Inadequate Policy Coordination Worsening the Flooding Crisis in Nigeria
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Flood-related disasters are currently causing humanitarian crises in over 27 states across Nigeria. According to several reports this week, over 600 people have died with a further 2.5 million people affected, including 1.3 million displaced persons. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs also confirmed 121,318 houses and over 440,000 hectares of farmland have been damaged across the country. The floods have aggravated the country's food insecurity, health, and environmental crises, especially in affected communities. In most affected communities, food prices have doubled due to scarcity—traders have lost their goods to flood and are unable to transport food supplies with roads underwater. In addition to creating supply constraints, flooded roads are isolating communities and preventing travel. ?
The devastating floods can be attributed to three main issues. First, this year, the country has experienced an unusually long rainy season with heavy downpours. Climate change-driven extreme weather events such as this have become a more prominent threat in recent years. The opening of the Lagdo dam in Cameroon is another factor exacerbating the flood. States and communities linked to the tributaries of the dam have been submerged in water. According to a report by Nextier SPD Research group, Nigeria reneged on a bilateral agreement with Cameroon to build a dam in Adamawa State to hold excess water from the Lagdo dam. Finally, poor dredging of inland waterways and poor maintenance and clogging of drainages in many communities is also a factor that has worsened the flood crisis.
In September, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warned state governments about the impending flood, advising them to prioritize relocation of vulnerable communities and stocking up on food, water, and fuel supplies. Unfortunately, state governments failed to comply with this early warning by NEMA. This failure to act promptly goes against the government’s laid down policies on disaster management in Nigeria.
The two main policies to address natural disasters in Nigeria are the NEMA National Disaster Response Plan and the National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria (both policies are available on our website). These policies were designed to ensure effective coordination of federal and state resources for the management of natural disasters and to guarantee adequate support for displaced persons in the event of a natural disaster. So far in the crisis, Federal and State government responses have been inadequate: from failing to follow the early warning of NEMA to the absence of intergovernmental policy coordination to provide food and water to displaced persons and relocate vulnerable communities.
Going forward, there is a need to strengthen intergovernmental policy coordination on emergency management and natural disasters between federal and state governments and federal and state emergency management agencies. In the meantime, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs needs to work together with state governments to provide the necessary support to affected persons and businesses in the ongoing flood crisis.
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