UPDATED: Flood: Nigerian govt to conduct integrity tests on dams – Tinubu

The Nigerian government has ordered that integrity tests be carried out on all dams in the country to avert future disasters.

President Bola Tinubu made this known Tuesday in a televised broadcast marking the nation’s Independence Day anniversary.

“Our government has been responding to the recent natural disasters, particularly the flooding in parts of the country,” he said.

“After Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Maiduguri, I also visited to assure our people that this federal government will always stand with our people in their times of trouble.

“At the last meeting of the Federal Executive Council, we approved a Disaster Relief Fund to mobilise private and public sector funds to help us respond faster to emergencies.

“Our government has also ordered integrity tests of all our dams in the country to avert future disasters,” Mr Tinubu said Tuesday.

Concerns

The move to conduct integrity tests on dams across the country zones comes less than a month after over half of the Maiduguri metropolis got submerged by water following the collapse of Alau dam, a major source of water into the city.

The recent flood in the northeastern state resulted in the significant displacement of residents and the destruction of farmlands, businesses, and hospitals, among other impacts.

The incident has further triggered a humanitarian crisis in the region that is just recovering from the over-a-decade-long impact of Boko Haram terror.

Join the Premium Times WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.

Open in WhatsApp

The Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum, blamed the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for failure to carry out routine maintenance of dams for years.

“The Federal Ministry of Water Resources ought to have been carrying out routine maintenance of dams. Honestly speaking, this has not been done for a long time. This is something that we need to put our heads together so that we can do it,” the governor told the BBC.

Meanwhile, the deliberate release of water from the Lagdo dam in Cameroon also affected numerous areas in Adamawa state and its neighbouring states due to years of failure of the government to construct buffer dams in the axis.

READ ALSO: Climate Change and Government Neglect: Deadly combination for Nigeria’s flood victims

This year, several communities and cities in at least 13 of Nigeria’s 36 states so far have been inundated by overflowing water, largely orchestrated by heavy rainfall, dam bursts, regulatory failures and ineffective dissemination of “early warning systems” across major climate frontline communities in the country.

Major flooding incidents experienced in Nigeria over the past three years have been quite catastrophic. It has killed a significant number of people, crippled businesses, destroyed homes, and cultivated farms, infrastructures, schools and hospitals, among others. 

The flood incidents in the country have further worsened the lingering socio-economic crisis amidst perceived inadequate policy implementation and prolonged ineffective oversight functions by relevant authorities in the country. 

Aside from proper maintenance of dams, experts have argued that Nigeria’s perennial flood disaster can be permanently addressed by deploying water harvesting technology, channelling excess waters to recharge the shrinking Lake Chad and dredging major water pathways across the country.