By Labeebah Dhikrullah
The Muslim Congress (TMC), a faith-based organisation headquartered in Lagos State, says lack of preparedness on the part of relevant agencies in the country despite warnings of severe flooding in the coming months calls for worry.
The organisation stated that a technical committee of experts set up by the Federal Government and chaired by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) made the warning in its report.
“The report warned that roads, bridges and other key infrastructure, as well as communities, might be washed away, while disease epidemics might break out in many communities as the intensity of the rainfall is prevised to be higher with more water expected to be released from dams in Ogun State and neighbouring Cameroon around September and October,” Alhaji Abdul Wasii Bangbala said at the Series 24 of the State of the Nation Address of the TMC Committee on Social Mobility, the Economy and Politics on Saturday, July 8, 2023.
He added, “State governments need to be well prepared, especially coastal and confluence states and should go beyond telling residents of flood-prone areas to relocate to higher ground and rather provide them with alternative accommodation as a matter of utmost necessity.
“The problem of flooding has been there for ages and is often compounded by climate change. The authorities must stop approving building construction on flood plains. The government must embark on massive public awareness campaigns to tackle the issue of flooding while citizens, on their part, should refrain from indiscriminate dumping of refuse in water channels. We call on the authorities to double down and take necessary actions to prevent major humanitarian disasters.”
Also addressing the Kwara boat mishap that claimed 106 lives in June, the Committee said the development underlines the inadequacy of regulation and poor enforcement standards in Nigeria’s transportation system.
According to it, “The spate of boat accidents and the increasing number of lives being lost in these unfortunate and usually avoidable mishaps is indeed a cause for concern. The latest of such accidents is the tragic death of about 106 boat passengers in Kwara State on the 12th of June. The ill-fated boat, according to the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority, had none of the passengers wearing a life jacket, even as the boat was reportedly overloaded and was on the water at 2.30am, despite standard regulations that boats should not operate beyond 6pm. These are grave infractions that should never have been committed.
“This again brings to the fore the inadequacy of regulation and poor enforcement standards in Nigeria’s transportation system. The government must put its feet on the ground and go beyond condolences and recycled promises, while stiff punishment must be meted out to everyone found culpable. The state governments also need to learn critical lessons from these recurrent boat disasters and must enforce preventive measures.
“There must be consequences for this kind of fatal dereliction of duty. It is sad to note that most crashes in Nigeria arise from poor regulation and enforcement. The authorities must buckle down and take effective charge of water transportation in the country and collaborate where necessary to forestall reoccurrences.”
