bags of waste to dump inside drains. You see people build shops and block drains and water will not flow the way it should. So attitudinal change has to be addressed,’’ he said.
Ntoiden, on the other hand, asked the government to educate citizens on the best practices for waste disposal, recommending them to develop the habit of desilting drainages, especially during rainy seasons to prevent floods.
