Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State on August 29, toured
the riverine areas of Onitsha, Ogbaru and Omambala to sensitise the people of
an impending flood. This was in response to the warning by the Director General
of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Clement Nze, 20 days
eralier of imminent flooding in areas around the Rivers Niger and Benue.
The warning by the agency was not peculiar to Anambra state
as the flooding is expected to affect many states with the same issue of flood
plain. According to Premium Times, an online publication, “no fewer than 74
local government areas in 30 states in Nigeria would experience severe flooding
in September”. The paper equally reported NIHSA as urging governments to pull
down structures built on flood plains while expressing disappointment that
previous warnings were not heeded.
So far only Anambra state out of the 30 states has responded
to the warning and mobilised to sites. The State Emergency Management Agency
(SEMA) has been fully activated and kept on the ready. Items of need for such
emergencies like drugs, tents, blankets, buckets, mosquito nets etc have also
been procured and would be made available to those who heed the warning.
Medical doctors, nurses and other health professionals are ready to be
mobilized to any areas flooded.
This is not the first time the Obiano administration is
taking measures to stave off looming disaster in the state. Taking proactive
measure is consistent with his administration’s policy of averting potentially
dangerous situations. But it is taking a boat ride in torrent of troubled
waters to these areas of flood plain - which on a good day are not accessible -
that was too risky. It was a tad too selfless and bespeaks of leadership by
example. Any governor not as committed to the welfare of the citizens would
jolly well assign the task to another. But Obiano has shown on occasion that he
is empathic and feels the vicarious pains of those he leads.
One or two examples of the proactive measures undertaken by
his government and his own personal touch to emergencies will suffice here. The
fire of February 16, 2017, that gutted the Mobil Filling Station at the DMGS
Roundabout in Onitsha saw his government enact a policy that forbids the
building of new petrol stations within distance of both human and commercial
activities as well as the removal of old ones. But it was his reaction to the
station fire that marked him out as leading by example. He had already boarded
a flight at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu for the Council of State
meeting in Abuja when the news of the accident reached him. He hurriedly
disembarked and sped off to Onitsha to attend to the situation. He later
visited the victims at the hospitals, paying the entire medical bills.
It is also well to remember the effort of his government in
trying to avert frequent road accidents in the state; he has actually been
personally involved in the various rescue operations. To prevent frequent
accidents, his government established the first Computerized Vehicle Testing
Centre on Roban Road in Awka to assist in checking the road worthiness of
vehicles plying within the state. The moribund Vehicle Inspection Unit of the
Ministry of Transport has been reactivated and equipped to carry out routine check
on some vehicles.
To appreciate the governor’s concern and his effort to stem
the impending flooding, a critical appraisal of the flood disaster of 2012 in
the state is useful. Though the year’s flooding was a national disaster,
Anambra was identified as one of the most affected states because a good number
of its communities are by the River Nigeria and its several tributaries.
Persons were displaced - even drowned, buildings were submerged as farmlands
and livestock were washed away. In fact, the level of damage was such that most
of the coastal areas of Onitsha, Ogbaru and Omambala were left desolate. Out of
the 21 local governments in the state about eight were affected. Records showed
that houses as well as public properties worth billions of naira were fully or
partly destroyed. There were interventions by the government, international
donor agencies, nongovernmental organizations as well as public spirited
individuals through relief materials.
Notwithstanding the effort of the government at the time,
victims of the disaster were subjected to immeasurable hardship. Most of them
resorted to self-help to escape imminent death by drowning. Till date a good
number of them still bear the scar of the colossal tragedy.
It is to avoid a repeat that Governor Obiano has chosen,
once again, to make hay while the sun shines. When both the Nigeria
Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Hydrological Services Agency announced
announced early last year of an impending major flood in many states because of
the unusually heavy rains, Obiano became the first to mobilise his people about
the looming disaster. Visiting the
troubled areas this time availed him the opportunity to study the situation and
take proactive measures for the benefit of the people. To that extent, his
judgement on procurement of relief materials as well as an arrangement for
holding centres won’t be speculative. No longer will the government be reacting
rather than pre-empting the situation. The implication is that the cost to the
people and the state will be reduced and there is also the possibility of
establishing a template for such emergencies.
Residents and businesses within the flood plain need to heed the governor’s advice to leave
places which are below the sea level until the floods come and go. They must
assist the state government to reduce nature’s rage against man. It is expected
that governments of states with similar problem will take adequate measures.
Anyaduba writes from Abatete, Idemili North Local Government
Area in Anambra State
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