Victor Ezeja
To avert past ugly experiences of disaster, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has sought the cooperation of the 36 state governors in Nigeria in taking proactive actions to mitigate the effects of impending floods.
Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, made the call during Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum conference held on Tuesday, 11 July 2023 in Abuja.
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Ahmed stressed that given past disaster occurrences there was a need for adequate proactive measures to be taken ahead to prevent substantial damage.
He said the agency is ready to collaborate with state governments in establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation system for better disaster management.
“I humbly seek the cooperation of the Executive Governors for preparedness for the 2023 flooding season…we seek to collaborate with NGF to establish a robust monitoring and evaluation framework which will enable NEMA and the NGF to track progress, assess the effectiveness of flood preparedness initiatives, and identify areas for improvement. Regular feedback and joint evaluation exercises will support evidence-based decision-making and promote accountability in disaster management efforts,” Ahmed stated.
The NEMA DG noted that there is a triple response structure adopted for disaster and emergency management in the country.
“As we know, disasters are local and to enhance our disaster management capabilities, it is imperative that the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) are fully operationalised and Local Management Committees (LMCs) are activated. These bodies will play a crucial role in ensuring effective disaster response at the state and local levels.”
While highlighting ongoing proactive efforts by NEMA to mitigate disasters in the country, the DG informed the governors that the Federal Government, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has developed a National Plan of Action for the implementation of disaster risk reduction, known as the Sendai Framework (2015-2030).
“NEMA has taken steps to align its national policies and strategies with the Sendai Framework by developing the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy and National Disaster Risk Management Framework, which provide guidance for implementing risk reduction measures at the national, state, and local levels. These initiatives highlight the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration and community participation in disaster risk management,” he explained.
The DG highlighted NEMA’s milestones since its creation, especially in the past decade when the country had been beset with numerous disasters, including major floods, droughts, and outbreaks of diseases all of which have led to considerable loss of life, extensive damage to infrastructure, and substantial economic costs.
He stressed that these past occurrences, underline the need to be proactively prepared for flood emergencies.
Ahmed said the nation was hit in 2022 with the worst floods in the history of Nigeria, adding that the impact was widespread and affected 29 of the country’s 36 states, damaged homes, and infrastructure, destroyed farmlands, and displaced people from their communities.
According to the Nigerian Red Cross, at least 2.8 million people were affected, with 603 fatalities and more than 2,500 injured.
The NEMA boss emphasised that partnership with the state governors will provide a platform for facilitating the sharing of “best practices and lessons learned among the states’
“We can facilitate discussions, workshops, and peer-to-peer learning sessions where states can share their successful initiatives in disaster risk reduction and resilience. This knowledge exchange will help expedite the adoption of effective strategies across the country,” he added.
He disclosed that based on insights from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) who released their 2023 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) respectively, NEMA has begun the “downscaling of disaster early warning measures to grassroots for effective live-saving early actions during the 2023 rainy season” across different states of the federation for capacity building efforts as well as funding and provision of equipment to up skill Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) to equip them and make them ready to “take disaster risk management to the communities to build safe and resilient communities and by extension a safer and resilient Nigeria.”
On the issue of funding, the NEMA boss said there are existing provisions for interventions by subnational-level actors.
The DG stated that each state and local government receives an allocation from the Ecological fund, which NEMA also receives. Consequently, there should be available funding to address disaster-related situations.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
