An increasing number of communities in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, are finding themselves underwater in what is termed the nation’s worst flood-hit in a decade.

Houses submerged in water with homeowners counting their losses as they helplessly watch the floods destroy their homes, commuters wading through cars and buses knee-high in flood, infrastructure destroyed, people living on the streets, people going missing or dying — the damage is just endless.

As of today, the flooding has hit 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states and over 600 deaths have been recorded while over 1.3 million people have been displaced from their homes.

To put this into context, in Bayelsa (a state with a population of about 1,704,515), about 700,000 people have been displaced due to the flooding and vast sections of farmland have been destroyed. Same for Anambra, Rivers, Delta, and other Southern states.

In Adamawa, Kogi, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, and other Northern states, thousands of acres of farmlands have been swallowed by flood.

People are literally cut off from neighboring communities as the roads have been washed away by the flood, and electricity, as well as the network, has become unstable.

While the flooding is largely attributed to the increased intensity of rainfall caused by climate change, other factors like the release of excess water from dams both in Nigeria and Cameroon, improper waste disposal as well as poor planning and infrastructure have exacerbated the damage.

Examining the problem

i. Climate change

In Nigeria, flooding is not a new occurrence as rainfall is experienced throughout the year and people are used to the yearly flood that engulfs some parts of the nation especially Lagos, Delta, and Bayelsa. The rainy season had been predictable for generations, with the most significant rainfall occurring from April to October and minimal rainfall occurring from November to March.

However, in recent years, climate change has affected the intensity and frequency of precipitation (up from the mean annual precipitation of 1,165.0 mm) as a result of an increase in the amount of water that evaporates into the air from water bodies and the most immediate impact of this intense precipitation is ensuing flooding.

ii. Poorly managed water resources

Most of the rivers in Nigeria are poorly managed and there is little regulation on their use. For example, the excess water in the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon was recently released, causing flooding in neighboring communities.

The Dasin Hausa Dam in Adamawa State which was supposed to contain the excess water released from the  (a contributor to flooding in Nigeria) is still incomplete after over 40 years.

iii. Poor waste management

Poor waste management coupled with improper waste disposal is also a major contributor to the problem of flooding.

More often than not, when it rains in Nigeria, drainage systems are used as dump sites leading to the blockage of water flow. Also, there aren’t adequate recycling plants to ensure that waste is recycled/repurposed neither are there proper channels for waste collection.

iv. Poor planning and infrastructure

Being the most populous African country, Nigeria’s rapid population growth combined with urbanization and poor planning is another factor exacerbating flooding.

People are building in areas (low-lying areas, riverbanks, etc.) that are prone to flooding. Some even build on drainage systems thereby causing obstruction of water movement.

Furthermore, the drainage systems in most communities are inadequate for flooding events and as such, unable to shoulder the load when the floods hit.

Ditching reactiveness for proactiveness

When we do not recognize something as a problem until it affects us personally, it becomes hard to find common ground on the issue. This is why we must be proactive instead of reactive by responding practically to the immediate causes of the floods and working towards lasting solutions that will protect and preserve these communities.

A reactive government is one that only updates its policies after events have occurred, whereas a proactive one foresees events.

The Nigerian government, sadly, falls within the group of governments with a reputation for reacting to issues instead of being proactive, and the recent flooding in the country is an indication that things haven’t changed (and likely won’t).

There are no evacuation and relief plans. Camps are filled to the brim and the welfare of these displaced people has been left to individuals.

Another major concern is the food crisis that is expected to hit the country in the following months because a great number of the rural population relies on agriculture for their livelihood and it has become harder for the affected communities to live off the land.

The federal government must declare a state of emergency on the flood crisis in the country and provide speedy relief to affected communities.

The government must also go beyond just making commitments to putting these commitments into policy and action.

Furthermore, through NEMA and other state environmental agencies, action must be taken to reduce the risk of undesirable climate change impacts occurring in the future. Investment in scientific research must be prioritized to make useful predictions and solutions which must be incorporated into strategic or anticipatory planning.

Finally, the government must support innovative technologies and solutions aimed at helping communities mitigate/adapt to the changing climate.