By Seyi Odewale, with additional report
For the umpteenth time, the Federal Government again advised Nigerians living around river banks along the River Benue Basin to quickly move to safer ground.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), in a statement yesterday by its Director General, Umar Mohammed, warned that water on the River Benue has reached the flooding level due to increased rainfall.
He also urged those along the River Niger to move to a safe location as the management of Kainji and Jebba Dams are working to control the floodwaters.
The NIHSA boss urged Nigerians to cooperate with the emergency management agencies and work together to build resilience against flooding in Nigeria and minimise the effects of the flood.
Recall that the Federal Government recently warned Nigerians to relocate to safe ground after water was released from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
The warning followed the release of water from the overflowing Alau Dam, which killed over 30 persons and swept away thousands of homes in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State.
According to data from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in 2022, flooding ravaged many states, claimed 665 lives, displaced 2,437,411 people, and affected 4,476,867 people.
In 2023, devastating floods affected 159,157 individuals, killed 28, and displaced 48,168. The release of water from the Lagdo Dam contributed to some of the flooding cases.
For 2024, NEMA said flooding affected 1,048,312 people between April and September, displaced 625,239 persons, and killed 259 people.
*Plans five buffer dams to prevent overflowing from Lagdo Dam
Meanwhile, the NIHSA has proposed building five buffer dams to contain incessant flooding, which often arises from the release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
NIHSA Director-General Umar Mohammed made this known yesterday when he appeared on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief breakfast programme.
The Agency also warned Nigerians living in floodplains to relocate immediately to safe spaces in anticipation of the attendant floods that occur annually when water from the Lagdo Dam is released.
NIHSA listed flood-prone states as Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, and Rivers.
Mohammed, represented on the programme by the Agency’s Director of Operations and Hydrology, Femi Bejide, said a report on the way forward had been submitted to the Presidency, noting that some dams in Nigeria have to be de-silted.
“What also has to be done is that a report has been submitted to the Presidency. We have to have buffer dams; five have been proposed, and the Federal Government is looking at that already.
“But in the interim, some of our dams have to be de-silted, the tributaries of River Niger and Benue have to be expanded.
“I learnt that there is a little issue with the design and they are trying to amend it. I believe that that would have been put in place in the next two to three years,” he added.
