The Nation Newspaper

Tag: disasters

  • Kids, teenager, octogenarian die in disasters

    Four persons yesterday died in various disasters across Lagos State.

    A 10-year-old girl Miss Eniola Shodipe drowned in a well at Atanda Street in Mafoluku, Oshodi.

    An infant – Isaiah Bamidele was recovered dead after a 17-passenger boat accident occurred around Odo-Isitu, Egan, a Lagos suburb.

    Another 16-year-old boy, as well as an octogenarian, were consumed in separate fire that occurred at Lekki and Ojo.

    Miss Shodipe, who was said to have visited some relatives to spend the long vacation, fell in the well while playing with other kids.

    The incident, which occurred at about 2pm threw the neighbours into panic.

    Many struggled to rescue her but were unsuccessful because the wood used to cover the well fell on her.

    Though, the well was not very deep, the teenager passed on before she was recovered.

    Six-year-old Bamidele was the only casualty in the boat accident that occurred around 1:20pm.

    The Nation learnt that the boat had colluded with another one coming from Totowu. Bamidele fell inside the water.

    He was recovered dead by local divers and handed over to his family who buried him immediately.

    The 16-year-old boy died in a fire outbreak at 35c, Ajiran Road, Agungi, Lekki; the 86-year-old woman died in a separate fire outbreak at the weekend.

    Confirming the incidents, the director, Lagos State Fire Service,  Rasaq Fadipe said the old woman’s building of 10 rooms on Dickson Adebayo Street, Iba New Site, Ojo, was consumed in the inferno.

    Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Dr Onimode Bandele urged residents to be safety conscious.

    He appealed to boat operators to embrace the use of safety jackets and ensure their passengers comply.

    Bandele hailed the local divers for their prompt response in savings the victims, noting that more lives would have been lost if not for their swift intervention.

     

  • The growing fear of digital disasters

    The growing fear of digital disasters

    From Internet of Things (IoT), the world is graduating to Internet of Everything (IoE). The world has become a global village, with people reaching any part at the click of a button. But these benefits pale into insignificance because of the risk of digital disasters, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    The world has become a global village courtesy of the internet, which has bridged the gulf that existed in the past. Aside sending electronic mails (e-mails), it is now possible to make video calls on Facebook while Skype is also available for people to make internet calls.

    To underscore the boom in the industry, there are now the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Everything (IoE).

    A free online knowledge platform, Wikipaedia, defines IoT as “the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing Internet infrastructure. Typically, IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that go beyond machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and covers a variety of protocols, domains, and applications. The interconnection of these embedded devices (including smart objects), is expected to usher in automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced applications like a Smart Grid.

    “Things, in the IoT, can refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, automobiles with built-in sensors, or field operation devices that assist fire-fighters in search and rescue. Current market examples include smart thermostat systems and washer/dryers that utilise WiFi for remote monitoring.”

    According to Gartner, there will be nearly 26 billion devices on the IoT by 2020 while ABI Research estimates that more than 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to the IoT by 2020. A recent survey  done by Pew Research Internet Project, a large majority of the technology experts and engaged Internet users who responded—83 per cent—agreed with the notion that the Internet/Cloud of Things, embedded and wearable computing (and the corresponding dynamic systems  will have widespread and beneficial effects by 2025. Thus, it is clear that the IoT will consist of a very large number of devices being connected to the internet.

    Integration with the Internet implies that devices will utilise an internet protocol (IP) address as a unique identifier. However, due to the limited address space of IPv4 (which allows for 4.3 billion unique addresses), objects in the IoT will have to use IPv6 to accommodate the extremely large address space required.

    According to United States (U.S) technology giant, Cisco Systems Incorporated, the IoE is the “bringing together of people, process, data, and things to make network connections more relevant and valuable than ever before-turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.”

    Cisco said in nearly all industries, including retail, an accelerating innovation curve is reshaping the business landscape. It argued that in this environment, barriers to market entry are falling, customers are demanding new ways of interacting, and margins are compressing.

    Cisco economic analysis and research indicated that this value would be driven by the IoE — the networked connection of people, process, data, and things. Cisco predicted that $14.4 trillion of value (net profits) would be at stake globally for private-sector companies over the next decade, based on their ability to harness IoE

    However, what will determine how the country benefits from these enormous benefits IoT and IoE bring to the individuals and corporate bodies is how far the authorities are able to secure the internet. Director, Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Tony Ojobo said the internet remained an unregulated public platform.

    Chief Executive Officer, Disc Communication Limited, Bayo Banjo said cases of banks’ security being breached are just a tip of the iceberg. According to him, what is happening now that is being termed cyber crimes are not cyber crimes, but “cyber-assisted crimes” because when the real cyber crimes come, the effects will be disastrous to the nation. Banjo, who is the President, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), urged the government to take urgent steps to address the situation. He said hackers are not old men, but young boys who are adventurous and willing to explore.

    Chief Executive Officer, Teledon Group, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, agreed no less with Banjo. According to him, the threats on the cyber space are real. He said banks, telcos, cards are increasingly coming under attacks. He said the air traffic controller at the nation’s airport could also be breached, warning that such a development will unleash colossal damage on the nation.

    President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), Lanre Ajayi, said wherever and whenever there are economic and social activities, threats are bound to be lurking in the corner. He said the cyberspace has opened up a huge vista of business opportunities while social websites such as Facebook, WhatsApp and others have strengthened social bonds among people without borders. He identified cybercrimes to include but not limited to cyber espionage, cyber terrorism, child online abuse and cyber exploitation.

    This year’s Zurich Cyber Risk Report, created in collaboration with the international think-tank, Atlantic Council, warned that ‘cyber-risk management professionals need to look beyond their internal information technology safeguards to interconnected risks, which can build up relating to counterparties, outsourced suppliers, supply chains, disruptive technologies, upstream infrastructure and external shocks.

    It added that a ‘build-up in these risks could create a failure on a similar scale to the 2008 financial crisis. Such interconnected risks are compounded when a company outsources the management of its servers, information technology and cyber security to focus on its core activities. Little information may be known about the third party’s information security or business continuity safeguards and it may also in turn outsource activities to other companies.’

    Group Chief Risk Officer & Regional Chairman Europe, Zurich Insurance Group, Axel Lehmann, wrote: “The internet is the most complex system humanity has ever devised. Although it has been incredibly resilient for the past few decades, the risk is that the complexity, which has made cyberspace relatively risk-free can – and likely will – backfire.

    “Organisations are unknowingly exposed to risks outside their organisations, having outsourced, interconnected or exposed themselves to an increasingly complex and unknowable web of networks.

    “Few people truly understand their own computers or the internet, or the cloud to which they connect, just as few truly understood the financial system as a whole or the parts to which they are most directly exposed.”

     

    Interconnectedness, recipe for disaster

     

    Zurich noted in its report that the internet is the most complex system humanity has ever devised – “and our track record of successfully managing complex systems is far from perfect.

    “The internet is highly interconnected and tightly coupled with society, meaning that (as in other such systems) a small failure or series of them in one place can cascade, producing an outsized impact elsewhere,” the report noted.

    Movement of data into the cloud is now the vogue with data centres springing up everywhere. While some have servers in the country, others have offshore. Should a major cloud service crash or be compromised, the effects of such a failure would cascade to all systems and businesses dependent on it everywhere.

    Though these threats are mostly targeted at businesses and governments, these days, even the most mundane of tasks get coupled and linked to the internet. Thus, the growing complexity of the networks puts the entire system at greater risk of attack.

    Zurich said: “On the internet, it has been easier to attack than defend for decades. The original architecture of the internet was founded on trust, not security – software is still poorly written and secured, and the system is so complex that it is difficult to defend. Systems in which one set or participants have asymmetric advantages, year after year and decade after decade, must hit a tipping point when there are more predators than prey.”

    Ajayi identified that phishing (identity theft), spamming, denial of services (DoS) and viral attacks are now real. Huge mails are now sent to people’s servers the weight of which disallows useful mails to get to its destination, leading to DoS.

    The report noted that in time past, cyber attacks and incidents online have only really broken “things made of silicon” and impacted networks in a digital sense. However, this will not always be the case.

    “As the internet connects increasingly with real life, in places like the smart grid interconnection with the electrical power infrastructure… cyber incidents will break things made not of silicon, but of concrete and steel.”

     

    Way forward

     

    Analysts say the passage into law of the cyber security bills pending in the National Assembly is one way to wriggle out of the quagmire. Former Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Prof Cleopas Angaye, said the quick passage of the cyber security bills pending before the National Assembly into law and training of lawyers and judges about the new crime may help the situation.

    Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah says the war against cyber crooks cannot be fought on a stand-alone basis since internet is a borderless enabler. He urged global collaboration, especially in the area of cross border harmonisation of laws and regulations.

    Another general consensus among stakeholders is the need to create awareness about the inherent dangers lurking in the internet. Then registration of all information technology (IT) professionals in the country will assist. Other recommendations included embedding security in the software to reduce the rate of vulnerability; insurance should also be considered.

    Zurich, however, recommended that risk managers, regulators, and organisations with system-wide responsibility need to focus more on resilience and agility rather than simply prevention.

    “In an increasingly interconnected world, risks can strike quickly and from any direction – so, too, is it equally critical that those affected are able to respond quickly to ride out the shocks,” the group said.

  • One-day disasters

    One-day disasters

    Save the Children’s verdict that Nigeria is one of the worst places on earth  to deliver a child calls for sober reflection and quick action

     

    What do Nigeria and India have in common? According to the World Mothers’ just-released Report of Save the Children, an international NGO on maternal health and advocacy, the two countries are among the worst places on earth to deliver children.

    The United States too was found to log the highest number of deaths of new-born babies, among the world’s industrialised economies, recording 11, 300 deaths each year, and perching at 30th position out of 176 countries. The US number was however adduced to a high population and high rate of preterm births, the highest in the world.

    Still, India and Nigeria, by the neo-liberal economic book-keeping that somewhat praises growth sans development, are two countries with steadily growing economies. The United States, Breton-Woods metropolis, does not lack in cutting edge technology to assure safe births. Yet, it is hopelessly trounced by the Scandinavian trio of Finland, Sweden and Norway. The trio runs the good old welfare state, demonised by the neo-liberal lobby in the West, since the era of US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

    Might neo-liberal orthodoxy then have direct adverse effect on investment in health and other social infrastructure, given that the Scandinavian welfare states did much better in the report than the United States, even with its acclaimed technological wonders? The answer to this question must interest Nigeria’s policymakers, given their tight wedding to Breton-Woods economic orthodoxy.

    Besides India, which has followed a similar path to economic near-boom, still records 56, 000 maternal deaths – more than any other country in the world. Instructively, the report blames the poor situation on an invigorated Indian economy, the gains of which have nevertheless been “unequally” shared. To avert the Indian example, Nigerian policymakers must start building safety nets into the current economic policy.

    Indeed, it is not surprising that years of poor budget implementation, among other factors, have condemned Nigeria to the laggards, in this latest report on maternal health. Ranked 169 out of 176 countries, with an estimated 89, 700 babies dying on their first day, the country is one of the most unsafe places to have a baby. Indeed, more than one in every 10 (12 per cent) of babies who die under five years in Nigeria die on their first day; while more than three out of every 10 (32 per cent) die in the first month of birth.

    Nigeria’s company in the laggard zone of the bottom-10 ranked countries, all in sub-Saharan Africa, is instructive: DR Congo (the worst place on earth to have a baby), Somalia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Niger, Central African Republic (CAR), The Gambia, Chad and Cote d’Ivoire. All these countries, aside from The Gambia, have been war-torn in recent times. Aside from the Boko Haram insurrection and Niger Delta militancy, Nigeria has not been in a state of war since the Civil War (1967-1970). Yet, it cannot do better than these war-ravaged countries!

    These statistics are a serious indictment on how badly this country is run. The grim stats also call for a rapid response to correct the situation. Unfortunately however, hardly anything is assured.

    Still, the imperative for a response is clear, when the laggards are compared with the top-raters. In DR Congo, the worst global case, an average of one woman in 30 dies from pregnancy-related cases. But in Finland, the best case, only one out of 12, 200 does. That only translates to the odd probability – so distant and remote is such death actually happening. It is quite a gulf! So, how do the African laggards, especially Nigeria, even start rolling back these death rates, in a race Save the Children dramatically tagged “Surviving the first day”?

    But even survival at birth is only the first step in the whole gamut of maternal health, child mortality, education and income; with the Western countries, led by the Scandinavian pace-setters out-performing Africa and Asia, on such a superlative scale! Again in Finland, according to the report, children are guaranteed 17 years of formal education at the expense of the state, aside from an almost zero death at pregnancy and delivery. What is Nigeria’s equivalent of that and what is the quality of the programme?

    Indeed, in infants’ death, Africa only marginally outperformed Southern Asia. While Africa accounts for an estimated 396,500 first-day deaths (38 per cent of the global total), South Asia accounts for 40 per cent. Nigeria, because of its huge population and also its huge mis-governance, accounts for a huge chunk of that figure.

    Though Susan Grant, Save the Children’s Nigeria country director, insists every baby faces the gravest danger in its life on its first day, that the world outside Africa and Asia has virtually turned back that grim routine is clear evidence that African governments – and Nigeria’s in particular – must brace themselves up. As at now, they are clear non-starters, no thanks to overwhelming corruption and lack of focus.

    It is reassuring that at the report’s presentation in Lagos, Dr. Jide Idris, the Lagos State health commissioner, pledged his state would commit more resources to health care to roll back the disaster. The Lagos government must be encouraged to walk its talk.

    But it must also be realised that Lagos, which in comparative terms by Nigerian standards boasts tolerable health facilities, is likely not the most affected, even if the horrible statistics is skewed towards a national health disaster.

    That is why the Federal Government must show leadership and galvanise other state governments to take maternal and baby health very seriously. If Nigeria achieves a quantum leap in good governance, maternal and baby health too will receive a quantum boost.

    That is as good a field as any to calibrate good governance in the country. It is time to save the children.

     

  • Planning for natural disasters

    Planning for natural disasters

    SIR: Nigeria experienced one of the world’s deadliest weather induced natural disasters in year 2012. The devastations of the flood was so much in areas along the river Niger banks that people were beginning to wonder if the Biblical time of Noah where flood was used to destroyed the earth was here again. In all, 27 states in the country were affected by the flood.

    There is no doubt that this singular occurrence had put to test our perceived physical planning initiatives, environmental management and planning policies, our prompt adherences to adverse weather warnings from relevant agencies as well as our collective readiness for natural disasters since they are ways the earth seems to bounce back when pushed to the walls by our day-to-day activities without any regard for replenishment. It is a reminder to all and sundry that climate change is surely here with us and urgent steps needed to be taken to mitigate its effects. Most importantly it is sort of wake-up call for us that we need to be on our toes anytime the rainy season begins to knock at the door.

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), a Federal government agency saddled with the mandate of forecasting weather, advising the government and informing the populace about weather issues deemed it fit to organise a pre –rainy season conference on weather issues where several issues bothering on the roles of meteorological information in risk and disaster management and its utilization for national development planning was discussed. Indeed all speakers at the conference were of the unanimous opinion that, timely weather information is required for planning in all sectors, most especially agriculture, water resources, construction and transportation sectors, with an admonition for NIMET to make extra efforts to ensure the accuracy of their predictions. They advocated for a government policy that will make it mandatory for every sector to make weather framework an integral part of their policies. It was also submitted that NIMET should make concerted efforts to take the information to the real people that needed the information, that is, the common man on the street, farmers, transporters, traders and other important stakeholders rather than the government

    Perhaps, the most important question is what are the implications of the NIMET’s 2013 seasonal rainfall predictions? One, the prediction that most parts of the country will have normal rainfall amount indicates that, barring any abnormal rainfall in the Cameroon leading to the opening of their dams, states at the Niger banks would experience normal experiences they’ve been experiencing when there are normal rainfall. It should be expected that, aside the opening of the Cameroon Dam, every river, including the Niger, Benue and the Atlantic Ocean is likely to over-flow their banks during the raining season, this is assumed to be a normal situation known to the natives of these regions. Lagos and parts of Ogun state and other state capitals should also expect normal floods arising from improper physical planning, blocked drainages and environmental demeanours.

    Two, to the farmers, early onset of rainfall in parts of Niger, Anambra, Delta, Northern Cross River, parts of Ogun and Ondo states means that the planting season is expected to commence earlier than usual while the cessation of rainfall earlier than usual in parts of Ondo, Delta and Cross River states means the farmers have to plant early enough to avoid shortage of rainfall. However, it should be remembered that these states are located along the coasts and the rain forests zones and thus receives high rainfall most times in excess of requirements for annual crops; early cessation of rainfall may therefore be a good omen for maize farmers in these zones.

    Disasters will definitely be averted while food security would be guaranteed if the right attitudes are adopted towards the weather information provided by NIMET.

    • Zannu Ajibola Emmanuel

    Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Abuja.

  • Stemming the tide of fire disasters

    Stemming the tide of fire disasters

    How much is human life worth in our dear country, Nigeria? This question has become necessary considering the spate of avoidable catastrophes in which scores of lives of our countrymen are terminated and billions of Naira worth of goods and property destroyed. In recent times, fire disasters particularly have become so incessant that it now occurs on daily basis.

    Even though the risk of fire outbreaks is higher in the dry season, it is very scary the number of fire incidents that have occurred in quick succession across the nation in the last few weeks. The fire explosion that rocked the heart of Lagos on Boxing Day killing one person and destroying over a dozen houses was still on our minds when the following day the news broke that the country home of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was on fire. The same day, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, got burnt. Since then, the trend in fire disaster has moved to Ogun State Government Secretariat, Abeokuta, the Ogbomoso tanker fire, INEC office, Abuja, Feleye Market, Ibadan, NNPC mega station, Bashorun-Akobo area, Ibadan, Oko-Baba Shanties, Lagos, the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oyo State and most recently the Arepo explosion that killed scores of petrol pipeline vandals.

    All these happened in the new year barely a fortnight gone.

    The statistics for the year ended 2012 coming from various states in the federation is equally frightening. In Rivers State for instance, the government has announced that 73 persons suffered different degrees of injuries and that no fewer than 230 persons lost their lives in 222 fire incidents in the state in 2012. Another statement from the Oyo State Fire Service Department indicated that about N1 billion worth of property were destroyed and a total of 38 people were killed in 607 fire incidents across the state last year. In just the first two weeks of 2013, the department received 46 distress calls over fire disasters in different parts of the state in which three persons were killed.

    This trend is worrisome because of its consequences on our socio-economic life. The cost of fire incidents is obviously enormous. It results in pains and deaths to victims, wastes time, money and materials and damages equipment and structures. It is disheartening to know that most of these disasters are not acts of God but rather the products of human errors and carelessness. Nigerians attitude to accidents’ prevention is lethargic! Some of these fire disasters could have been avoided if we have been more safety-conscious. It is only in this part of the world that people store petrol, a highly inflammable material, in their living rooms. This is usually the manifestation of the product’s scarcity. The Lagos Boxing Day fire disaster is reported to have been caused by ignition and explosion of tons of fire crackers, warehoused in a crowded commercial area. This is sheer recklessness.

    Our responses to catastrophes in this clime are usually reactive. The fire-brigade approach of rushing out to quench fire all the time, rather than figure out how to put in place measures to prevent fire outbreaks is a direct manifestation of our nationalistic tendencies for lack of prescience. We must accept that safety simply means being pro-active. Many of us still leave our offices at the end of the day without ensuring that all electrical appliances are shut down to prevent outbreak of fire in case of power surges. In almost every household in Nigeria, matches and other ignition materials are kept within the reach of children.

    A research conducted by a non-governmental organisation with a focus on fire prevention, control and management, Fire Disaster Prevention and Safety Awareness Association of Nigeria (FDPSAAN), shows significant low level of awareness on fire safety in Nigeria, less than two percent of the 140 million inhabitants of the country’s population have the required basic fire safety knowledge. This is a shame of a nation. The ‘Not My Portion or God forbid’ syndrome has also been the bane of developing an attitudinal change framework for achieving a safer society in Nigeria. Some people, out of ignorance, still harbour the cultural belief that to make provisions for the prevention of hazards is to actually invite the occurrence of such misfortune. This is why many of our people do not subscribe to simple fire and safety tips that can keep disasters at bay.

    The issue of safety which once occupied a major place in the programmes and plans of every level of government is now treated with levity. Within the context of Nigerian laws on safety, the National Fire Safety Code, for instance, seems to have been dumped in the thrash-can. The code is a set of rules guiding fire prevention and control in all public buildings in Nigeria. If we, as a nation, are desirous of halting the embarrassing trend of preventable fire incidents in the country, it is therefore imperative for the government to strengthen and enforce strictly all existing laws on safety with a view to achieving a safer society. Those who breach the laws must be brought to book and punished accordingly.

    The Lagos State Government initiative in establishing a Safety Commission for the state since 2010 is quite laudable. The commission has since its establishment been at the forefront of creating awareness on the dangers of unsafe practices that cause fire and other disasters in the state. Its role in dealing with issues relating to safety practices in the state has been quite commendable. Since it is the primary responsibility of governments, at all levels, to ensure safety of life and properties of its citizenry, all levels of governments, through their relevant agencies such as the fire services must immediately embark on a massive public enlightenment and awareness campaigns to educate the people on the dangers of unsafe practices most especially in the dry season as it is obvious that only legal approach cannot stem the tide of incessant fire disasters in Nigeria.

     

    • Ogunmosunle is of the Features Unit, Lagos Ministry of Information and Strategy, Ikeja.

     

  • Adeboye urges politicians to take precaution against disasters

    Adeboye urges politicians to take precaution against disasters

    The General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, yesterday warned politicians to learn from last year’s disasters and take precaution, to avert bigger ones.

    Releasing his prophesies for 2013 at a crossover service to usher worshippers into the New Year at the Redemption Camp, he said there could be more devastating natural disasters, such as flood, if precautionary measures are not taken.

    Describing 2013 as a year of signs and wonders, Pastor Adeboye said: “This year will be better than last year.”

    According to him, before the middle of the year,

    many Nigerians would have cause to smile, adding that prayers and supplication should, however, be intensified.

    He told the worshippers that God spared the lives

    of some individuals last year because of the intercessory prayers of the saints, noting that “the prayers of some of you reduced the deaths of prominent Nigerians last year. Don’t stop praying.”

    Pastor Adeboye said:

    “This year will be a year of completeness.”

    The cleric said prominent

    world leaders need a lot of prayers to avoid death.

    He said prominent church leaders also need prayers against planned scandals, adding that the weather condition may worsen unless prayers are intensified.

    Adeboye went on: “We should expect a major breakthrough in medicine this year.

    “Christians should cultivate the habit of praising God. Praise is a tool for receiving signs and wonders. One can pray and study the Bible in silence, but no one can praise God in silence.”

    The congregation applauded when he said: “You can never praise God quietly.

    “If they say we are crazy for shouting Hallelujah in our environment and wherever we find ourselves, then it is a good kind of craziness.”

    While assuring worshippers that 2013 is a year of open doors, Pastor Adeboye said it is one thing to enter into a New Year, it’s another thing to have a new beginning.

    He urged Nigerians to reconcile with God by living a righteous life.

  • How we court disasters

    How we court disasters

    The national flood disaster highlights a basic deficiency in our approach to unpleasant situations and that is the idea of waiting until disaster strikes before taking action.

    Faced with imminent danger, successive administrations in Nigeria invariably adopt a wait and see policy rather than coming up with an initiative to avert the crisis. In effect, this nation has witnessed several avoidable disasters resulting in a cyclical pattern of development that rejects progression. In many ways, our attempt at nation-building replicates Albert Camus’s Sisyphean myth as whatever gains we record are usually cancelled out by incessant disasters and then we find ourselves always rebuilding.

    The waiting game in itself is a product of the conflict between personal interests and the interests of the larger society. Those entrusted with leadership positions in Nigeria over the years tend to sacrifice common good for selfish ends. Societal problems are attended to only in emergency situations. So long as a problem has not deteriorated to that level, it can wait.

    The reaction to disasters is also predictable. First, an enquiry is launched into the cause or impact of a problem that has been waiting to happen. Then again, resources that should have been utilized to keep the problem in check will be invested in disaster management. Sometimes fatalistic principles are invoked to justify disasters. In the Bauchi State post-election killings for instance, those that should have offered protection to the slain corps members declared that they were destined to die during their service year.

    We must, therefore, go beyond blaming nature for the calamity witnessed in most parts of the country recently as the real source of the havoc is the failure of those in authority to respond to the threats posed by the global climate change. Although there were predictions of torrential rainfall and early flood warnings, no efforts whatsoever were made by the federal or any state government to assess the impact of the climate change on the nation or to devise the means of checking it.

    The fact that all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory are flood-prone should have propelled the two levels of government into action. Besides, in July last year, Lagos State and some communities in Ogun State were completely submerged after a torrential rainfall. That incident left a trail of destructions which should have served as a wake-up call for the government. Yet, no lessons were learnt.

    But, as soon as the phenomenon assumed an alarming proportion, affecting 30 of the 36 states of the federation, the Federal Government countered with a mitigation package. A Technical Committee on Floods Impact Assessment was immediately raised and mandated to tour the disaster areas. From its interim report, N13.3 billion was dispatched to all the states to combat flood.

    Some ministries and agencies of the Federal Government among them, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Environment, National Emergency Management Agency and National Commission on Refugees, received N4.3billion to join the states in providing succour to the victims. The government is now shopping for more funds through another committee, the National Committee on Flood Rehabilitation, to further mitigate the impact of the disaster and ensure a post-impact rehabilitation of the victims.

    In addition to these short-term measures, belated medium and long term measures to check future flood disasters are in the offing. Practically all the states of the federation now have committees on flooding. Already, governors of the affected states are saddled with the responsibility of providing flood victims with accommodation, relief materials and medical facilities.

    If these measures had come at the appropriate time, this tragic situation could have been turned into an advantage. Other nations overcome such problems through massive construction of artificial outlets to absorb water from torrential rainfall since floods occur when rivers, the soil and vegetation cannot absorb water. In the dry season, the water so collected is released for irrigation purposes. Evidently, the Federal and state governments were under the illusion that the global phenomenon of flooding will never get to us and the nation has paid dearly for their inaction.

    Today, Nigeria presents the sorry picture of a nation at war with nature as the antagonist. Several lives have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of people have abandoned their homes and belongings to run for their lives. The displaced are now crammed in refugee camps and surviving on relief materials as obtains in a typical war situation. As many people have observed, the crowded rehabilitation camps are another recipe for disaster. What will follow is an outbreak of epidemics and as usual innocent children will bear the brunt.

    Highways have also been taken over by water leaving scores of passengers stranded and food scarcity looms as farmlands have been destroyed. Floods are also known to cause soil erosion, induce structural damages to buildings and endanger the lives of other species. Losses from flood in monetary terms usually run into trillions of naira. According to media reports, the nation loses about N6.75 billion oil revenue daily to flood.

    There is no doubt that the impact of the flood disaster will remain with us for a long time to come. About 32 years ago, the first civilian governor of the old Imo State, the late Chief Sam Mbakwe, had called the attention of the nation to the devastating effect of floods but no one took him seriously. He was rather branded a ‘weeping governor’ for weeping for victims of a flood ravaged community.

    It is unfortunate that some of us have become accustomed to reactive measures. The encomiums being lavished on the Federal Government since the release of the flood intervention funds point to this. The governors are also being praised to the skies for offering salvation to victims of the flood disaster.

    Viewed correctly, there is nothing to cheer about. Whatever the Presidency and the governors have done is to assuage the pains inflicted on the victims in particular and the nation in general by their failure to carry out their constitutional duties. There is no reason why Nigerians should not have been insulated from a disaster of such magnitude after metrological warnings and given the consequences of floods to individuals and the economy. This is more so as we have scientists at the helm of affairs who should know the implications of forecasts based on empirical evidence.

    We must begin to demand that those in authority do things the right way so as to save the populace unnecessary mental and psychological agonies. If nations that experience flooding from different sources such as failure of dams, tsunamis and high tides have found ways of containing the situation why should Nigeria where the only source of flooding is torrential rainfall find itself in such a mess?

    Just like fire, water has two contradictory qualities. It is both life-giving and destructive. Any nation that ignores the dark side of water does so at its own peril.

    • Dr Nnadi, writes from Lagos.

  • Nigeria gets new regulations to combat environmental disasters

    THE National Environmental Standards Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has introduced four regulations to combat the menace of flooding ravaging several parts of the country.

    They were rolled out at the Annual Regulatory Dialogue held in Abuja.

    The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia, attributed the menace of flooding disaster to non-compliance with set regulations.

    She said: “The environment functions as source of raw materials and energy, a provider of services such as maintenance of climatic system and ecological cycle and a sink for waste, unfortunately, the functions of the ecosystem are under threat arising particularly from disregard for environmental laws and regulations.’’

    She explained the new regulations include: National Environmental (Quarrying and blasting species) regulations, 2012; National Environmental (pulp and paper, wood and wood products) regulations 2012; National Environmental (Motor vehicle assembly and miscellaneous assembly) regulations, 2012 and National Environmental (alien and invasive species) regulations.

    Mailafia, who was represented by Dr. Modupe Odubela, described environmental regulations as a body of rules that ensures sustainable use of resources and for the social and economic development of the society.

    According to her, environmental protection flows from a principle of a moral and ethical belief that citizens should protect the air, water and land.

    “Environmental governance is not all about government. As citizens of this country, we have a key role to play in promoting environmental governance and in ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment,’’ she added.

    The Director General of NESREA, Mrs. Ngeri Benebo, stated that the laws are to ensure full compliance with environmental regulations.

    She called for collective efforts, stressing that the guideline will place all stakeholders on the same page as individuals, government, academia, and corporate body.