National emergency panacea for floods

As thousands of lives and properties are destroyed, submerged or lost due to the high -content flood disaster and in progress in Nigeria and Africa in general. The most vital questions remain here: what are the measures and actions that we can take to end this crisis? Will we pieces our hands and continue to see our homes and people who die because of the flood? Or should we continue to witness this calamity and the disaster of floods? What efforts and measures have taken the government so far? And their actions have positive results? If the answer to these questions is no, citizens, residents and the government in general must re-face restoration against floods related to floods in order to face it perfectly and permanently in Nigeria.

According to the annual prospects of annual floods (apo) 1,249 communities in 176 areas of the local government in 30 states and the territory of the federal capital (FCT) fall into the areas with high risk of flood.

The report added that the states at high level risk are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Sokot. Yobe, Zamfara and FCT.

Unfortunately, the Oyo, Kano, Edo and Borno states have started experimenting for flooding this year. After the flood hit some communities in two local governments in the state of Borno, including Chibok and Damboa, said the director of acting Ali Abdullahi Isa, of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (Bosema) and I mentioned it.

“AS Directed by His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, We Have Carried Out A On-The-Spot Assessment of All the Areas affected by the Flash Flood in the Two Local Governments. A Total of 1,103 Houses in Gumsuri, Wovi, and Garjang in Damboa. LGA Have Been Severely affected, While 106 Houses in Mboa, Whuntaku, and Yarchida Villages of also the local government of Chibok has been hit “.

Although this year, floods have become global concerns, with accidents reported in the United States, including Texas, where about 51 lives and some still missing were lost. It is imperative for the government in Nigeria to take precautions and measures to face them.

However, we all had the most painful and unforgettable experiences of the disaster in Nigeria, in particular the floods of Maiduguri and Makwa, who taught us lessons that the government, citizens and interested parties must learn to avoid and prevent further occurrences. We must use these bad memories to avoid the recurrence of these disasters, which have caused over 300 and 200 lives and have affected many souls.

It is for these reasons that I ask the federal government to declare a total national emergency on floods – this will allow the government to actively respond to the effective crisis; Resources should be assigned for this disaster, allowing the government to support the displaced persons following the flood.

Undoubtedly, declaring a national emergency on the flood, would allow the government to focus on the correction of bridges and dams that have broken or collapsed in the past, which are able to make water washed on the communities and lead to sudden floods across the country.

In addition, the number of victims affected by the flood is increasing, without specific measures in place to mitigate the situation permanently; Therefore, it is necessary to declare a state of emergency to deal with these problems related to floods.

According to the United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA), over 1,000 people were killed and 740,000 displaced by floods that hit 5 million in Africa, as reported last year.

While declares a national emergency, a great power committee must be inaugurated by the Federal Government in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the management agencies of state emergencies in all 36 states to discuss amply ways to face the matter. The Committee should include the Nigerian meteorological agency (Nimet), the traditional sovereigns of Nimet, the leaders of the community and government officials to permanently deliberate on the matter.

In addition, the responsibilities of the Committee should include the supply of a global list of all dams and bridges in the country that could cause floods and reports to the federal government. After submitting the report, the government should accelerate actions to repair these structures in a short period to avoid a further escalation of floods in the country.

If a global worries as the Coronavirus and Abo virus can be addressed in a short period of time; So flooding concerns can also be addressed to protect citizens. While I am fully aware that it is not easy to face it because of the lack of preparation and in some states houses have been built in the waterways, the government should not bend their hands. Actions and the government should make sure that houses or markets are not built in the street in the future.