TheCable

The federal government says up to 154 locations, as well as transportation infrastructure worth N80 billion, have been affected by flooding across the country. 

The floods, which have taken over 600 lives, have also led to the displacement of millions of persons. 

Speaking on Wednesday at a media briefing, Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, said the flooding is not peculiar to Nigeria.

“You see, first of all, this is not a Nigerian unique problem. We see this all over the world. It’s a human issue,” he said.

“At least, let us imagine that whether it was in Pakistan, Florida, these early warnings were issued. Some people left; some people didn’t leave. There are human issues. 

“Now, also realise that there are levels of government involved here. There is a federal government; there is a state government; there are 36 of them. And there are 774 local governments — those places relating to who builds where, who sets up the house, of course, are local planning issues that are not the responsibility of the federal government.

“As my colleague in water resources has said, one of the things his ministry has done is to share the flood warning system. It is a big pro marker that shows that when water reaches this level, you’re safe; if it gets to the yellow level, it is a warning to run. 

“Those are some of the things the government does. And it doesn’t mean everybody will relocate. But as we speak here, some people did not relocate. Some might have. But the job we have to do now is to bring relief to those who are impacted. That’s our job now. 

“So, recriminating about what happened yesterday doesn’t solve the problem. And what we have come to brief you about are the steps being taken to make life livable, easy for the survivors; to commiserate with those who have lost people and property;  and to plan a way to make life better for tomorrow.”

On his part, Suleiman Adamu, minister of water resources, said it will take 30 years of consistent investment to control the menace caused by the floods.

He also said in addition to early warning systems, there should be capital-intensive initiatives to avert the consequences of flooding.

The minister said the present administration is already working on a flood management master plan that will take at least three years to complete.

“There is no technology on earth that can tell you the extent of the floods,” he said.

“You work on the basis of data that you have before. Now that the rains have come, that is what hydrology is all about. This is a record and now we’re resetting the clock, so that our future plans will now consider that this is the historical catastrophic level that we will not account for. That is what engineering does. This has never happened before.”

On her part, Sadiya Umar Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs, said it is incorrect to say the federal government was not prepared.

“To say that the ministries were not prepared for this emergency or this disaster that was about to happen, it’s not correct,” she said.

“We have repositioned our warehouses to take stock of deployment as approved by his excellency, Mr. President, to be handed over to the ministry and we have deployed this grains to the respective states that we expect this flood is going to happen. 

“So, to say that we were not prepared is really not correct. We did our best and we are still doing what we’re supposed to do.”