Let this Maiduguri catastrophe serve as an eye opener to us in Nigeria that any serious nation needs to have appropriate flood control measures in place

Ayo Akinfe

[1] We are all in agony across Nigeria at the moment as about 40% of the Borno State capital Maiduguri is under water. This catastrophe came about as a result of the Alau Dam overflowing and releasing millions of gallons of water into the environment

[2] This flood is particularly devastating as about half of Borno’s 4m population are currently living in Maiduguri due to the Boko Haram crisis. We now have a genuine humanitarian crisis on our hands

[3] Every country in the world builds dams, either for irrigation, hydro-electric power or to supply a water treatment facility. However, when you build such dams, you construct safety and drainage measures, to provide a safeguard against flooding

[4] It appears that in the case of Maiduguri, no flood defences were in place, so the poor people of the city were left to the mercy of mother nature

[5] In London, there is a facility known as The Thames Barrier, which is there to safeguard the city from the River Thames if it ever over-flows its banks. All over the world, such measures are immediately put into use whenever there is any danger of flooding

[6] What we are witnessing in Maiduguri is not new as very recently Kogi State was equally flooded when Cameroon opened the Lagdo Dam and the River Benue overflowed its banks killing hundreds of people

[7] Across many of our urban centres, there are no gutters to deal with drainage and even where they are built, our people block them with refuse. All it takes is a little rainfall and the streets of many Nigerian cities become flooded and impassible. There are no anti-flooding defences either. We need a fundamental change of mindset

[8] Up until, the states most affected by flooding in Nigeria have been Lagos, Anambra and Abia. Of late, however, Kogi, Benue and now Borno have joined the list. We need a comprehensive National Anti-Flooding Plan to combat these disasters. President Tinubu should inaugurate a panel immediately

[9] What is happening in the cities of Lagos and Aba in particular is typical of the way every urban metropolis develops. They grow faster than the infrastructure, so at some stage, the authorities need to step in, purchase property and engage in urban renewal. How many Nigerian state governors have urban renewal programmes or commissioners for urban renewal?

[10] Having said all that, what we need immediately is international relief as this is a disaster of biblical proportions. We need temporary cities built, emergency food aid, medical assistance and everything the United Nations and international community can offer. If not, disease, hunger and pestilence will wipe out the people of Maiduguri

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com