Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

3 min read
18 October 2022 | 10:00 am CAT

Northeastern Nigeria is seeing some of its worst floodings in years, with reports suggesting that about 600 people were killed and thousands of homes destroyed.

The flooding has worsened by seasonal rain that began earlier than usual and the planned water release from a dam in neighbouring Cameroon.

Photo credit: PreventionWeb

Speaking to Radio Islam International, renewable energy expert in Nigeria, David Arinze, says the flooding is due to infrastructure that was supposed to be in place but is not.

“It is not just a lack of water management; what we have is the need to ensure that relevant infrastructure that needs to be in place is in place and this is basically what the challenge is,” says Arinze.

According to Nigeria’s humanitarian affairs ministries statement, more than 1.3 million people have been displaced by the disaster, affecting people across 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states.

Arize states that even though other measures could have prevented the flooding, lack of infrastructure played a major role in flooding.

“A number of things that the government already has in the works [are] – one of them is to build relevant dams, not just one dam that can cushion this effect, and another thing is to also ensure that there is prompt a margin of those living in those regions prone to flooding to ensure that they can manage,” he says.

However, he says the government could do more to prevent the loss of homes, commodities and valuables.

“We can say that the government is already taking steps,” says Arinze.

Listen to the full interview with David Arinze here: