~~Calls on IOC’S to immediately support Government efforts in the affected Oil Producing states
The 4th leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council Abuja Chapter has sympathized with victims affected by the flood in all the ijaw communities and pray that God saves them from this disaster.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Information Officer of the Council, comrade Gifted Ibiambo. The statement reads:
Floods in history have brought great calamities on humans, destroying settlements, properties and inflicting great sufferings. Such destruction of human heritage and civilization should be viewed with great concern by government.
Managing floods in a sustainable context, embraces developing policies, strategies and measures that will check the surprises, shocks, and violent destructive features of floods in order to contain flooding within an economically feasible, socially acceptable, and environmentally sound limit.
Floods are natural events caused by the interplay of charges in climatic and edaphic factors, channel characteristics of rivers, and human factors.
In Nigeria, these factors have combined in some parts of the country to cause flooding on a regular and perennial basis.
About one third of the land in Nigeria is at an elevation of less than eight meters above sea level. As a consequence, up to 30 percent of the country is often covered with flood water.
The main areas which suffer from flooding in Nigeria are the low lying areas of the southern Nigeria where the annual rainfall is very heavy and spans over seven months of the year. These areas include mostly the Niger delta .
Recall in 2012, Nigeria experienced it’s worst flooding, recorded in recent history with a total losses were put at $16.9billion.
However, the 2022 flood is worst than that of 2012 which shows our government has not learnt from the previous experiences and as such causing serious untold hardship to the people of the Niger Delta region expecially the Oil Producing communities.
The extent and nature of Nigeria’s flooding are such that the actual figures for displacements, losses and fatalities cannot be truly ascertained due to poor record and reporting.
But flooding threatens Sustainability because it negatively affects the economy, health, social life and environment.
Flooding constitutes a threat to Nigeria achieving the global Sustainable development goals 2030.
Drivers of flooding in Nigeria.
✓ Drainage system
✓ Poor waste Management
✓ Unregulated urban expansion.
Currently, there is no flood management policy in Nigeria.
The lack of relevant legal and policy frameworks is an indication of the low Importance given to controlling and managing flooding in Nigeria.
Integration of flood risk management with spatial planning is the way to go. Historically, Nigeria has been more focused on post disaster flood response than control. Reducing and addressing exposure to flood risk is now a national priority in the Nigerian government disaster.
As a Council, we’re calling on NEMA, and other relevant Agencies of Government to swing into actions more by , providing flooting boats, relief materials and safe heaven for affected victims accross the states.
We’re equally calling on all multinational oil companies operating in the afftected communities to swing into action by supporting the Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers state governments respectively in this regards.
The East west road must be looked immediately by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) & the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to ensuring the roads are well fixed immediately after the flooding period without delay.
Signed:
Comrade Gifted Ibiambo
Information Officer
