BY GODFREY UBAKA
BEING a perennial challenge that comes with torrential downpour of rains, the expectation is that containing its impact should be urgently incorporated into our planning, budgetary provisions and development projections. This is even more so with the devastating impact of climate change and the extreme weather conditions the entire world is grabbling with. That has however, not been the case with our flood management experiences going by the account of the National Emergency Management Agency( NEMA), as each year comes with diversely upscale ecological and humanitarian challenges.
Almost as it was in the days of the Biblical Noah, flooding has taken a destructive dimension. This is partly due to the fact that we usually place development ahead of planning. In which case, it comes out either as sporadic or haphazard but essentially unplanned in its shape and manifestation. In some other climes, planning precedes actual development of towns and cities such that urban master plans are regulated, properly guided, backed by law and adhered to, to the letter.
Nigeria is about the only country where people can go ahead to develop at their own whims and caprices, outside the masterplan and urban development guidelines and still get away with such pernicious impunity. The result is that people build along waterways , on designated roads , drainage paths, parks, reserve areas and under high tension wires.
Today, we have the riverbanks overflowing even as communities who reside near these banks find it difficult to relocate to the upland areas. Residents have rebuffed relocation orders issued by some state governments. Of course they will readily tell you that it is not so easy to relocate from one’s ancestral roots.
This scenario now leaves us with an unmitigated level of casualties being recorded as the flooding season intensifies. Last week, the rains continued to pound parts of the country exposing our poor capacity at managing large-scale emergencies. Roads were washed away. Death toll is still on the rise even as fish farmers had their entire farms washed away. While the losses were still being counted, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency ( NiHSA), also came out with warning that even heavier level of flooding will hit 198 local government areas, in 31 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), beginning from August 7 to 21, 2025. What this alert means is that the more devastating flooding experiences are still underway.
This year alone, floods in communities across the country have resulted in at least 191 deaths, with 94 people still missing. This is going by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) official report. The agency’s dashboard also indicates that over 134,000 people have been affected across 20 states and 47 local government areas.
Niger State has reported the highest number of flood related deaths (163), followed by Adamawa State (26), Borno (1), and Gombe (1). 94 people have also been reported missing due to the floods. A total of 134,435 people have been affected by the floods across 20 states and 47 local government areas. So far, 43,936 people have been displaced from their homes, while 138 people were reported to have sustained injuries due to the floods, 8,594 houses and 8,278 farmlands have been damaged.
Meanwhile, flooding across Nigeria is intensifying due to a combination of factors, primarily driven by climate change and poor urban planning. These include increased rainfall intensity related to the depletion of the ozone layer, inadequate drainage systems, and poor urban and community planning.
Climate Change is real and the impact is daily affecting our lifestyle choices. The planners of our cities and environment policy makers are still carrying on as if it is business as usual
Global warming is causing more intense and frequent rainfall situations, leading to flash floods and river overflows. Arising from this, many communities have been practically cut off from the rest of the world.
Coastal areas now face increased flooding risks due to rising sea levels, which exacerbate storm surges and high tides.
Our case in Nigeria has become more challenging due to our culture of poor urban planning and weak Infrastructure support.
Many of our urban areas lack proper drainage systems, causing water to accumulate and overflow during heavy rainfall. In areas where drainages are provided, they are poorly managed and often silted.
We are also confronted with Silted Rivers and Waterways . Incidentally, accumulation of silt and debris in rivers and drainage channels reduces their capacity to carry water, leading to overflows.
Rapid, sporadic and unplanned urban development has in the past years encroached on natural floodplains and wetlands, reducing the land’s ability to absorb excess water. This is the situation that has led to the kind of flooding/ humanitarian disaster confronting parts of Ikorodu in Lagos State and the Igwogwo/ Amachai communities in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State where lives and livelihoods are being lost to floods on a daily basis. Community efforts at curtailing disaster have proven not to be enough. The long expected intervention from NEWMAP is taking too long in coming.
Urbanization, especially when unplanned, comes with loss of vegetation cover which reduces the soil’s capacity to absorb rainfall, increasing surface runoff. The result is the season of flooding which we are all grabbling with.
Our culture of poor waste management has not helped matters as improper waste disposal clogs drainage systems, exacerbating flooding. Incidentally, this is also the season of corn and its consumption. The problem actually is in the improper disposition of the generated waste into the drains and waterways exacerbating the existing environmental challenges.
Riverine Communities and waterways have also been particularly vulnerable to flooding due to overflow from silted rivers. The plans to have River Niger de-silted have been on the drawing board for far too long with no action being taken on practical implementation.
Many of our cities and urban areas are unregulated and original layout plans already distorted. This has led to cities experiencing flash floods and urban flooding due to inadequate drainage and the impermeability of urban surfaces.
Coastal regions also face increased flooding risk from rising sea levels and storm surges.
The world is perilously close to 1.5ºC warming and the climate crisis is increasing the frequency and severity of disasters, with devastating consequences as can be seen in the intensified flooding situations around the world.
The difference is in the planning regulation compliance rate and level of preparedness for emergency management amongst nations. Some more sensitization needs to be targeted at our people in the coastal communities. It is understandable to be attached to one’s ancestral community. But if this level of attachment can lead to being washed away by flood, then, it no longer makes enough sense.
Our town planners need to be more professional in their enforcement of urban planning regulations. There is no way we keep building on waterways, drains and canals and not expect intensified flooding. Organized societies are so called because people are made to keep the rules.
We must keep our urban planning rules if we desire a safe and functional city. Adherence to city masterplan or layout is not negotiable but to be strictly implemented in the interest of all. Short cuts or circumvention tactics end up being very expensive for all. There are indeed urban planning and city beautification lessons to learn even from the current flood disaster experience. The earlier we learn them, the better for all of us.
The water cycle is intensifying as the climate warms even the more. The end of this experience may not be in sight.
This indeed is a clarion call on state governments, local authorities, and the public to take proactive measures to mitigate the risks ahead and ensure improved community safety. We should redouble our efforts to save our environment from further depletion.
