There has been an ongoing natural disaster that has engulfed many states and parts of Nigeria most especially areàs that are surrounded by water bodies.
This ongoing pandemic has destroyed a lot of properties, submerged homes and farmland and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
I sat and watched pathetically as a woman who happens to worship in the same denomination I am, shared her plight while testifying and praising God that her daughter and grandchildren were returning home safely.
She added that a lot of lives were swept by the flood while sleeping at night, children and babies were helpless as the water tossed human other things and also taking them away and the final destination might be inside a huge water body Or so.
She thanked God that her children were alert and safely transported elsewhere for safety.
Some of the states where death occurred due to the ongoing flood includes logo, jigawa, kebbi, Bayelso and other states have experienced this pandemic.
During a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo , gave comprehensive details on the areas affected by the flood.
According to him he states that“It is on record that over 1.4 million persons were displaced, with about 500 persons reported dead, 790,254 persons moved out of their locations, while 1,546 persons were injured,”
“Similarly, 44,099 houses were partially damaged, 45,249 houses totally damaged, 76,168 hectares of farm lands were partially destroyed, while 70, 566 hectares of farm lands were completely destroyed.”
So what plague has this flood caused in Nigeria.
As earlier stated in this article, the flood has caused a lot of calamities to individuals, families, communities and the country as a whole.
Outbreak of diseases, infections and death
It is an undeniable fact that the current pandemic has not only caused physical damage and disruption but also led to illnesses and injuries.
Asides the The most obvious danger of floodwater which is drowning, because water level rises quickly and can rapidly sweep people off guard.
However, the biggest unseen risk is contacting infections from dirty water.
There's definitely going to be an outbreak of disease like cholera, typhoid, hepatitis E, hypothermia etc.
This is a result of overflow of the floodwater in the sanitation system and contaminates the environment and water sources.
Food scarcity.
Currently, food is scarce in the market because the devastating flood has destroyed a lot of farmlands and properties washing away crops. This has left farmers wailing and complaining that there will be a high risk of scarcity because all their investment got sunk by the flood.
Crops and livestock have been destroyed and swept away by the flood. For this, prices of food have hiked up, great demand in the market and little supply. In most states there is no availability of food and it has killed a lot, especially children.
Displacement of people and properties
Houses and cars are destroyed, and other properties. People are running helter-skelter to find a place and stay, lives are threatened and people have lost so much like their credentials and other properties.
These and a lot more are the crisis that looms on Nigerians in this flooding period.
But can we tell the main cause of this flooding?
According to reports, river and ocean surges by tides push water to overflow its boundaries downstream.
The Rivers Niger and Benue overflow their banks into neighboring communities basically because their depth is silted and shallow and not able to accommodate the volume of water that flows downstream and consequently runs off into the dry lands, causing flooding.
Heavy rainfall and wind causing overflows from the ocean
Also the release of water from the lagdo dam in northern Cameron, a neighbouring village to Nigeria has also contributed immensely to the flood.
Now all eyes and hopes are on the government as people are crying out to the government to quickly respond to the tragedy they are facing. There are countless solutions to the flood and we are helplessly fixing our gaze on the government.
There were cases of flood in 2012 and 2018 but it wasn't as devastating as this one. This is nature robbing us all again and the government is in the best position to fix it.
They can settle for recommendations like
A buffer dam
Renovate and build good drainage systems
Stop citizens from erecting structures on waterways etc.
This pandemic is a national emergency and all hands should be on deck for us to pull through.