The devastating impact of the recent flooding in Nigeria has aggravated the food and agricultural challenges. With over 266,000 acres of land-bearing farm products worth billions of naira submerged in flood, there is the certainty of food shortages in Nigeria. In the face of the ongoing crisis, sustainable solutions are necessary to minimise the socio-economic and food security impacts. Disaster risk management must be urgently implemented if Nigeria must emerge from the crisis. Additionally, investment in capacity-building and disaster risk prevention is essential to prevent floods and improve agricultural resilience.
The flooding has also exposed the structural and systemic shortfalls of the Nigerian government. The existing government efforts to control the scale of the flood damage through flood relief and evacuation have proved ineffective at best. A statement by President Muhammadu Buhari called for rescue and evacuation for communities living in floodplains. However, with the many lives lost daily, one has to question the implementation of this measure….
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