Across Nigeria, unprecedented and incredible flooding has submerged several lands and territories and wreaked havoc and destruction in its wake. Stretching from Kano and Kogi in the North, right down to Bayelsa and Anambra States in the South, the destruction has been massive. Several communities have been uprooted, houses submerged, properties destroyed, lives lost and hopelessness has engulfed residents of these communities across the country. According to the Federal Government, the death toll from the disaster stands at 612, with 2,776 people injured and 1.4 million persons displaced.
A former President, Goodluck Jonathan’s house in Bayelsa State had its entire ground floor submerged in the flood, with the State Governor declaring that the former President is now an internally displaced person. In Kogi State, the flood had taken over nine Local Government Areas as at the beginning of October 2022, sweeping away farmlands, submerging roads and buildings, including the Kogi State House of Assembly Quarters. In Imo State, at least 33 communities in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area are ravaged by the flood. In Anambra State, communities in Ogbaru, Ayamelum, Anambra West, Anambra East and Awka North Local Government Areas are submerged, with over 700,000 persons in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in the State.
The response from government has been pitiable. Rather than set up an urgent, massive and large scale humanitarian rescue mission and operation, the government announced timidly and almost irresponsibly, a usual path – donation of relief materials, donation of food and a half-hearted, uncertain announcement of providing shelter. As if to sidestep its responsibility to provide immediate and urgent relief, the Federal Government through a statement on Twitter, announced that it was setting up a team to work on finding a solution to the problem of flooding in the country within 90 days. The Federal Government announced that the team will be headed by the Minister of Water Resources with its membership to include the Ministries of Environment, Transportation and State Governments.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management has not been known to be responsive to humanitarian issues in the country and has been accused of not even understanding the urgency of Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis and the action needed in response. However, over the past few days, the Ministry and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) commenced distribution of relief materials in the affected areas. These include food items and materials for construction of temporary shelter.
It is unclear how soon the floods will recede. There is however concern with several people displaced and houses destroyed by the floods and citizens unsettled, whether the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) commencement of Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) distribution will not be affected.