Just when we are yet recovering from the devastation caused by flood in North Eastern Borno State, a fresh threat is stares the nation with ominous consequences.
Nigeria’s Hydrological Services Agency has warned of potential flooding in 11 states after neighbouring Cameroon said it was starting to release water from one of its largest dams following recent heavy rainfall in West and Central Africa.
The warning comes as Nigeria is already grappling with severe floods in Northeastern Borno State where a dam burst its walls after heavy rains that have also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger – all part of Africa’s Sahel region that usually receives little rain.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency ,NIHSA, said it had been notified by authorities in Cameroon recently that they had started controlled water releases from Lagdo dam.
Cameroon has several dams on the Benue River, which flows downstream to Nigeria.
A spokesperson for Cameroon’s utility ENEO, which manages the dam, told journalists there was a possibility that the dam could be flooded, but the reservoirs had not been opened yet.
The NIHSA said Lagdo dam managers would gradually release water in a way not to exceed the capacity of the Benue River downstream to prevent flooding.
But 11 states, including Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi in the food producing central belt region and Southern oil producing states of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers are at risk, said NIHSA.
It urged the Federal and State authorities in Nigeria “to step up vigilance and deploy adequate preparedness measures to reduce possible impacts of flooding that may occur as a result of increase in flow levels of our major rivers at this period”.
In 2022, Nigeria lost more than 600 people and farmlands to the worst flooding in a decade following heavy rain and after Cameroon released water from Lagdo dam.
Experts said then that Nigeria’s failure to complete a dam of its own that was supposed to backstop the Cameroonian one worsened the disaster.
We are worried that as the most populous nation in Africa we can be overtaken so cheaply by manageable and ‘preventable’ causes as flooding.
AljazirahNIGERIA joins critics who emphasize often that defective infrastructure and poor planning worsen the situation. The level of our negligence often comes to the fore when we are confronted with emergencies such as flooding. We must be armed with the necessary tools and proactive tendencies that can mitigate the consequences.
We applaud the Cameroonian authorities for being proactive by forewarning that it was about to release water from its dam. It appears it is the first time they would be this reasonable.
Indeed, they have promised to tread with caution as they would release the water in ‘sustainable’ proportion to counter any disastrous effects. We commend this approach as it would water into the Benue trough at tolerable level and reduce negative results.
Notwithstanding these promises from Cameroun that it would be cautious in its release of water from its largest dam, we call on our authorities at all levels to be on guard so as to nip in the bud any likely disaster.
It is also necessary to put on check this situation perpetually until the water release is over as part of our food basin of the North and middle belt would be jeopardized in the event of excessive flooding across the areas. Besides, the human casualty often associated cannot be overemphasized.
