AVM Akugbe Iyamu, Rtd.
This write up is triggered by the recent federal government release of 2 billion Naira to the catastrophic flooding disaster in Mokwa Niger State as donations.
A neat arithmetic shows that 2 billion Naira to 3000 displaced people will amount to N666,666.66, that is, if we eschew corrupt practices and lack of priorities.
Additionally, data obtained from surveys across the country, particularly Lagos state and Abuja, showed that 2 billion Naira can barely afford a decent home in Maitama, Asokoro, Victoria Garden City, Banana Island, and Lekki Peninsula.
In a country that suffers from the poison of corrupt practices, with many citizens affected by what others have eaten, these efforts do not represent a vote of thanks for the citizens who have been trying to survive the harsh economic realities.
The Mokwa flooding disaster is a spectacular experience and a special moment where disaster backlash outweighs political applause. It is time to retreat and embrace consultation, risk assessment, stress test, and other actionable strategies because in catastrophic circumstances, there is nothing like the future, there is nothing like the past; all the citizens have is now.
It is possible that the flooding was caused by a flash flood or climate change, as claimed by the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, and not dam spill. All are valid and reinforcing explanations, however, it will be good to anchor such decisions on data. This is because, in the absence of actual evidence, we can file all these under speculations for now.
We all have to be mindful about the acute acidity of the moment, which makes thinking straight difficult even for the rational.
The people of Mokwa need a more solutionist approach beyond the romanticism of 2 billion Naira and the blame game of the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.
After the flooding disaster, the people of Mokwa do not know where they are headed, and even worse, how to find their way back to their former lives and livelihoods. It is a terrible place to be. That is not the mission of the distressed communities, it is fully that of the government.
What the citizens of Nigeria want to see during crisis and distress is over and above what the Federal government is offering to them as donations.
This is because between the government and the citizens, the bond of reciprocity has been broken in breach and will require unusual responsibilities and management to restore and not donations from the Federal government as currently being deployed across the country.
We must be conscious that disasters are like bombs, and one is enough to devastate the entire country because it creates existential threats and mortalities.
Now is the time for the government at all levels to own their citizens and their wellbeing because insecurity and natural disasters no longer inflict a casual cocktail of harsh conditions within such a short time.
This is the season of disaster in Nigeria, and it has become a reflection of upcoming climate trends. The sound bites that emerged from the Maiduguri and Mokwa flooding are poised to influence the climate change crisis and management in Nigeria.
Currently, what is at stake in Mokwa is the economic disruption of the citizens and not value enhancement and landscape decorations. They are more interested in their inalienable rights to quickly return to the place they can call their own.
These are the real issues at stake because there is an attachment to their homeland, and that cannot be merely understood.
The injuries in the mind and heart of the Mokwa people must not be further worsened and deepened. The Mokwa flooding disaster has revealed that where governance is most needed is where it is most broken.
The country needs to reposition its local government councils to effectively manage the responsibilities entrusted to them in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, like their counterparts elsewhere.
Sadly, the Mokwa flooding disaster has again orchestrated the dire situation when ordinary citizens’ worst times of their lives, with inflation, insecurity, kidnapping, armed robbery, joblessness, and hunger, are not at the forefront of national discussions.
AVM Iyamu, Rtd, is a consultant, Environment and Climate Change Analyst, President Association of Environmental Protection and Climate Change Practitioners
