Every year, Nigeria is known to have seasonal floods in several areas of the country, but this year’s flooding is worse than ever. Floods occurred in 2012 and 2015; however, there were no long-term strategies to mitigate further impacts in the future. Since June 2022, about thirteen states have been dealing with floods, but the situation worsened after Cameroon’s Lagdo dam was forced to open in an emergency, releasing water into the River Benue and seriously affecting states like Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, and Kogi, to name a few.
Although the government was alerted of the possibility of the new development by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency sometime in September 2022, many state governments did not prepare ahead of time. The federal government claims that the inflow from the Ladgo dam to Nigeria is only one percent. Two dams were supposed to be built to address this difficulty following the agreement that was signed in 1982 (about 40 years ago), but this project hasn’t been completed yet. The Adamawa-based Dasin-Hausa Dam, one of the project’s dams, is still under construction. This demonstrates the government’s negligence and lack of preparedness.
The flooding situation that began in the southern part of Nigeria has now claimed the lives of over 500 people. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reports that the flood has had an impact on more than 2.5 million people over the last two months. About 27 out of 36 states are affected, with over 1.4 million people displaced, properties destroyed, jobs lost, and farmlands submerged in water, demonstrating the devastating impact thus far, hence immediate action is required. There is also the possibility of further consequences if nothing is done to address it, especially since more downpours are expected to last until November, causing water levels to rise.
With all of these changes, there are also the health implications of this humanitarian crisis, such as the rise in water-borne diseases like cholera, diarrhea, and cases of skin diseases, which can have a significant impact on the country as a whole, with children and women being more likely to be affected by these preventable illnesses. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has already announced a 42% increase in cholera cases in September compared to August, demonstrating the rate at which these infectious diseases can spread and potentially cause an epidemic.
Evacuating flood victims appears to be the only practical option at the moment, especially given the forecasted downpours, but the government must look inward and address the issue on a deeper level. According to the World Commission on Dams (WCD), flow-through dams, not just reservoir dams, are required to combat this issue. This is because they are built primarily for water storage and flood control purposes. In a bid to address this problem, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministries of Environment and Transportation, alongside the state governments, are working to develop a comprehensive plan of action for preventing subsequent flood disasters in Nigeria; hopefully, it will include the recommendation.