Residents of flood-prone communities in several states are resisting evacuation and are instead asking the authorities to come to their aid, Daily Trust reports.

Following the recent flood that killed over 200 persons and left about 500 others missing at communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, the federal government, last week, raised the alarm that 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are currently at the risk of a similar disaster.

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, listed the high flood risk states as Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

The minister, who blamed the Mokwa flood on heavy rainfall heightened by the effects of climate change, said the high casualty figure was caused by lack of adherence by people in the state to flood warnings.

The perennial flooding in the country has raised questions over the utilisation of the billions of Ecological Fund disbursed to the states and the FCT from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to address ecological crises, including flooding.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the sum of N39.62 billion was disbursed to the 36 states and the FCT from June 2023 to June 2024.

The Ecological Fund, which was established in 1981, is drawn from the federation account at a rate of two per cent, with the primary objective of assisting all the tiers of government to tackle ecological problems such as flooding, desertification, erosion, oil spills and drought.

The disbursement process is managed by the Ecological Fund Office in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Vice President Kashim Shettima also last year disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved N3 billion for each state to address natural disasters, including flooding.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 1,237 persons lost their lives and 1,243,638 Nigerians were displaced due to floods across the country in 2024. The agency also said the floods affected over 5.2 million people, injured 16,469, and damaged 1,439,296 farmlands.

Last Saturday, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum appealed to the federal government to speed up the rehabilitation and expansion of the Alau Dam to forestall a recurrence of the 2024 flood.

Zulum spoke during the Sallah homage by the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-Kanemi, to him at the Government House, Maiduguri.

The governor stated, “After the groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction and expansion of the dam, which we all attended, the truth is that the work is not progressing as expected.

“The last time I visited the president, I informed him about the true state of the project. I assure you I will not relent. I will continue to follow up, and I have also notified the vice president.”

Checks by Daily Trust on the level of preparedness and responses to impending floods showed that residents of vulnerable areas are yet to vacate.

Some of them, who spoke to our reporters, claimed that they had nowhere to relocate to.

Bayelsa residents build wooden carves in rooms

Our correspondent, who visited Igbogene, Akenfa, Zarama and Azikoro communities in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, observed that residents had constructed what they called ‘monkey bridges’ to aid them access their buildings if there is flooding.

Other residents in the areas constructed wooden carves in their parlors and rooms “to lift up their property so that flood water will not destroy them.”

A landlord at Goodnews Street in Yenagoa, Godwin Igiri, said the desilting exercise by the government helped to reduce the effects of flood in their houses.

He said, “Before now, it was a communal effort that was deployed in combating flooding, but government efforts led to the state not witnessing flood last year.”

A resident of Akenfa, Mrs Mercy Godsend, said the state government had “cleared the canal and creeks, which means that if there is a free flow of water to the sea, there may not be flooding, because it is only when there is no free flow that you experience flooding.”

The Director-General of the Bayelsa State Directorate of Flood and Erosion Control, Wilson Omuso, said the government had commenced the desilting of creeks and canals within Yenagoa and its environs to mitigate perennial flooding in the state.

He said clearing and cleanup began in Goodnews Street and Agbura Second Bridge axis with more equipment already mobilised to other locations to commence work.

He said the scheduled clearing of the downstream canals, comprising three major canals, would be concluded before proceeding to the upstream canals.

Adamawa villagers keep property with relatives in safer places

Some residents of flood-prone communities in Adamawa State said they were alarmed by the recent flooding in Niger State and had been moving their belongings to their friends and relations in safer places.

A resident of Bakin Kogi community, situated near the River Benue, Emmanuel Ajisani, said: “We, on our part, have started our own preparations in taking some of our valuables to friends and families that live at higher grounds because what happened in Niger State is very serious and one cannot ignore it.

“It is important to start getting ready while we await responses from the government in that regard,” he said.

Daniel Akinsare, a resident of Bakin Kogi in Jukun community, who identified himself as a fisherman and a farmer, said: “I have a farm next to the river banks. After I have concluded my fishing, we moved to the farms where I farmed vegetables and maize, but the release of water from Lagdo Dam destroyed my plants last year. This year, I am not going anywhere.”

Hauwa Muhammed Moscow, a resident of Anguwan Tana, alleged: “We are yet to receive any sensitisation from the state government in respect to flood”.

She urged the federal and the state governments to “always entrust their palliatives in trusted hands,” saying most times those affected by flood hardly receive any palliative.”

The Executive Secretary of the state emergency management agency, Celene Laori, said her staff had been mobilised to flood-prone communities for sensitisation programmes.

She urged those living in flood-prone areas to move to higher grounds.

We’re still observing the weather – Benue residents

In Benue State, residents of flood-prone areas are yet to vacate their houses for higher grounds.

In the recent past, the state capital, Makurdi and several local government areas, including Agatu, Gwer West, Otukpo, Kastina-Ala, Buruku, Guma and others along the River Benue coastline have experienced devastating floods.

Attah Ede, a resident of Apaa community in Makurdi, said: “I am not going to vacate the area because it is my personal property. Over the years, I have been collaborating with my other neighbours to control the flood in our area. But our efforts are not yielding much result.”

Similarly, Eunice Tule, a resident of Wadata Rice Mill road, said the rain pattern this year has not yet given them any reason to panic.

She said:  “We are still observing the weather. The rainfall in Makurdi is still moderate. It’s by July or September that we will begin to panic if the rainfall intensifies or the river begins to over flow its boundary as a result of water released from Lagdo Dam.

“As for now, we are still living in our houses. We don’t hope to pack out this year, though we heard the government talking about flooding on the radio. For now, we don’t have any reason to panic.”

The permanent secretary of the state’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, James Iorpuu, had urged all residents of flood-prone communities to begin early preparations, move to higher grounds and take personal responsibility for their safety.

The spokesperson for the state’s Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Kelas Onum, said residents of the state had been warned to desist from indiscriminate dumping of wastes that could lead to blockage of gutters and waterways.

No place to move to – Edo villagers

Twenty five communities in Etsako East, Etsako Central and Esan East Local Government Areas of the state, especially those on the bank of the river Niger, were the worst hit during the previous floods.

Some of the residents who spoke to our correspondent said they had resigned to fate, alleging that there was no intervention from any quarters.

A resident of Ilushi, one of the communities on the bank of the river Niger in Esan South East Local Government Area, Odio John, said: “We are waiting for it and when it comes we will know what to do just the same way we have been surviving past floods.

“We don’t have any other place to relocate to. This is our ancestral land and this is where we earn our living through farming. Now, we are praying that the state government will complete the IDP camp they are putting up at Ubiaja because without that, people don’t have any place to go during floods.”

A resident of Udaba community in Etsako Central Local Government, who gave his name as Solomon, said: “We don’t have any place to go for now, and are only waiting till when the flood reaches the area. The IDP camp in the area is not fully ready for those that would be displaced by flood.”

Another resident, Joseph Peter, said all the promises made by the state government during last year’s flood had not been fulfilled.

“We are still observing the situation, but maintenance has not been carried out at the IDP camp. Though the place is completed, the borehole and some other things are not functioning there,” he said.

Head, National Emergency Management Agency, Benin operation office, Kenoma Ojuedere, said the agency had created an emergency response team at the community level so that in case there is flood, the residents could help themselves before the federal and the state governments’ intervention.

He said the agency had identified higher grounds where camps would be set up for displaced persons.

Executive Secretary, Edo State Emergency Management Agency, Jerry Idahosa, said because the IDP camps in the state were undergoing renovation, the government had provided for makeshift shelters as the camps would not be enough to cater for the displaced persons in the state.

“We have already stockpiled foodstuffs, hygiene kits and emergency shelter across the state so that when the need arises, we can easily distribute them to affected communities,” he said.

Jigawa flood victims ignore evacuation warning

In Jigawa State last year, communities in many local government areas including Buji, Miga, Ringim, Auyo, Gwaram, Farko, Kiyawa, Jahun, Kafin Hausa and Hadejia were flooded.

In Ringim, a resident, Ibrahim Amadu, told Daily Trust that no one had vacated the flood zone despite the damage experienced in recent years.

The secretary of Miga Development Initiatives, Mustapha Yahaya Tsakuwawa, said many flood victims in Miga had returned to their homes despite the risk.

Speaking to our reporter, the information officer of Buji Local Government Area, Ali Muhammad, confirmed that flood victims refused to vacate their homes which were destroyed by last year’s flood.

Expert urges construction of small dams in risk areas

The Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Prof. Nasiru Idris, in an interview with Daily Trust, said there should be construction of small dams in flooded areas to control flood.

According to him, flash floods occur when there is heavy precipitation that lasts for several hours and the soil has exceeded its retention capacity.

On the residents’ refusal to relocate from vulnerable areas, he stressed the need for counseling by experts as there was a possibility that they were traumatised by previous floods.

He noted that flood often occurs because building permits and approvals are not effective; while early warning system activations are merely on papers as citizens hardly take them seriously.

He said: “Government should make sure that no development activities take place in water-prone areas. Canals and wide drainage systems should be provided in identified areas.”

He also urged the Nigeria Hydrological Agency to provide a detailed map of all the basins in the country and its effects when flooding occurs.

An environmentalist, Rachel Achimba, attributed flooding to dumping of wastes, especially plastics, on waterways.

According to her, “Once we reduce the issue of waste, we also reduce flooding.”

Achimba also emphasised the need for environmental restoration efforts such as reforestation and afforestation programmes to improve the soil’s ability to absorb water.

She also charged governments at all levels on flood monitoring and early warning systems.

An environmentalist, Dr Adedoyin Adeleke, who is the Executive Secretary of Green Growth Africa Sustainable Network, said there was little awareness about the Ecological Fund.

He stated: “Many of the state governments, I can bet you they’re not aware that such offices exist, you know.

“So, I think that there is work to be done on both sides. The Fund’s office itself just needs to do a lot to get people to know more about what they do and that they exist. It’s very important and the state governments also need to align themselves, bring people who understand the sector so they can go and tap those finances.”

By Chidimma C. Okeke (Abuja), Hope Abah (Makurdi), Usman A. Bello (Benin), Bassey Willie (Yenagoa), Amina Abdullahi (Yola) & Ali Rabi’u Ali (Dutse)