Dr Muhtari Aminu-Kano is the Director-General, Nigerian Conservation Foundation. He tells Journalist that Nigerians need enlightenment on how to reduce flooding:
There has been a series of flooding in recent times. As an environmentalist, what do you think are the possible causes?
I think a number of factors have been contributing to flooding in recent times but the key one is really lack of planning by the authorities and the attitude of Nigerians. These are the two main things. Why did I say lack of planning? We know the rains are coming; it is true that it has been higher due to climate change. More rain does not necessarily mean more flooding and even if it leads to flooding, it should not necessarily mean washing off properties, affecting people’s lives and income.
If you prepare and plan, you will know the rains are coming. It may be higher than usual but it will not affect people because resilience has been built into it. But our planning system in towns and cities leaves much to be desired. People are now building houses in river valleys and encroaching on flood plains.
We are just building anyhow, especially in Lagos; we are just building everywhere without adequate drains. Even the inadequate drains are constantly being blocked by plastics, compost, human and household waste all the time.
So a multiplicity of factors is responsible for what is happening now. Climate change brings out more rains than usual but our lack of planning and preparation also contributes. Also, we are clearing and sand filling marshy and wetlands which used to regulate floods; we are filling them with concrete but water must find its level.
At the same time, at the upstream, we are cutting down trees which also regulate floods. So, we are leaving the soil bare for more run off of water coming at faster speed towards the ocean. Therefore, we have these issues all over.
Can there be a time when Lagos and other Nigerian cities will be free from flooding if the right things are done or is it going to continue as it is?
That is what we are asking the government. Should we wait year in and year out and face the flooding with suffering and disasters including loss of lives, properties and income? If the right things are done, it may not happen like this.
We need to build adequate drains because those tiny surface drains won’t work. Look at Lekki, it used to be a marshy land soaking up water. Now, people just move in, sometimes they don’t even clear the land. They just sand fill it, compact it and in a few months, you see an estate spring up. And the only drain is a tiny ditch which is half a metre, which is supposed to carry water away. It doesn’t work like that.
We need adequate drains and stop blocking the existing ones with waste and plan well so that we have relevant infrastructure before we build. This must include drainages and not just tiny, less than one-metre open surface ditches. We need real proper a drainage system based on scientific assessment of the level of water and knowing where things should go. Unless we do that, it (flooding) may continue.
Lagos is a low-lying city on the coast, criss-crossed by the lagoon and so many creeks and next to the ocean with sea level rise as well. I envisage if we don’t do the right thing, it will get worse.
How can stakeholders such as environmentalists, town planners and others work together to control flooding?
We do need to work together a lot. There are things that can be done in the short term as a palliative and then there is the long term that will need a lot of resources.
In the short term, non-governmental organisations with support from the government and the private sector need to do a lot of sensitisation and raising awareness for people to understand the dangers of blocking the drains by dumping refuse in them. But beyond that we really need advocates to ask the government to do proper drainage assessment of the whole city and construct adequate drains needed to drain Lagos properly.
Then also, our planning authorities need to look at how they are giving approvals to people to sand fill wetland and build anyhow without proper drains.
What roles are there for individuals to play in the process?
It has to be a change of attitude because our attitude to these whole things as individuals is wrong. Number one, we just leave everything to government; we say what is the government doing about this and we fold our arms. So, when the rains come, we just do what we can, to the point that you see people being carried on the back through flooded streets.
I think we have to change our attitude. Those of us that are elite, especially those building in places like Lekki and its surrounding areas; they need to know that building a massive structure after sand filling and constructing a tiny drainage doesn’t work. They are flooding the whole area.
Even ordinary people who are not so rich and build in other areas, we need to change our attitude to waste disposal. We shouldn’t be throwing refuse from our houses into the gutters; we should be cleaning and making sure that gutters from our house into the larger drainages are free and make sure that the channels are not clogged with waste because it stops the flow of water and impacts on flooding.
Do you think we are doing enough in terms of response to climate change issues as a country? And if not, what do you think should be done?
Climate change is a massive issue and impacts flooding in two ways; one is the sea level rise, which is happening now and likely to get worse. The second is the increase in rainfall. In these two ways, there is more water coming and Lagos and other places are at risk.
Nigerians are not as aware of climate change as they should be; we are not doing enough as a nation, from our government to institutions, the private sector and individuals. But climate change is bigger than Nigeria, no matter what we do. We have to collaborate with other countries of the world to make sure that climate change doesn’t get worse.
But more importantly, we have to contribute our quota; we have to make sure we keep to the commitment we made to the international community that we will cut our carbon emission by 20 per cent without help. But if we get help, we can go even further and reduce it by 40 per cent. That promise made in 2015 during the Paris Agreement, which we haven’t really started implementing, is much but we have to ensure we are doing something serious as a country.
Now that we already have flooding, what advice can you give to those that are affected?
People have to do something but the government also has to help them as an emergency to enable them to cope with the current situation. Authorities are getting better at predicting flooding and rain pattern. Every year before the rainy season, they send out predictions.
But I think people in affected areas should move out rather than try to brave it. They have to be careful not to catch water-borne diseases. They should relocate and try to prepare for next year so they don’t get caught in the same situation again.
But above all, the government needs to support people to cope right now because many have lost their properties and means of livelihood.
Source: Punchng
