Afrigather …As extra catastrophe victims go away properties
…Ecological fund on voicemail as dams collapse
…Borno obtained N815.9m in six months
…Alau Dam bought N762m federal price range in 12 years
…Critics level fingers at govt negligence
…Extreme flooding worsens public well being disaster
…Time to look past reduction supplies
Borno State, identified extra for its battle towards insurgency and terrorism, is now going through a special type of calamity: a devastating flood disaster that has claimed lives and displaced a whole bunch of hundreds.
This tragedy, which started with the collapse of the Alau Dam on the Ngadda River, marks one of many worst floods within the area in three many years. With not less than 30 useless and 414,000 displaced, the human price of this catastrophe is staggering.
Regardless of Borno receiving N815.9 million in ecological funds in six months, and the Federal Authorities allocating N762 million for the dam’s restore over 12 years, the dam was left to deteriorate, triggering this devastating disaster.
Now, as floodwaters recede, the disaster is being considered not simply as a pure catastrophe, however as a preventable tragedy fueled by authorities’s negligence and mismanagement of essential funds.
The collapse of Alau Dam: A recurring tragedy
The collapse of the Alau Dam final Monday, positioned about 20 kilometers south of the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, is harking back to the identical dam’s failure 30 years in the past.
Constructed as a part of efforts to enhance water provide, agriculture, and flood management within the area, the dam is located alongside the Ngadda River, one of many main rivers flowing by way of Borno. It was designed to control the river’s move and forestall extreme flooding in the course of the wet season.
Nonetheless, the dam’s collapse set off a sequence response of destruction, inflicting floodwaters to submerge total neighborhoods in Maiduguri and surrounding communities.
The scenes of devastation—properties submerged, streets became rivers, and hundreds of individuals fleeing to greater floor—painted an image of a catastrophe which may have been prevented with correct upkeep and foresight.
Learn additionally: ECWA president requires pressing motion amid devastating floods in Nigeria
The human affect: Lives misplaced and houses destroyed
As of now, not less than 30 individuals have misplaced their lives within the flooding, whereas near half one million residents have been displaced, growing the variety of internally displaced individuals within the state affected by decade-long insurgency.
The Nationwide Emergency Administration Company (NEMA) reviews that greater than 23,000 households have been severely impacted.
“It’s 30 individuals which were recorded useless to date, round 414,000 individuals have been displaced and are in 9 IDP camps throughout the state,” NEMA spokesperson Manzo Ezekiel stated.
The floodwaters swept by way of main areas, together with the Shehu of Borno’s palace, the state secretariat, the put up workplace, a cemetery, and the College of Maiduguri Educating Hospital.
The flood additionally ravaged the Sanda Kyarimi Park Zoo, killing 80percent of the animals, and brought on widespread harm to properties, colleges, industrial buildings, and locations of worship.
The instant response has seen the Federal Authorities and native authorities’ scramble to offer non permanent reduction within the type of emergency shelters, meals, and medical care.
However because the floodwaters recede, the total scale of the catastrophe is turning into obvious, with households struggling to salvage what stays of their properties and belongings.
Learn additionally: Unprecedented flooding devastates Maiduguri, threatening lives and livelihoods
Borno bought N815.9m ecological fund in 6 months; FG budgeted N762m for collapsed dam in 12 years
The flood catastrophe in Borno has sparked a heated debate over the position of the state authorities in stopping such catastrophes.
Critics are pointing to the ecological funds disbursed to the state earlier this 12 months as proof of gross negligence.
Ecological funds are offered by the federal authorities to states to deal with environmental points, together with flood management, erosion, and different ecological challenges.
Information present that the Borno State authorities obtained N815.9 million in ecological funds in the course of the first half of 2024.
The funds have been distributed as follows: N139.8 million in January, N154.9 million in February, N127.9 million in March, N119.5 million in April, N142.2 million in Could, and N131.6 million in June.
Regardless of receiving these funds, the state authorities failed to stop the collapse of the Alau Dam, even after warnings of its potential failure.
Additionally, data revealed that the dam has obtained a complete of N762 million in budgetary allocations over the past 12 years.
Successive administrations, from Goodluck Jonathan to Muhammadu Buhari and now Bola Ahmed Tinubu, allotted funds for the dam’s rehabilitation, with the best allocations of N285 million in 2020 and N200 million in 2023 below Buhari’s authorities, as reported by the Basis of Investigative Journalism.
Learn additionally: Maiduguri flood: Over 2 million individuals affected – Zulum
The neglect of important infrastructure has change into a sore level for a lot of residents, who argue that this catastrophe may have been prevented if the federal government had acted sooner.
“One of many seven vital classes I discovered from the latest flood in Maiduguri is that if we don’t finish corruption on this nation, corruption will finish us all. Somebody was entrusted with the accountability of renovating the dam however has seemingly embezzled the cash,” an X person, Muhammad Bala, stated.
“No investigation or punishment adopted. Now, hundreds of harmless residents are stranded with out meals, water, clothes, or shelter, and a few have misplaced their lives on account of this preventable catastrophe,” the medical physician added.
“Now, there’ll be calm to depend the losses, from when one other devastating spherical of grief will begin – one which’ll in all probability final for generations,” stated M.A Iliasu, one other X person. “Helpers have became beggars inside 24 hours principally as a result of the SSG despatched to watch the dam thought Allâh will do his job for him.”
Certainly, the failure of the Alau Dam isn’t an remoted incident. Throughout Nigeria, important infrastructure usually suffers from poor upkeep and oversight, resulting in preventable disasters.
On this case, the collapse of the dam has not solely brought on untold hardship however has additionally uncovered a long-standing challenge of corruption and mismanagement in using ecological funds.
The neglect of the Alau Dam is symptomatic of a broader sample of disregard for environmental points in Nigeria.
The nation’s latest historical past is marked by quite a few flood disasters, a lot of which may have been mitigated with correct planning and infrastructure.
Simply two years in the past, Nigeria skilled its worst flooding in over a decade, with over 600 individuals dropping their lives and hundreds displaced throughout numerous states. That catastrophe was attributed to a mix of things, starting from local weather change, poor city planning, to a failure to take care of present flood-control measures.
In Borno State, the identical points are at play. The state, like many others in Nigeria, lies in a flood-prone area, with elements of it sitting beneath sea degree.
But, reasonably than investing in flood-prevention measures—corresponding to enhancing drainage techniques, repairing dams, and implementing laws towards constructing in flood-prone areas—native authorities have usually turned a blind eye.
The results of this neglect are actually being borne by probably the most weak members of society: those that can’t afford to rebuild their properties or escape the floodwaters.
Because the floodwaters recede and Borno begins the lengthy strategy of restoration, one query stays: who will probably be held accountable for this catastrophe?
The failure of the Alau Dam and the mismanagement of ecological funds are clear examples of governance failures which have price lives and livelihoods. With out accountability, there’s little hope that such tragedies will probably be prevented sooner or later.
