Food, flooded area
By Akeem Atoyebi
Nigeria is facing a looming massive food crisis comes 2025 as well as immediate humanitarian disaster of unprecedented proportion as massive floods have submerged communities and farmlands across the country.
No less than 10 states have experienced massive flooding this year, causing widespread displacement of nearly 500,000 residents.
Throughout last week, Borno State witnessed flooding that literally turned Borno into a streaming swathe of river, overflowing large parts of the state; including Maiduguri. According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the floods in northern part of the country have led to the destruction of more than 16,000 hectares of farmlands. Farmers in some communities are now being forced to harvest their farm produce prematurely over fears of destruction by imminent floods.
In Maiduguri, overflowing riverbanks and the collapse of the Alau Dam on
the Ngadda River have opened floodgates in the city. Buildings are now submerged and more than one million residents have been displaced,
according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Authorities are making frantic efforts to
evacuate inmates from one affected prison as of the time of filing this report. Animals in the zoo have been let loose by the floods, causing panic among residents.
This massive humanitarian disaster which is also a significant blow to
agriculture recalls the massive flooding of 2022. The 2022 flooding is widely believed to be the worst in a decade; as it displaced more than 1.4 million people in 34 of the 36 states. Although this year’s flood did not cause the same scale of destruction, it raised similar systemic issues in Nigeria’s flood management and emergency preparedness.
The flooding this year according to experts will compound food crisis and
humanitarian challenge, more troubling especially in a country facing increasing hardship owing to growing apprehension that 40.5 million
Nigerians are already facing food insecurity this year, up from 18.6 million
people last year, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture
Organisation.
The 2024 Annual Floods Outlook (AFO) unveiled in April, had earlier given
indication of high floods in 148 local government areas (LGAs) in 31 states,
including Borno. The report, packaged by Nigeria Hydrological Services
Agency (NIHSA), also stated that 249 LGAs in 35 states and the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT) are within moderate flood risk areas. The report highlighted flood belt – states as Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue and Borno. Others are Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba,
The spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA), Manzo Ezekiel, told journalists last Wednesday that the agency had sent alarms to stakeholders, including state governors, since the beginning of the year, asking them to prepare for the floods. He noted that the agency also had series of meetings with the stakeholders to analyse the flood forecast and the roles they could play to mitigate the occurrence. He noted that the agency also placed several jingles on the radio, directing residents of flood-prone and riverine areas to be on the lookout.
“NEMA wrote to all the state governors. And we didn’t stop at that. NEMA convened stakeholder meetings where the forecast was discussed, and the mitigating side was discussed. Then NEMA also embarked on advocacy to the stakeholders” he said.
It could be noted that 10 other states listed in the AFO report have witnessed flooding that killed people and destroyed properties in the last two months.
In August, at least 39 people died as a result of massive floods that
crisscrossed through part of Jigawa State. According to the Executive
Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Haruna Mairiga, more than 15,000 people were displaced and 8,500 houses were
affected by the floods. Mr Mairiga added that 12,000 hectares of farmlands were washed away.
In Adamawa State, six persons were swept away by the floods and in
August as a result of the flooding that caused displacement of more than
12,961 in three LGAs, namely Madagali, Demsa, and Numan.
In Gombe and Yobe states, reports indicate that more than 4,000 houses
and farmlands have been destroyed by flood. While Gombe SEMA said 2,517 houses and shops were destroyed by a flood that ravaged 33 communities, the Yobe SEMA stated that 1,650 houses were destroyed in Jajere and Yunusari towns of the state.
In Kaduna, close to 4,000 people have been displaced by flooding, while more than 200 houses were submerged in Zaria and Sabon-Gari LGAs of Kaduna State. In Kafanchan and surrounding villages in Jema’a LGA of the state, floods displaced more than 1,000 residents and killed two children.
In Zango Kataf LGA, NEMA said the flood had displaced no fewer than
3,633 people from five communities. In all these places, thousands of hectare of farmlands were destroyed.
In Kano, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management
Agency (SEMA), Isyaku Kubarachi, said the recent flood killed 31 people and displaced 31,818. He said the floods destroyed 2,518 farmlands, covering 976 hectares of land in 21 local government areas in the state, and 5,280 houses.
The Executive Secretary of Zamfara State SEMA, Ahmed Bala, said the
flood affected 9,784 households in all 12 political wards in Gummi LGA of
the state. He added that 12 people lost their lives while hundreds of hectares of farmlands were washed away.
In Bauchi, the state SEMA said more than N7.81 billion worth of farmlands
and properties have been destroyed by flood in 16 LGAs.
Professor Oluwayomi Atteh, of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of
Ilorin told NATIONAL WAVES that to avert food disaster in 2025, the federal, states and stakeholders must join hands together to deepen agricultural value chain through proactive measures to avert future floods and massive protection to farmers. He noted that southern Nigerian farmers who are yet to experience floods must be protected from the wave of rampaging floods through taking proactive measures. He said the floods that have ravaged farmlands in the northern part of the country, are a big alarm over an impending food crisis across the country as agricultural fortunes dip in the North.
Ten states, namely Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Taraba, Bauchi,
Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto and Kebbi are highly affected, following heavy
rainfall in the region.
In an interview with NATIONAL WAVES, an agricultural investor in Aiyetoro, Kogi State, Ayodele Bello urged the government to declare an emergency in the food sector across the country.
Bello noted that “what is currently going on in the north is a presage of
famine, an impending food crisis next year because of this flooding, I
believe it is high time that the Federal Government declared a state of
emergency in the country’s agricultural sector. “We have limited powers over the strange and dynamic play of Mother Nature but the little efforts we can muster to save ourselves from
hunger and starvation must be put in place by all the government agencies. This is not the time for politics.”
NATIONAL WAVES investigation showed that continuous rainfall across
the region posed a threat to grains and farmlands, which could lead to a poor harvest and hunger as farmers battle the scourge of drought. The Secretary of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Haruna Mairiga, told journalists last week that over 2,744 hectares of farmlands had been washed away by flood in Jigawa State.
The floods ravaged 12 LGAs, namely Buji, Kafin Hausa, Auyo, Hadejia, Birniwa, Malam Madori, Garki, Taura, Gwaram, Dutse, Kiyawa and Jahun.
“No fewer than 2,744 hectares of farmlands have been washed away by
the flood across the 12 affected LGAs. From August 1 to 13, 2024, the state witnessed intermittent downpours leading to several incidences of flood and the death of 21 persons as well as the destruction of farmlands and houses,” Mairiga said. He added that farmers in the state had lost over N1bn of farm produce and crops to flood.
The Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency predicted that in this year’s
annual flooding outlook, 31 states with 148 LGAs would be within the high flood-risk areas, while 35 states, including the FCT and 249 LGAs,
were considered within the moderate flood-risk areas. The remaining 377 LGAs were forecast for the low flood-risk areas.
Penultimate Friday’s downpour destroyed thousands of hectares of
farmlands in Zamfara, while properties worth billions of naira were lost.
Flooding has also affected parts of Nasarawa State, destroying crops
and farmlands in the North-Central state. Although there was no heavy rainfall around most communities
between August 2 and 12, torrential rains suddenly resurfaced across
the 13 LGAs of the state, including Lafia, the state capital, and washed
away several farmlands, it was learnt. The floods ravaged a five-hectare farmland belonging to a former
Commissioner of Youth and Sports Development in the state, Amb.
Lucky Yargwa, destroyed crops worth millions of naira in his farmland
located at the Farin Ruwa Development Area in Wamba LGA. “About five hectares of my farm was destroyed by the floods. What is remaining now is not up to 20 per cent of what I planted. I will not complain too much because I believe that God knows all things. Though millions of naira have gone, I see it as part of the challenges in the
world,” Yargwa said.
Speaking on the development, the state Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Isaac Kigbu, said, “The situation calls for concern. I want to call on the government to help us, so, that we can embark on dry-season farming. We (farmers) will appreciate all the assistance that we can get at this moment from the government and other good citizens of the country.
In Bauchi, Sokoto and Kebbi states there had been consistent rainfall in the past few weeks. However, the worst hit farmlands, it was learnt, were in three LGAs in Sokoto, as farmers in these areas complained that they had been
experiencing floods in recent times due to the excessive rainfall. According to a statement by the spokesman of the state SEMA, Abdullahi Ghani, farmlands in Tangaza, Gudu and Gada LGAs are mostly affected.
“In Tangaza Local Government Area, over 73 farmlands were submerged as a result of heavy downpour, which resulted in flooding. “The affected communities are Sakkwai, Ruwa-wuri, Takkau with affected areas as Tashar Atto and Unguwar -kara area.
“Also in Gudu Local Government Area, over 80 farmlands were also affected as a result of heavy downpours and floods, which resulted in the breakdown of the Earth Dam from Kutufare village. “The affected communities are Balle, Kurdula, Kutufare, Tungar-Balle, and Ayama with about 3,300 households affected in the process.”
In Kaduna, despite the state government’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the floods, several rice farmers lamented the losses suffered from the heavy rains. However, Muhammad Umar, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, expressed optimism, saying the current rainfall across the state has brought hope for some crops to recover for a bumper harvest.
NEMA announced last month that more than 16,000 hectares of farmlands have been destroyed in 27 states. With the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation’s warning that an estimated 26.5 million people would face food insecurity in Nigeria this year, the situation threatens to become dire. NEMA has also warned that the overflowing rivers are reaching other communities. The agency has placed other states, such as Benue, Kogi, Anambra, Delta, Imo, Rivers, and Bayelsa, on alert
With the flood in Maiduguri, Mr Ezekiel said NEMA has deployed some of the facilities used in Jigawa to Maiduguri. He listed them as including life
jackets, rescue boats, spreaders and cutters, and a mobile water treatment plant. “As I speak to you now, since Jigawa has stabilised with the situation in Maiduguri, our facilities have been moved to Maiduguri to support the ongoing rescue operations that are ongoing there now,” he added.
He, therefore, called for preparedness in the central and southern states,
noting that the “water will naturally flow
