In a bid to promoting youth centre activities in raising awareness and mobilising public support for food security and livelihood protection, some 30 youths residing in the six states were recently selected to participate in an agriculture-based programme.
The youths from various backgrounds were camped in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, under a programme tagged: “Young voices for small scale farmers.” Participants visited the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan in Oyo State; Osun Farm Settlement; Epe Fishing Community, Afuye-Epe; Nigeria Institute of Marine and Oceanography Research (NIMOR), Lagos; and Osun State House of Assembly.
During a lecture on the power of the internet, a youth activist and environmentalist, Zaid Shopeju, encouraged the youths to create a buzz on the internet about the programme by using different social media platforms to share happenings with their friends and the world.
Shopeju explained that the power of the internet can cause change when applied for the right cause. In a practical session, some of the youths were introduced and made to open accounts with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and also start their blogs. A Twitter hash tag, #YV4SSF, was created and the youths tweeted daily happenings to the world about the programme.
Deputy Director, Partnership and Capacity Building at IITA, Dr. Kenton Dashiell, while receiving the youths, expressed optimism that the next level of change and development that would emerge from the agricultural sector would be based on youth-led initiatives. Dashiell pointed out that young, educated and smart people were needed to engage in agriculture as it (agriculture) is not a profession that should be downgraded. He urged the youths to join the large number of small scale farmers who are the major producers of food consumed in Nigeria.
Dashiell maintained that hunger and poverty can be totally eradicated in the country, if more young people with skills and initiative engage in agriculture, even as he expressed the IITA’s support to partner with the youths for future development.
On tour the cassava processing unit in IITA, the site supervisor, Mr Smith Ikpan, spoke extensively on different researches, strategies being formulated to better develop improved varieties of cassava.
He said: “It is a known practice in Nigeria that to produce yellow-coloured garri that palm oil is required to be added to it, but an improved cassava variety has been produced by the Institute. The Beta-Carotene fortified cassava when processed into garri is normally yellow with no need for palm oil addition. This saves money, adds value and is nutrient fortified.”
Ikpan inquired from his audience if they had ever seen or known that cassava had seeds? The youths were surprised to see the seeds of cassava as they collected some to show their family and friends.
The youths were also taken to the Osun Farm Settlement in Osogbo to interact with the farmers. One of the farmers, Pa. Isaiah Oladejo a 70-year-old mechanised farmer, said they first came to the settlement in 1963. Oladejo added that since then farming has become a way of life for him and he now manages 50 acres of farmland, where he cultivates different food crops. The farmer of over 50 years experience identified access to fertilizer and tractors as a major challenge facing the farmers in increasing their yield.
Pa Oladejo explained that farming requires passion and good sense of planning as a profession and encouraged the youths to come into it as most of the present farmers are growing old and becoming weak to actively continue. According to him, the notion that agriculture does not sustain your livelihood is untrue.
“I have seven children who are all graduates and I catered for them through farming. One of my sons has joined me in farming and we make an average of N2 million annually from maize farming alone,” he disclosed, appealing to the youths to stop considering themselves as unemployed and waiting endlessly for white collar jobs. Through farming, you will feed yourself, family and Nigeria.”
He praised the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo whose leadership as the Governor of the Old Western Region led to the creation of Farm Settlements across the region. Pa. Oladejo urged those in leadership position to initiate projects that would impact on the lives of their electorates. He called for issue-based and people-focused leadership which he said would position the country on the right direction.
Osun State Commissioner for the Environment, Professor Bukola Oyawoye, while addressing the youths before they departed Osogbo to Lagos for the continuation of the tour, advised them to see agriculture as a solution to hunger, poverty and, unemployment. Professor Oyawoye said when young people engage in agriculture, Nigeria’s economy would grow and be among the top 10 global powers.
Co-ordinator of the programme and Project Executive, Human and Environmental Development Agency (HEDA), Mr. Sulaiman Arigbabu, said it was time for young people to engage actively in programmes and policies in the agricultural sector. Arigbabu pointed out that Nigeria can regain its past glory through agriculture, as typified in the days of the groundnut pyramid, cocoa and palm oil, which enabled a boom in the economy.
He demanded: “Do you know the impact on food production if 10,000 Nigerian graduates engage in agriculture?”
Experts in the agricultural sector posited that the nation’s economy can be diversified if more support is given to young people to encourage their engagement in agriculture.
Former Environment Minister, John Odey, has revealed that his passion towards ensuring the speedy execution of the N4.2 billion Kashimbilla/Gamovo Multipurpose Buffer Dam project in Taraba State while in office earned him a nickname among his peers in the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Odey
Odey, who served as Environment Minister between December 2008 and May 2011, said that he was labelled “Mr. Lake Nyos” because he consistently brought up the issue during the weekly FEC meetings in Abuja.
The proposed dam is actually meant to serve as a buffer upon the event of an earthquake and the collapse of the lake’s wall, freeing its large volume of water, which is expected to flow along a course from its native Cameroun into neighbouring Nigeria, where settlements will be extensively flooded.
Odey, who is still very passionate over the environment and sustainable development, wants the authorities to expedite action on the actualisation of the dam, which is under construction. It can generate 40mw of electricity with the capacity for expansion to 60mw.
“The dam will provide portable water to Taraba State and irrigation for Taraba farmers and more areas in Benue State. I studied the dam and pushed for the acceleration of the project by Council. This earned me the name Lake Nyos in the FEC when I was Environment Minister.
“I can confirm President Goodluck Jonathan’s support to have this project completed. He sent us to inspect progress of work in May 2011,” he said.
On the perceived limited budget allocation in 2013 Budget foe Agriculture and Rural Development in the light of the recent nationwide flooding, Odey remarked: “It is important for the key players who understand the effect of policy to advise Mr. President on policies that will drive private sector investment. Budget as an instrument is not enough to set the goals for the sector. Favourable policies will do more.
“The value chain and post harvest processing is not in place. This is even more important that the vote for agriculture. The flooding will affect rice yield a lot. Our farmers depend on rain-fed agriculture and swarm rice a lot. We should begin to develop small irrigation projects powered by solar pump. This will yield a lot of result. We are working under Access Nigeria for LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) utilisation for cooking across the country to reduce dependence on firewood and kerosene. This will be useful for drying agric produce to ensure post harvest storage.
“Government intervention now is short term measure. Government must plan on a medium and long term measures. The budget itself is a short term instrument, considering the way we formulate and implement our budget. It is not drawn from a long term development plan at all.”
On the switch to LPG, he noted that Africa Access Initiatives is partnering with stakeholders on the project and considering the environment and eco-friendly cooking approach.
“We had met with Oando Plc on all the key issues including safety network and affordability issues to reach the grassroot. I met with Abba Ruma and others such as Chairman, NLC; chairman, Micro Banks Association; and president, Farmers Association.”
While expressing joy that the REDD+ initiative that he began while in office “has come to a fruitful beginning,” Odey stressed that he is operating a Jathropha farm in Okpoma in Cross River State, which will enable the production of bio-diesel from 2013.
Odey’s Jathropha Farm in Okpoma, Cross River State, which will supply raw material for the production of bio-diesel from 2013
Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake situated on the Cameroun border with Nigeria, covers an area of 1.48km2 and approximately 250m deep. It holds about 200,000 tonnes of water. Eruption of poisonous gases have occurred at Lake Nyos in 1954, 1982 and 1986, causing flooding and killing thousands of people.
The worst scenario feared with respect to the lake is the eventual failure of the 50m long wall of the lake, due to erosion of its lower unit. This would discharge an estimated 17,000m three- fifth of flood that would have tragic impact on the downstream areas as far as Nigeria, surging down the Rivers Katsina Ala and Benue. This will affect thousands of people in Adamawa, Taraba, Benue and Cross River states.
In 2001, the Camerounian Government initiated the degassing project supported by an International Advisory Committee and various funding agencies. This project involves principally the use of large polyethylene pipe to siphon CO2 continuously from the lower layers of the lake to its surface. In addition, CO2 early warning systems were set up around the lake to monitor the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and trigger alert when concentration is dangerously high.
Lake Nyos
On the 5th of September, 2001, the FEC considered a joint memorandum by the Ministers of Science and Technology, Health and Environment on Eruption of dangerous gases from Mount Cameroon and directed that an Inter-Ministerial committee comprising Ministers of Science and Technology, Health, Environment, Water Resources and Special Duties be set up to study the problem of the dangerous gases emitted by Mount Cameroon and make recommendations to the Council.
Based on conclusions from the research works by academics especially those from Cameroun in 2005 that predicted the imminent collapse of the two lakes in a near future, the House of Representatives, Benue and Taraba States Governments noted the enormous catastrophe that may take place. In response to these, the National Technical Committee on Earthquake Phenomene (NTCEP) of which the Ministry is a member met to draw up a plan of attention for embarking on the necessary investigation of the problem.
Among the recommendations of the NTCEP were channelization of River Katsina Ala, installation of flood early warning system along the River and construction of buffer dam at Kashimbilla after proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is carried out. However, the installation of early warning system has been done and the dam project was awarded and is under construction now with several complaints from adjoining communities of increased flooding of their environment.
President Jonathan has taken commendable action by releasing funds for steady works on the construction of the Dam. The project which witnessed a slow progress before 2011 received strong support by this administration as remarked by John Odey. The dredging of River Niger also is a mitigation action that officials say must be commended and all efforts to complete the work should be vigorously pursued.
Predictions by the National Coordinator of Climate Change Network in Nigeria (CCN), Mr. Surveyor Efik, that the Atlantic Ocean washout of the Kuramo Beach and Okun Afa settlements on the coastal city of Lagos are “small signs of bigger calamities to be unleashed on the city and the country,” seems to have manifested earlier than anticipated.
A flooded neighbourhood
Efik may not have been the only one to have made such prediction about Nigeria; but he has, on several occasions, tried to paint the picture of the calamities that lie in wait for Nigeria – direct consequences of the changing climate – without mincing words each time he is prompted.
In August, he had submitted that, “unless urgent adaptation measures were taken, a tsunami may occur in Lagos.”
He also disclosed during that interview that the threat of the ocean surge, as a consequence of swollen water volume due to increase in global temperatures, hangs loosely on most (or all) of Nigeria’s coastal cities.
Efik made this assertion six years after a prediction by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) listed Lagos and other cities on the coastal line of Africa among those faced with extreme floods due to sea level rise.
Less than two months after his prediction, Nigeria is being flooded from north to south. Unfortunately, the country had been adequately warned. In 2005, a team of American marine and related experts on expedition of the Atlantic Ocean had noted that Nigeria and some cities on the mid-ridge of the Atlantic Ocean could be destinations for deadly hurricanes and similar events. Soon after, series of hurricanes hit some major cities in the United States and the Lagos Bar Beach was washed out by serious floods from the ocean.
At a recent meeting on Climate Change by the Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) Nigeria in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Environment Editor at Independent Newspapers Limited, Mr. Michael Simire, noted that, although “humans have been adapting to their environments throughout history by developing practices, cultures and livelihoods suited to local conditions,” current realities have shown that we are not prepared for the emergencies resulting from the swift changes in climatic conditions as experienced currently.
This holds so true for Nigeria, as the raging flash floods and its threats to the existence of man experienced in the last one month across most parts of the country has caused unimaginable distress to lives and properties of inhabitants along the coastal line of the country with authorities being lost on what to do.
The reality of the devastation of the flood that had affected lives and properties in virtually all the six geo-political zones of the country was the reason concerned professionals came together in Lagos to face the reality of Climate Change, by proffering practical adaptation and mitigation solutions.
At the ‘Strategic Media and Development Partners Forum on Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria, stakeholders exchanged ideas and deliberated on the need for the media to come up with strategies for the media to effectively communicate the reality of the change and make the people understand what it means.
Climate Change crusader, Mr. Tunde Akingbade, in a paper tagged, “Challenges of Climate Change Reporting and the Media in Nigeria,” stated that the expectation of man of rainfall at a given period of the year had changed, as all predictions by weather experts have been eroded by the change in climate.
“Twenty-two years ago, at the celebration of World Meteorological Day in Nigeria, one of Nigeria’s Meteorological experts sounded an alarm in Lagos that the sun was getting hotter and radiating more energy to the earth than it has done since creation. Very few people, including the media, thought that was something alarming that needed a space in the newspaper or television,” Akingbade noted, while informing on how climate change had been dubbed a figment of imagination in the past.
Not so many people may like President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe; but, on climate change, he probably got it right when he said, “With the rivers becoming heavily silted up, the flood danger is increased.” This statement as presented by Akingbade was sequel to a visit Mugabe made to Somalia in 1978, where he said: “He could have wept to see trees being choked by the advancing desert, rather like people being drowned in flood.”
Throwing this up to the media, he said the media must rise up to the challenges of informing, sensistising and communication of these threats to people in order for Nigerians to get used to present realities of our time.
He noted that since climate plays a role in the survival of man, the much talked about change does not mean change in weather but a change in what people are experiencing over a long period of time that has been changing or suddenly changed.
“Since the industrial revolution, more carbon dioxide and Green House Gases have been released into the atmosphere – causing he earth’s climate to be changing as confirmed by studies by the IPCC,” Akingbade noted. Unfortunately, this has received only marginal attention from governments of countries like Nigeria that are most at risk.
“The Nigerian environment has suffered from massive pollution and degradation in the last 55 years. In the North, the Sahara desert is threatening everyone while the sea is eating our 800 Kilometers shoreline with great intensity. The air is fouled by industrial fumes. In the Delta, gas flaring is scorching the earth. The climate is changing,” Akingbade said, adding that the bigger task is in the hands of the media, which he said cannot afford to sit on the fence.
Panelists at the Lagos meeting noted that adaptation is a measure that is usually planned in advance or measures that may be put in place simultaneously in response to pressure on the environment, noting that such measures may include building of wall fences and improve the quality of healthcare care and facility prior to its occurrence.
They also expressed worry that over politicisation of issues concerning climate might lead to further aggravation on the victims because of the insincerity of the populace on politicians. They accused politicians of taking advantage of such emergence situations for personal enrichment at the detriment of the victims.
The National Co-Ordinator, AAP Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Adejare Adejuwon, said, “The ongoing flooding in many parts of the country and the aftermath greatly underscores the vulnerability of Nigeria to the vagaries of nature.”
Adejare noted, “In Nigeria, the high level of climate risk is related to a number of factors, including our densely populated low-lying coastline, which is also home to a high concentration of industry and infrastructure.”
He also pointed out that the North of the country, which forms part of the Sahel, is at risk of further drought and desertification.
Recent analysis by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), as presented by him, shows a trend of late onset of the rainy season, with most of the country experiencing a below-average length of rainy season. Climate projections, according to him, have also indicated that mean annual rainfall will be lower in the North of the country and higher than normal in the coastal belt, with lower dry season contributions to annual totals in all belts.
“Sea-level rise leading to submergence of lowlands along the coast would result in much of the land currently used for agriculture being lost, with resultant devastating socio-economic and socio-cultural costs,” Adejare noted, while pointing out some of the climate change related weather conditions that were predicted prior to the recent events across the country.
On its part, Adejare said, AAP Nigeria has taken the bull by the horn.
“We have developed an electronic newsletter to update readers on the various activities and initiatives taking place under AAP in Nigeria. It will also interest you to know that the AAP Nigeria through the Climate Change Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment and with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) set up the AAP Media Network,” he informed the Lagos meeting.
Meanwhile, the experts and other stakeholders that met in Lagos said Climate change has opened the world of Science and Technology to further areas of researches as people are currently seeking ways of developing and producing reinforced electricity poles, roofing materials, drought and flood resistant crops, sporting materials footballs that defy soaking, synthetic playing turfs among others.
The bigger challenge, however lies with government at all levels, which have been urged by the Lagos meeting to be sincere and proactive towards issues of climate.
The good times are coming to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital city, where a heptarchy of initiatives is set to change the face of the emerging urban centre.
An impression of the new Governor’s Office in Ado-Ekiti
Christened “Legacy Projects,” the schemes are designed to advance development and leave a lasting legacy in the state.
The projects are: Government House (to be completed in 18 months), Governor’s Office (to be completed in 18 months), Civic Centre (incorporating a library, museum and art gallery and a cinema; to be completed in 12 months), State Pavillion ( something like the Eagle’s Square in Abuja, where parade and other activities will take place; to be completed in six months), Samsung Engineering Academy (to be completed within a year), Grand Tower Shopping Mall (incorporating Shoprite and related brands; to be completed within one year) and Life Academy at Iluomoba (a modern technical school where graduates can go for further technical training in different fields).
Apart from aesthetics, the Grand Tower Shopping Mall, for instance, is expected to shore up the state’s economic base, provide employment opportunities, and improve Ekiti’s internally generated revenue (IGR).
In fact, the mall is projected to employ over 600 Ekiti indigenes during construction and create at least 300 permanent jobs for indigenes after completion. Grand Towers, state officials disclosed, would bring “multitude of international line shops such as KFC, Mr. Price, Woolworths, Stanbic, Steers, Shoprite and MTN to Ekiti.”
Governor Kayode Fayemi said recently while signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the developers that the land for the project was given to Grand Tower Limited at concessionary rate, even as he had already signed the Certificate of Occupancy to allow the company to immediately taken possession of the land and start construction works.
“We have also issued a distinct mandate to Grand Towers to enable their partners deplore a full developmental team to the project. All these steps taken by the government and others are part of the incentives being provided by government to prospective investors who are ready to partner with us to develop our state,” he added.
In a related development, the governor has resuscitated and opened for operations the Ire Burnt Brick Industry in Ire-Ekiti, after 21 years of being dormant.
Fayemi, who performed the official commissioning of the industry, described the revival as “a promise kept”.
The commissioning, it was gathered, is the climax of several months of strategic planning, re-development and re-equipping of the moribund industry.
Fayemi stated that the resuscitation of Ire Bricks Factory and Odua Enterprise Centre (formerly Odu’a Textiles which was comatose for 23 years) was to expand the state’s resources, provide numerous job opportunities, encourage new skills acquisition by workers and ultimately enlarge the middle class in the state.
He assured that the state would henceforth patronise the factory and use a certain percentage of the red burnt bricks in all its projects across the state. The factory is expected to begin full operation before the year’s end.
The gale of flooding ravaging several communities across the country has left many people in a harrowing and agonizing state. It was tale of sorrowing and gnashing of teeth as lives, hectares of farmland, livestock and properties worth billions of Naira were lost to the devastating flood.
Flooded parts of the country
The 2012 rainy season in Nigeria has become a curse instead of the blessing usually associated with the season for agrarian Nigeria. The heavy August ending rains coupled with water released from Lagdo, Kainji and Jebba dams is being fingered for the disaster.
This flood destroyed river banks and infrastructure and, by end of September, over 134,371 people were displaced, 64,473 injured and 202 killed. The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), are either living with families or in makeshift camps.
All the six geo-political zones in the country are affected, which include states like Adamawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Port Harcourt and Delta.
In Bayelsa State for example, the people woke up to see the flood water level rising, initially thinking that it would soon go away. But as the seconds, minutes and hours went by and the level of the water kept rising. It then became obvious that this one was not going away, and it was time to move out of their residences.
It was a pathetic sight and the first thing I noticed in the first camp we went to on Friday at Igbogene was hunger, anger, frustration and hopelessness on the faces of the flood victims. The affected communities were Ihuke, Ahoda, Okogbe, Ula-Okodo, Emezi I, Akala-Olu, Enito, Dhirio, Mbiama and Ishai.
Initially, I was scared of talking to them because I thought they might take the frustration out on anybody that comes by without bringing them a sort of relief material.
Though the state government cook and serve food, IDPs complained of the food not being enough.
Imagine leaving your comfort zone with hardly anything in your pocket, sleeping on the floor in a tent with people you barely know. It is the height of frustration.
South-South Zonal Coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Emenike Umasi, said the agency was the first group to start a relief effort in the area.
While talking to journalists in Bayelsa he said, “Actually the South-South started the relief effort. We are the first to mobilise relief to this place. We are still proving more relief items. It is an ongoing thing; we are still bringing more relief items as the need arises.
“As of this morning a truck arrived and we are taking it to the warehouse. So far, we have been able to bring in close to 1,500 mattresses, and we are still going to bring in 600 bags of rice, 400 bags of beans and 600 bags of garri. We have other items like blanket, bucket etc.”
On Port Harcourt-Yenagoa Road, we met quite a number of trucks and jeeps conveying people with few of their belongings, obviously fleeing to a higher ground.
I almost had my first experience with entering a tipper from Yenagoa to Port Harcourt, because that was one of the only means of transport because of the level of water on the road.
Immediately they saw us coming towards the vehicle, they brought a ladder for us to enter, and they were at the same time asking for N2,000 to take us from Yenagoa to Port Harcourt. You have to sit, if you are lucky to get a space or stand for two hours; a journey that lasted an hour prior to the flood.
Eventually, we got a Toyota Sienna multi-purpose vehicle, which the NEMA official that led the team, my colleague and I felt it was more comfortable than the tipper.
We entered the Sienna and paid N3,000 each for the transport fare. The driver later told us how he spent over N20,000 to effect repairs for daring to enter the water the previous day. A journey of one hour took us over two hours to get to Port Harcourt and the car engine went off thrice because water entered the exhaust. We had to come down and waded inside water to push the car to restart.
After passing over the flood communities everybody in the car give a sigh of relief, though we eventually missed our flight, and had to take a late night flight.
Apart from the over-loaded tipper, keke napep (commercial tricycle) was a welcome means of transportation. To add insult to the injury, the stench was so unbearable as you see lots of youths from the communities rendering assistance to motorists.
Mrs. Grace John, who gave bath to a baby boy in Samson Siasia Stadium in one of the IDPs camp on Saturday, appealed to the Federal and State governments to assist them because her family of three moved from Delta State to Yenegoa (Bayelsa State) not up to one month before the flood “and everything we have is spoilt by the flood. Due to the movements, I feel pain in my body.”
She added: “The flooding started gradually, then the water level was gradually rising, before I knew it, the water had filled my home. Then I saw many fish inside the house, and water washing off our rugs and before I knew it, I went into labour.”
President Goodluck Jonathan who conducted a tour of affected states, tried to encourage the people at a church service. He said, “The flood is all over the world, Asia, Europe, I know that Nigeria’s flooding is bad. And when we have such disaster, food is not the problem. Do not make food your priority. If you eat once, thank God, I know that none of you would die of hunger here. Before the middle of November, the water would have receded.
“The biggest flood I experienced was in 1969. When the water recedes, the most important thing is rehabilitation, because farms, boats and all of your properties have been carried away by the flood.
“As the President, I have never eaten three square meals, each day. Sometimes it’s only once I eat. The Federal Government is more concerned about the prevention of an outbreak of epidemic in the camps. The FG is more concerned about rehabilitation of people affected by water.
“In Kogi State, four farmers committed suicide because they borrowed money from the bank to buy seeds and flood came and destroyed the farms. So because they were scared they committed suicide.
“I am here to encourage you that, international organisation and other nations all over the world have promised to help us. I was in a place in Kogi, a storey building was under water.”
The South-South Zonal Coordinator said: “On a good day, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to travel from Ahonda to Mbiama community. But now, it would take at least 1:30 minutes to travel that same distance. The new East-West Road that is under construction in that axis has been submerged and the sand washed off. The massive flooding in the Ahonda-East and Ahonda axis of the East-West Road started as a result of the overflow of the Orashi and Sombreiro rivers as well as the adjourning minor rivers and creeks that culminated from the two lga (Ahonda East and Ahonda West) and Ogba Egbema Ndoni gas of Rivers State.
“Communities that are mostly affected are in Rivers and Bayelsa include those communities whose water channels are by the way side or low areas linked to River Niger. Those whose water channels are linked to the ocean especially, the salt water areas were not affected. The Igbogene Camp is mainly for children. It was made for them because of the coolness of the place. We have 12 camps in Delta State, eight camps in Edo State and 12 in Rivers State.
NEMA said that, as at Sunday, 14th October, it had registered close to 40,000 IDPs in Yenagoa, which has close to six camps. “While in Rivers State we have about 12 camps and in Delta as of yesterday we planned to open new camps to make it 13 camps.
“In the Zone we have up to 60 camps. Those are established FG camps and there are smaller camps established by government and some NGOs. Some camps have as low as 250 IDPs and some as high as 5000, like the one Ole where we have three camps running concurrently. We have close to 10,000 IDPs in those camps. There is no report of any epidemic so far. We are trying to guard against that by providing water and sanitary infrastructure in most of the camps.
“We have had one here and four in Kaiama and there was an instance of an illness, where one person was moved to the hospital, but all others are at the capacity of the camp clinic. We have two clinics running in Samson SiaSia Stadium, NAVY, and the other one by State Ministry of Health. They are all sick bays; they have beds and doctors are also on ground. The Armed Forces have actually come into the operations; it’s just the effort of the state and NEMA,” said Emenike.
Evangelist Vincent who was encountered with at Igbogene, said, “I have been in this camp since on Tuesday and the situation is not as we want it. The means of feeding is the help of government and well meaning Nigerians.
“It’s only NEMA that brought food and things as you can see it is now that NGOs brought about 10 bags of small rice, the state should also bring us something. If you see my house it’s just like a lagoon. I stay in Igbogene, Three of my family and church members are here. The camp condition is poor. In the morning we ate late; we have the volunteer service, camp supervisor and more than 100 people staying here from different places.”
NEMA officials complained about lack of coordination, because “there is no effective SEMA in place, we are running the camps with commissioners, local government chairmen and all that ordinarily if we have effective an SEMA in place, we would have hooked on and flow normally. But in this case, we are now running in the structure.”
Goodluck Baperewei a plumber whose house was submerged by flood in Swali, said, “I am here with 15 of my family members. The flooded destroyed all my property and I don’t have another place to go. The FG should please assist us. There are no mattresses and I am experiencing pains in one of my arms.”
On Sunday some of the victims threatened to burn down a NEMA truck, saying only Sagama Local Government gave them N300,000 and other relief materials, while the rest turned their backs on them. They accused their representatives – commissioners, LGA chairman and lawmakers – of not visiting the camps. They added that those who managed to come stopped at the gate and turn back.
They turned violent and eventually broke the glass doors of the venue of the church service and chased away the church ministers. They said: “How can we listen to the word of God in an empty stomach? What we need is food and relief materials.”
They accused the accused the ministers of only being interested in the offering they will get from them.
The flood water came from Lagdo Dam in Cameroun as well as Kaniji and Jebba Dams in Nigeria, which were at their respective highest water levels and had to release water so as to avoid the collapse of the dams. Before water was released from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, the authorities there warned Nigeria. But because of the lack of a dam to absorb the shock from Lagdo, which Nigeria was supposed to have built several decades ago, the effect on settlements in Nigeria was unprecedented.
Mining in West Africa while contributing to economic and social development of the countries, disrupts the natural and human balance raising questions about the risk it poses to the future life of communities living near mining sites. This is the observation made by a group of journalists from West and central Africa participating in a sub regional media capacity building workshop, co-organized by the West and Central Africa Programme of the IUCN (IUCN/PACO) and the Global Water Partnership for West Africa (GWP/WA). The meeting held from 1st to 5th October 2012 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on the theme “Mining and the Protection of environment and natural resources in West Africa.”
Gold mining in Kalsaka Village, Yalenga Province, Burkina Faso
The workshop aimed to enhance the understanding of journalists specialising in environment on the issues, impacts and hazards of mining on the environment. More than 40 participants, journalists, parliamentarians, environmental experts and stakeholders in the mining sector, from 11 countries of West Africa and Central Africa, took part in five days of discussions, field visits and practices focusing on the relationship between mining and environmental protection.
Presentations and panel debates on mining and laws that surround it, have allowed journalists to understand that this is a complex activity that includes exploration, exploitation and trading.
Mr. Bashirou Ouedraogo, Technical Advisor of the Burkina Minister of Mines, Quarries and Energy, speaking on behalf of the Minister at the opening ceremony of the workshop, said: “Mines undoubtedly contribute to the socio-economic development of our countries. Unfortunately this does not happen without impacts on the environment and natural resources.”
Although mining proves to be a source of jobs creation and a source of income for many West African countries, the nature and human balance is experiencing a profound disturbance in the mining areas. Natural ecosystems are difficult to be reconstituted and the quality of life can be altered after the end of the mining activities. Although there are national, regional and even international legislations that provide environmental protection in mining activities, the high cost related to compensation and the weak monitoring capacity of Governments and reactions from civil society organisations do not allow to truly trace out the real effects of mining and the respect for environmental standards in West Africa.
However, with the current boom in the mining sector, “compromises are possible between the economic and environmental issues in mining,” says Mr. Abdoulaye Diarra, professor at the International Institute for Water and Environment (2iE) taking part in the panel debates during the workshop.
According to the Chair of Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP / WA), Mr. Hama Arba Diallo, also deputy mayor of Dori in the Sahel of Burkina Faso, “in the context of a country like Burkina, it is better to have gold than not havingany” since this mining activity brings a lot of excitement in the light of the case of Essakane a gold mine located in the region of Dori. To get there, “the mobilization of all stakeholders is needed to mitigate environmental impacts and ensure the preservation of property and essential ecosystem services that support long-term development,” said Dr. Aimé J. Nianogo, Regional Director of IUCN-PACO. That is why the Minister’s representative, Mr. Ouedraogo Bashirou, welcomed and encouraged the initiative of the IUCN / PACO and GWP / WA targeting the media with their potential of awareness raising in addition to parliamentary for the capacity building workshop.
The five-day workshop was conducted in three phases: after two days of discussions with industry experts and a day of field visit, journalists made media productions on the impact of mining activities on natural and human systems including also on the period of post mining operations.
A disruption of human and natural balances related to mining
Located 90 km from Ouagadougou in the central Northern part of Burkina Faso, the rural town of Sabcé giving site to the Bissa Gold mine was visited by the workshop participants. The Bissa Gold company (90% owned by Russian interests NORGOLG and 10% by the State of Burkina Faso) is developing its gold mining activities on an area of 130 km2. Journalists met with local authorities, officials of the mining company and made a tour of the facilities of the mining site.
The main observations made by journalists show that mining leads to a profound destruction of natural balance and affect deeply the production systems and the human organisation. In Sabcé, the natural reserve within which the Company operates was the only reservoir of biodiversity in the area and today this heritage is endangered.
Mining is affecting the forest reserve of the county directly covering 700 ha of fields of two villages that are Bissa and Yimiougou. Agriculture, the main activity of the inhabitants will suffer heavily from the effects of mining. Indeed, many farmers have been dispossessed of their crop field against financial compensation. Given the agricultural practices, this will create a void that only time will eventually fill. And the question of the management of this resource has already arisen in relation to the current floods in August 2012 that people attribute to the overflow of water from the dam built by the Bissa Gold Company.
Water is the most affected resource by mining activities since “without water, there is no mining” as stated by the Deputy Director General of Bissa Gold, Dr. Christian Ouedraogo. To face that reality, Bissa Gold has built a water reservoir with a capacity of over 100 million cubic meters. They will “only about 4 million so there is a need to put up with the various stakeholders a mechanism to manage the rest of the resource of the dam,” says Mr. Ouedraogo.
Another concern is the resettlement of displaced households affected by the installation of mining activities. Compensations are generally on property while the cultural aspect is not taken into account. It is obvious that the traditional knowledge and practices to protect the environment and its resources have been disrupted. The natural reserve of Sabcé was the site of many traditional rites and the officials of the mining company in accordance with the traditional authorities have delimited them by putting terminals all around to avoid destroying them.
Moreover, the influx of foreign populations to the mining areas in search of employment and better living conditions led to a concentration of people with its corollaries of wrongdoing as the moral depravity (banditry, prostitution, drugs, etc.). “Currently, it is not easy to get a house for rent in Sabcé and even if it is found , the price is very high,” says Mamadou Pierre Celestin Zoungrana, mayor of the municipality.
Although each mining site has its own realities, the situation of the growing gold mine in Sabcé, is typical of the problems encountered in the mining areas of West Africa.
Often neglected, the period after mine attracted media attention
An important element emerged during the workshop; that is how do we prepare the after mining activities? All the communications have revealed that the issue is a big concern for governments, communities and mining companies. “We have already started the implementation of a wide program of reforestation on barren,” says Mr. Frederic Some, environmental manager at the Essakane gold mine,, operated by the Canadian IAM Gold. The period following mine activities in the states of West Africa is currently rising as a difficult social and ecological debt to be cleared because the issue is not deeply assessed by populations and authorities.
In Burkina Faso, for example, the closure of a mine at the end of its activities and the rehabilitation of the site are governed by the Code of mining investment. Thus, all industrial mining companies (at least for Bissa Gold and Essakane) are trying to implement a reforestation program.
The action of the GWP/WA and IUCN/PACO
The current regional meeting of media on mining and environment issues reflects the commitment of the GWP / WA and IUCN / PACO “to promote, in our states, participatory development based on good information of all stakeholders, basis for sustainable development “said the Chairman of GWP / WA, Mr. Hama Arba Diallo. “ GWP West Africa, since its establishment in 1999 in the region, is continuously fighting within States for an integrated management of natural resources starting with the water”, continued Mr. Diallo. The role of IUCN is to “inform, educate and advocate for a dialogue between stakeholders that facilitates sustainable practices and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the exploitation of resources,” said Dr. Aimé J. Nianogo, Regional Director of IUCN West and Central Africa Programme (PACO).
That is why the IUCN approach is to mobilize knowledge to reduce the environmental impacts of mining through training of actors, dialogue building and developing initiatives for the most vulnerable groups, has underlined by Jean-Marc Garreau, regional program coordinator of IUCN-PACO, in his presentation on mining and biodiversity.
The Ouagadougou meeting was the sixth in a series that began in 2007 between GWP-WA and the media of the West African region. These annual meetings have so far enable the establishment of a practice of sharing experiences among participants, experts and the organizers (GWP and IUCN). The end of each workshop is an opportunity for participants to renew their commitment to implement new acquired knowledge to better address environmental issues. Since 2007, there have been positive developments including the creation special spaces dedicated to environmental information in some newspapers or radio stations by journalists taking part in these meetings.
A recent positive development in this regard is the initiative that led to the development of the website EnviroNews Nigeria that can be reached at www.environewsnigeria.com. This web site is specifically dedicated to environmental news and regularly updated by its promoter, Mr. Michael Simire, a journalist who took part in all the meetings since 2007. Mr. Simire says: “This website is an offshoot of the conference. It began as a news sharing forum that was initiated by our communiqué from that very first conference in Bamako that we should share our stories amongst one another”. The first workshop in Bamako, Mali held on 27, 28 and 29 December 2007.
For all the participants, the Ouagadougou workshop was a great opportunity for learning and knowledge sharing on environmental issues for better informing audiences.
The Federal Government on Sunday evacuated 215 stranded Nigerian fishermen from the Republic of Gabon back home.
Fishermen
Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yushau Shuaib, disclosed in a statement in Abuja on Monday that the evacuation was necessitated after the Gabonese authorities issued an eviction notice to Nigerian fishermen living in Nende, Mouka and Kenza Islands to move away even though majority of them had lived there for several decades doing their legitimate businesses.
The distressed returnees who are mostly from Bayelsa State and a few from Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Imo and Abia states were flown to the Port Harcourt International Airport before their onward journey to their respective home states.
The fishermen had signified their willingness to be reunited with their families after the eviction notice.
Before the execution of the evacuation process, the Nigerian government through the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant agencies had undertaken an on-the-spot-assessment of the situation before a chartered aircraft was deployed for the evacuation.
In an effort to ensure full rehabilitation of the distressed Nigerians and to protect their belongings, Shuaid stated that NEMA would also ship their outboard engines, fishing nets and other working tools to Nigeria.
The respective state governments have been communicated on the development.
The world’s 25 most endangered primates have been revealed in a new report released on Monday in Hyderabad, India, at the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity COP11.
Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates, 2012–2014 has been compiled by the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the International Primatological Society (IPS), in collaboration with Conservation International (CI) and the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation (BCSF).
Mankind’s closest living relatives – the world’s apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates – are on the brink of extinction and in need of urgent conservation measures. The report, announced by some of the world’s leading primate experts every two years, reveals those species most in danger of becoming extinct from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bush meat hunting.
The list features nine primate species from Asia, six from Madagascar, five from Africa and five from the Neotropics. In terms of individual countries, Madagascar tops the list with six of the 25 most endangered species. Vietnam has five, Indonesia three, Brazil two, and China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Venezuela each have one.
With this report, conservationists want to highlight the plight of species such as the Pygmy Tarsier (Tarsius pumilus) of southern and central Sulawesi, which was only known from three museum specimens until 2008, when three individuals were captured inside the Lore Lindu National Park and one more was observed in the wild. The few remaining fragmented and isolated populations of this species are threatened by human encroachment and armed conflict.
Madagascar’s lemurs are severely threatened by habitat destruction and illegal hunting, which has accelerated dramatically since the change of power in the country in 2009. The rarest lemur, the Northern Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis), is now down to 19 known individuals in the wild. A red-listing workshop on lemurs, held by the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist group in July this year, revealed that 91% of the 103 species and subspecies were threatened with extinction. This is one of the highest levels of threat ever recorded for a group of vertebrates.
The list of the world’s 25 most endangered primates has been drawn up by primatologists working in the field who have first-hand knowledge of the causes of threats to primates.
“Once again, this report shows that the world’s primates are under increasing threat from human activities. Whilst we haven’t lost any primate species yet during this century, some of them are in very dire straits,” says Dr Christoph Schwitzer, Head of Research at the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation (BCSF).“In particular the lemurs are now one of the world’s most endangered groups of mammals, after more than three years of political crisis and a lack of effective enforcement in their home country, Madagascar. A similar crisis is happening in South-East Asia, where trade in wildlife is bringing many primates very close to extinction.”
More than half (54%) of the world’s 633 primate species and subspecies with known conservation status are classified as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The main threats are habitat destruction, particularly from the burning and clearing of tropical forests the hunting of primates for food, and the illegal wildlife trade.
“
Primates are man’s closest living relatives
and probably the best flagship species for tropical rain forests, since more than 90 percent of all known primates occur in this endangered biome,” says Dr. Russell Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group and President of Conservation International, “Amazingly, we continue to discover new species every year since 2000. What is more, primates are increasingly becoming a major ecotourism attraction, and primate-watching is growing in interest and serving as a key source of livelihood in many local communities living around protected areas in which these species occur.”
“It’s also important to note that primates are a key element in their tropical forest homes”, adds Dr Mittermeier. “They often serve as seed dispersers and help to maintain forest diversity. It is increasingly being recognised that forests make a major contribution in terms of ecosystem services for people, providing drinking water, food and medicines.”
Despite the gloomy assessment, conservationists point to the success in helping targeted species recover. Due largely to the efforts of dedicated primate conservationists, and underpinned by considerable public and media interest in the plight of our closest relatives, the world has not lost a single primate species to extinction in the 20th century, and no primate had yet to be declared extinct in the 21st century either, although some are very close to total extirpation. This is a better record than for most other groups of larger vertebrates that have lost at least one, often more, species.
Several species have been removed from the list — now in its seventh edition — because of improved status, among them India’s Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus) and Madagascar’s Greater Bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus), which appeared on the first six lists, but has now been taken off thanks to the great increase of interest generated by its appearance as a top 25 species.
Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan presented the 2013 proposal to the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, where he submitted, among others, that the budget is one that gives priority to food security. However, the N81.41 billion budget provision for Agriculture and Rural Development has apparently not captured the recent flooding mishap nationwide, which has put the nation’s food production capacity in a precarious situation. Michael Simire and Gbenga Ogunbufunmi examine the implications
“It is a budget that gives priority to our concerns for security, infrastructure, food security and human development sectors. It is a Budget that introduces a series of innovative features. This Budget is a push in the right direction borne out of our well thought-out and articulated developmental policies.”
Jonathan
Those were the words of President Goodluck Jonathan last Wednesday in Abuja when he presented the 2013 Budget to a joint session of the two Houses of Parliament – the Senate and House of Representatives.
His emphasis of food security is commendable and apt, given the nation’s persisting inability to produce enough to feed itself. Products like rice, wheat and vegetable oil are being imported in large quantities, and telling on the country’s scarce resources.
Articulating government’s plans for the sector at the National Council On Agriculture held in Enugu in March this year, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, lamented before the audience the staggering amount of money being spent on importation of food items which he put at over N1.3 trillion.
This amount, he said, is expended on basic food items like wheat, rice, sugar and fish despite the country having over 84 million hectares of arable land, perfect weather to grow crow crops all year round with fertile soil to support planting.
However, looking at provisions for the agricultural sector in the 2013 Budget proposal, it appears difficult to match Mr. President’s resolve to ensure food security with the budgetary allocation.
In the budget’s expenditure proposal, some key allocations are as follows: Works – N183.5 billion; Power – N74.26 billion; Education – N426.53 billion; Health – N279.23 billion; Defence – N348.91 billion; Police – N319.65 billion; and Agriculture & Rural Development – N81.41 billion.
Analysing the sectoral allocations, it is apparent that agriculture is not given the priority attention it deserves; more so, considering the flooding disaster currently ravaging most parts of the country, with attendant consequences.
It is not an understatement to say that the ongoing flood crisis has created serious challenges leading to fears and warnings by experts that the nation may likely face an unprecedented food crisis in the coming year if something drastic is not done address the situation.
For instance, the Delta State Government has expressed fears that, following the extensive flooding being experienced in the state, famine is looming.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Misan Ikubehinje, emphatically said famine is imminent considering the damage done to farmlands, livestock and all aquatic lives, saying most affected are farmers who have farms that link the tributaries of River Niger.
According to him, most hardly hit are the fish, crop and pig farmers who have lost their fishes, an indication that there could be shortage of food. He expressed regret that 90 percent of the farmers did not insure their farms and farm yield, “an indication that that have lost everything to the disaster.”
Mr. President himself attested to this fact that the nation may be facing a potential catastrophe when he declared the flooding a national disaster.
“We are very sad over these flood incidences in the country. It is a national disaster,” Jonathan had said.
The Minister of Environment, Hadiza Mailafia, said over 5,000 farmlands had been washed away.
Also, the Federal Government has warned of the threat of an imminent food crisis, which will only compound an already miserable situation.
The United Nations Children’s Fund also recently said that about 18.7 million people are facing food and nutrition crises in the Sahel region, which includes a large portion of Nigeria’s vast land area, as a result of the impact of drought, malnutrition and disease. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) predicted an invasion by locusts.
In the 2013 Budget, the Federal Government probably made allocation to the agriculture section using parameters of the previous year, and not taking into consideration the recent nationwide flooding.
According to Jonathan, his administration has instituted key policy reforms to establish staple crop processing zones aimed at attracting the private sector into areas of high production, reducing post-harvest losses, and adding value to locally produced commodities.
He added that, so far, government has succeeded in attracting $7.8 billion investment commitments to the agricultural sector. These investments and the value chain approach being used to transform the sector, Mr. President noted, have the capacity to create 3.5 million additional jobs in the medium term by 2015.
“You will recall that government provided incentives to support cassava value chains, including zero duty on machinery and equipment to process high quality cassava flour. Cassava bread is increasingly commercially available with 20 percent cassava flour content. In addition, a total of one million metric tonnes of dried cassava chips, are being exported to China this year,” he added, pointing out that achieving self-sufficiency in rice production in 2015 remains his target.
The President said that, in response to government’s new fiscal measures, 13 new private sector rice mills with a capacity of about 240,000 metric tonnes have been established. These mills, he revealed, buy and process local paddy and create employment for Nigerians.
While these policy statements for the outgoing year appear to be feasible in tackling some of the nation’s food security challenges, the unfolding situation essentially caused by the flood requires the need to re-strategise in terms of funding and policy.
A problem of this magnitude would require a purpose-driven plan to deal with it, according to industry watchers.
The N81.41 billion allocated to Agriculture & Rural Development in the budget is reflective of government’s supposed commitment to the sector, which may not be enough to feed the growing population and create jobs for the growing unemployed.
President Goodluck Jonathan last week allocated the sum of N17.6 billion to states and agencies to cushion the effect of floods in many parts of the country.
The breakdown of the figure shows that N13.3 billion goes to the affected states, while agencies involved in tackling the disaster will receive N4.3 billion.
The president made the announcement on Tuesday morning in a national broadcast on the State of the Nation.
He also raised a committee on flood relief and rehabilitation headed by business mogul, Aliko Dangote, and former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba.
The National Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation has Dr. Mike Adenuga, another business mogul, as the chief fund mobiliser.
The committee has one year to conclude its tasks among which is to raise funds in support of government’s efforts to provide urgent relief for victims of floods across the country.
Other members of the committee are Alhaji Karami Isiaku Rabiu, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, Ngo Hannatu Cholum, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, former Minister of Information, Prof. Dora Akunyili, and former Managing Director, United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu.
Others include Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Tunde Lemo, who is representing the bank, Ms. Fatima Wali, former Minister of Information Frank Nweke (Jnr.) and a former presidential adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa.
The affected states were categorised into four groups based on the present assessment.
Category A states will receive N500 million each, while states in categories B and C will get N400 million and N300 million respectively.
The government splashed N250 million each on states in category D.
States in the A Category are – Oyo, Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Delta, Bayelsa and Anambra.
While Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa, Taraba, Cross River, Edo, Lagos and Imo are pooled in category B.
Kwara, Katsina, Gombe, Ogun, Ondo, Ebonyi, Abia and Rivers are the states in category C.
The category D comprised Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Enugu, Ekiti, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Borno and the Federal Capital Territory.
The committee which is also expected to advise government on the judicious utilization of funds raised has been authorised by President Jonathan to co-opt any other persons or organizations that it may find useful in carrying out its assignment.
This intervention seems to give the impression that government realises the magnitude of the crisis.
However, developments show that the intervention might simply be a drop in the ocean, as complaints that funding is inadequate have begun to reign the airwaves.
Indeed, members of Delta State House of Assembly described the state’s share of N500 million from the Federal Government’s N17.6 billion assistance to flooded states as meagre, noting that the money was not sufficient in view of the challenges at hand.
They maintained that Delta State was heavily impacted because it was at the mercy of River Niger and River Benue.
The legislators said it could have been appropriate for Mr. President to declare a state of emergency over the flood issue.
The president lamented the effects of the floods, which he said had rendered tens of thousands of Nigerians homeless, and destroyed property, farmlands and infrastructure.
Managing Director, Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority (UNRBDA), Professor Paul Shaba Marley, has warned that the flood that is currently ravaging the country could lead to food scarcity in the country next year.
He said in Minna, Niger State, that the flood is a threat to national food security programme of the federal government and hence farmlands were being washed away mostly in the northern parts of Nigeria.
Marley, who is a Professor of Crop Production, said that the country should take proactive measures for possible food scarcity as the cases of flood would obviously affect food production.
He explained that the volume of water associated with flood is inimical to crop production and that if the water that submerged farmlands did not go down, it would be very difficult to have maximum crop production this year.
He pointed out that the situation would be more felt in areas where cereals crops are grown in the northern region with low water tolerant crops and therefore portends bad signal to production of cereal crops.
“No doubt the flooding ravaging the country is a threat to the food security programme of the federal government. The development may lead to food scarcity next year,” he said.
Marley stated further: “Except for rice that is highly tolerant to water, other cereals are not. Horticulture crops and other food crops in flood affected areas are being lost and these will cause the country big problem in food production next year because it may take long for the water to rescind.’’
States such as Kogi, Kwara, Anambra, Delta, Cross River, Edo and Bayelsa have been caught up in the floods, and thrown into panic over the loss of lives, livelihood, properties and farmlands.
In its 2012 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had in March this year warned about an imminent heavy rainfall and the attendant flooding.
The cause of the flooding has been narrowed down to: the torrential rains, overflowing of River Niger (necessitating the release of water from Kainji and Shiroro dams), and the release of water from Lagdo Dam in neighbouring Cameroon.
These events, happening nearly simultaneously, caused a perfect storm of water deluge in the affected states. The incidence of flood and flash floods caused by sudden excessive rainfall is becoming common both in Nigeria as well as many parts of the world. Other reasons include climate change and poor planning by state governments, despite of the early warnings.
The ripple effect of these tragic incidences may be felt all around the country, submitted experts, who stated that Nigerians will feel the impact in their pockets, as cost of living, especially food prices, could go up as a result of the loss of farmlands nationwide.
For instance, reports that 3,200 hectares of rice plantation under the authority of Tada-Shonga Irrigation Scheme in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State have been washed away by flood gives an insight into the gravity of losses experienced. Vast areas of cassava farmlands have also been reportedly destroyed in many other parts of the country.
Livestock are not excluded from the disaster. So severe are the losses, that the Federal Government rightly declared an emergency in the flood zones.
To underscore the gravity of the crisis looming, flooding not only eroded the top soil, destroyed farm crops and livestock, it also destroys key infrastructures such as roads and bridges that are important for conveyance of farm produce to various markets. The complete breakdown in movement on the Lokoja-Abuja Expressway as a result of River Niger overflowing its banks and the delays in transportation of goods and people, provides a clear example of the extent of the catastrophe.
To address the looming crisis in food production, observers believe that Nigeria needs to deepen its food intervention scheme. Currently, there are about 20 silos across the six geo-political zones of the country being built under the intervention fund of the Ministry of Agriculture to achieve a strategic food reserve. The grand total storage of grains in Nigeria is currently about 1.3 million metric tons, while the FAO recommended that Nigeria should store about 1-3 million metric tons of grains in storage.
There is no gain saying that Nigeria needs to do more to boost her storage capacities. State governments should also be encouraged to build strategic food reserves and the government needs to project ahead especially in the light of the global climate change phenomenon and the early warnings provided by NIMET.
The agriculture sector must be supported to be able to provide functional farm settlements to stimulate local production, it was suggested. Experts say this becomes necessary as many farmers do not possess enough farm lands, while companies producing their own raw material locally should be given some sort of tax holiday to encourage local food production. This also has additional benefit of import substitution.
There is need for proactive and improved management of dams and drainages in flood prone areas. The water should be released in consonance with recommendations of NIMET based on the expected rainfall. The states should also provide alternatives settlements or make shift arrangement for their people even before the floods start. While no one can blame the government for natural disasters, it may be held accountable on its response to such.
With the flooding will probably persist as a result of the changing global climate, government must react in the short, medium and long term. With the inclement weather, food security may be the new war frontier facing the Nigerian government. It must win it at all costs.
Government must also react by giving the 2013 budgetary allocation to agriculture a deserved second look so as to, in the words of President Jonathan, accord the issue of food security priority attention.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday encouraged the Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Bayelsa State not to give up hope, that the Federal Government is committed in helping and ensuring their rehabilitation.
The IDP camp in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State
He stated this in one of IDP camps at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during a tour of states affected by the nationwide flood disaster.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government said that it has registered 54,363 IDPs in Bayelsa and Rivers states, and that the registration is still ongoing.
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’ said that the body is registering IDPs in established camps in Bayelsa and River states, and has so far registered 35, 126 IDPs in six affected local government areas (LGAs) of Bayelsa State, while 19, 237 IDPs have been registered in four affected LGAs in Rivers State as at the weekend.
Already, there are over 55 camps in South-South region.
Jonathan said, “People that are not IDPs are the people always struggling for relief materials. These flood is all over the world, in Asia, Europe, I knew that Nigeria’s flooding is bad. And when we have such disaster food is not the problem, do not make food your priority. If you eat once, thank God, I know that none of you would die of hunger here. Before the middle of November, the water would have receded.
“The biggest flood I experience was in 1969. I believe by that by the middle of November, the water would have receded, but when the water recedes, the most important thing is rehabilitation, because farms, boats and all of your properties have been carried away by the flood. Even the seeds are gone. So its not the food that you would eat today that is more important.
“As the President, I have never eaten three square meals, each day. Sometimes its only once I eat. The Federal Government is more concerned about prevention of outbreak of epidemic in the camps. The FG is more concerned about rehabilitation of people affected by water.
“And that is why we are going round to encourage the IDPs. In Kogi State, four farmers committed suicide because they borrowed money from the bank to buy seeds and flood came and destroyed their farmland. So because they were scared, they committed suicide.
“I am here to encourage you that international organisations and other nations all over the world have promised to help us. I was in a place in Kogi, a storey building was under water.”
He said NEMA would continue to establish more camps in the two states, where necessary, to accommodate influx of people moving away from their houses as the volume of water continues to rise in some of the communities.
Jonathan noted: “Actually the South-South started the relief effort. We are the first to mobilise relief to this place. We are still providing more relief items. It is an ongoing thing, we are still bringing more relief items as the need arises.
“As of this morning a truck arrived and we are taking it to the warehouse. So far, we have been able to bring in close to 1500 mattresses and we are still going to bring in 1300, 600 bags of rice, 400 bags of beans, 600 bags of garri; and we have other items like blankets, buckets, etc.”
On challenges faced, he said, “The initial problem we are experiencing was the issue of coordination, because there was no effective State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in place, we are running the camps in collaboration with the state commissioners and local government chairmen. And ordinarily if we have effective SEMA in place, we would have hooked on and flowed normally. But, in this case, we are now running in the structure.”
He urged registered non-governmental organisations (NGOs), volunteers and community leaders to support in the management of the established camps.
The youths from various backgrounds were camped in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, under a programme tagged: “Young voices for small scale farmers.” Participants visited the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan in Oyo State; Osun Farm Settlement; Epe Fishing Community, Afuye-Epe; Nigeria Institute of Marine and Oceanography Research (NIMOR), Lagos; and Osun State House of Assembly.
