NEC fears poor harvest as floods kill 205

The National Economic Council has expressed skepticism about a bumper agricultural harvest due to widespread flooding in several states in Nigeria.

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, and Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, shared this information following a meeting of the NEC chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, held on Wednesday.

In 2024, no fewer than 205 people lost their lives in various floods in 29 states across the nation, while another 225,169 people were displaced from their homes.

That’s according to an infographic report released Wednesday by the National Emergency Operations Centre of the National Emergency Management Agency.

According to the report, flood-related accidents caused injuries of varying degrees to 2,119 people.

He indicated that Kano state is the worst affected in terms of the number of deaths recorded, with 35 deaths, followed by Jigawa with 34.

Bayelsa and Bauchi occupy the third and fourth positions with 25 and 21 deaths recorded respectively.

An analysis of the report further indicated that of the 611,201 people affected by the floods, Bauchi tops the list with 86,000 people affected, followed by Sokoto with 83,000 victims and Zamfara with 75,000.

One hundred and fifty-four local government areas were devastated by the floods in the 29 states. Among the affected states were Sokoto, Bauchi, Zamfara, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Ondo and Kogi.

Others are Lagos, Oyo, Imo among others.

On September 1, PUNCH Online reported that no fewer than 4,167 homes and farmlands had been destroyed by floods in Gombe and Yobe states.

According to the Gombe State Emergency Management Agency, at least 2,517 homes and shops have been destroyed by the floods that have devastated 33 communities in the state.

This came even as the Executive Secretary of Yobo State Emergency Management Agency, Mohammed Goje, said 1,650 houses had been destroyed in Jajere and Yunusari towns of the state.

Bauchi State Governor Mohammed has revealed that the NEC has asked flood-affected states to submit damage reports by Monday, September 9, 2024.

He also stressed the Council’s urgent call for improved food security measures, noting that flooded agricultural lands will affect crop yields.

The Bauchi governor said: “The governors have acknowledged the support of the Federal Government in terms of allocation of N3 billion as a measure to ensure that they at least provide a palliative for the flood.”

He stressed that the flooding was particularly severe in the northeast, where a major road between Kano and Maiduguri was cut off, causing significant damage to homes, schools, bridges and livelihoods.

Mohammed added: “Certainly, this has been a big challenge for us as a government and as people in our states because we have to ensure greater food security.

“Agricultural lands are already under water and so collaboration between all levels of government is needed to ensure food security.

“The need for planning, collaboration and interaction to do it during the harvest period, because the bumper harvest may not be what is expected. So, the federal ministry of agriculture and all our sub-national ministries should collaborate and ensure that something comprehensive is done.

“I know there’s been a lot of devastation and we’ve been asked to take stock of the destruction before Monday. But other governance measures in terms of the governance structure have been set out by the board.”

Meanwhile, the governor of Nasarawa has announced the reform of the flood committee in response to the recent flood disasters.

According to him, the committee, designed to provide coherent interventions rather than ad hoc solutions, comprises the governors of Kogi, Oyo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Bayelsa and Jigawa states, as well as several federal ministers and directors.

The council set Monday as the deadline for affected states to submit details of the damage caused by the flood.

He said: “The Flood Committee must be reconstituted and the new members of the councils are the governors of Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Bayelsa and Jigawa states.

Others are the Minister of Water Resources, Minister of State for Water Resources, Minister of State for Environment, DG Nigeria Sovereignty Investment Authority (NSIA), DG NIMET, DG NWRI, MD/CEO NIWA, MD NNDC, MD NEDC and DG NEMA.

“The council has decided that by Monday will be the deadline for all the states of the Federation to submit the details of the damage, including farms, schools, barges that have been affected by the latest flood and the chairman has said that they will be considered for appropriate support to the various states. So these are the new very strong members of the flood committee who will continue to address the council from now on.”

In a related event, US billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates revealed that over two decades he has invested $2.8 billion to improve Nigeria’s health, nutrition and agriculture sectors.

During the NEC meeting, Gates stressed the importance of investing in Nigeria’s most precious resource, its people, while addressing the country’s economic challenges.

As co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has long supported Nigeria; his foundation’s total commitment now exceeds $2.8 billion, the largest such investment in Africa.

Gates stressed the need to prioritize primary health care, saying that without health “there can be no opportunity.”

Despite Nigeria’s resources, the country currently spends only 3,000 naira per person per year on basic healthcare, a figure he says should be increased.

Gates urged Nigerian leaders to increase funding for primary health care and ensure rapid allocation of resources.

He also praised recent successes, including the HPV vaccination campaign, which reached over 12 million Nigerian girls in just one month.

Bill Gates said: “I have been coming to Nigeria for over two decades. In that time, I have seen performances by Afrobeats legends. I have made friends with leaders from all walks of life. And I have met innovators who are changing the world.

“I am also proud to support their work. To date, our foundation has invested more than $2.8 billion in Nigeria. This is our largest commitment in all of Africa.”

“Nigeria’s economy is stagnant. Earlier this year, your debt exceeded 50% of your GDP for the first time since 2001. And while your revenue-to-GDP ratio has risen, it is still lower than it was 15 years ago. The result is that Nigeria spends less per capita on its people than other African countries with a fraction of your wealth.”

He acknowledged that Nigerian economic leaders have taken difficult but essential measures, such as unifying the exchange rate.

Bill Gates added: “I understand this is a politically sensitive area. Nigerians are struggling. Incomes have collapsed. Prices have skyrocketed. And like in many other countries, people are protesting.

“Taxes are never popular. That’s true in America too. But they are part of a social contract. People are more willing to pay them when they see the government spending that money to give Nigerians a better life.”

He said that while President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope programme is ambitious, it faces resource constraints.

Bill Gates stressed that the focus should be on using available funds as effectively as possible.

He said: “After all, priorities without funding are just words. And I know that right now it is impossible to give every priority the funding it needs. That is why it is more important than ever to focus on the areas that you know will make the biggest difference.

“I’ll start with health. Because without health there can be no opportunities.

“Primary care is the first, and sometimes the only, point of contact that most patients have with the health system. Yet Nigeria spends only 3,000 naira on primary health care per person, per year. Seventy percent of spending goes to secondary and tertiary care, compared to only 30 percent for primary care. That ratio should be reversed.

“Last year, the Federal Government launched an ambitious HPV vaccination campaign. In one month, Nigeria immunized more girls than 40 other Gavi countries combined in the entire previous year. In total, Nigeria reached more than 12 million girls with this life-saving vaccine.

“It’s really incredible. And I hope you carry the lessons of that campaign into your future efforts.”

Bill Gates has stressed that nutrition is fundamental to public health and that agriculture plays a fundamental role in ensuring proper nutrition.

He lamented that “Yet Nigeria has the second highest rate of food insecurity on Earth. You have seen how the problem has worsened with the acceleration of climate change. Arable land has disappeared. Pests have wiped out crops. And prices of basic foods have skyrocketed.

“But there are some ways to address this crisis that I hope you will consider.

“First, Nigeria needs more funding for extension workers, to advise and support farmers; fertilizer, to make sure the soil is healthy enough to grow more crops; and infrastructure, so farmers have roads to get their produce to market.

“A key solution is to adopt the new generation of innovative crop varieties that have shorter growing seasons, higher yields and greater resistance to pests.”