Government should invest heavily in flood prevention
The people of Nepal are still counting their losses from the devastating flash flood which ripped through their border with China, inundating towns, crushing roads and bridges and causing the death of more than a thousand people in its path. The last time Nigeria witnessed this type of extremely shocking flooding was in 2012 which killed no fewer than 363 people, displaced about three million others and about 600,000 houses either damaged or destroyed. But following the tragedy in Nepal, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) are concerned that the 2012 flooding could happen again if their warnings continue to be ignored. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also enjoins Nigerians to remain vigilant because such a devastating flooding can occur with little notice.
Recurring flood disasters in the country are no longer isolated seasonal incidents but a growing national crisis demanding urgent action on urban planning, drainage, early warning systems and public preparedness. But the most disturbing aspect of Nigeria’s flood crisis is not that flooding occurs. It is that authorities and citizens largely know where the risks are located, but continue to allow development, particularly in highbrow estates. Yet government cannot simultaneously warn citizens against building on waterways and permit developments that obstruct free flow of water. Where planning authorities approve construction in flood-prone areas, responsibility does not rest solely with the property owner. The approving authority must also answer for the consequences.
This is why Nigeria’s physical planning system requires urgent reform. Land allocation and building approvals must no longer be treated primarily as administrative exercises. Every proposed development in a flood-sensitive area should be subjected to credible environmental assessments before approval. The government must also stop the practice of allowing development to precede infrastructure. No serious city can continue approving buildings without ensuring adequate drainage, storm-water channels, road network and waste-management systems. Nigerians, too, must exercise greater responsibility by carrying out due diligence before purchasing land and building on it.
What the tragedy in Nepal also teaches is that early warnings must be more than technical forecasts. A villager, trader, commuter or resident does not need complicated meteorological terminology. People need to know whether they are at risk, when the danger is expected, what action they should take, and where they can seek safety. Government at all levels should therefore establish clear standards for issuing and disseminating flood alerts, including the use of telecommunications networks, radio, television, social media, community leaders and local emergency structures.
More importantly, Nigeria needs to invest in prevention rather than continually spending heavily on response. Every naira spent clearing a blocked drainage channel before the rains is potentially money saved from emergency reconstruction after a flood. Every illegal structure prevented from obstructing a waterway may save lives and millions of naira in property losses. The federal and state governments must make flood prevention a measurable component of urban governance. Governments must embark on sustained drainage rehabilitation and maintenance rather than seasonal desilting exercises conducted only after flooding begins. Development approvals must be linked to environmental and flood-risk assessments, with no exceptions for politically connected developers or property owners.
Floods may be natural events, but the destruction they cause is often amplified by human decisions. Nigeria cannot prevent every rainfall-induced disaster. It can, however, prevent people from building on waterways, stop drains from becoming refuse dumps, enforce planning regulations, improve warning systems and prepare communities before the water arrives. The choice is no longer between flooding and lack of flooding. It is between preparedness and catastrophe. With the Nepal floods, Nigeria has been warned. It must act now by strengthening real-time hydrological monitoring and establishing binding information-sharing arrangements with neighbouring countries, particularly on major transboundary rivers and dams.