Rising Voices of the River Benue: Nigeria’s Flooding Crisis in Conversation

The volume of flow along the River Benue is on the rise and with it rise the anxieties of the North Central dwelling Nigerians.

The yearly flooding of the River Benue has posed an environmental hazard to Nigerian residents for the past 42 years, despite the government efforts to sensitise the people of states such as Kogi, Benue and now even Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno etc. Our inability to control this environmental disaster, caused by the excess water released from the Cameroonian Lagdo dam, continues to cost us hundreds of thousands of infrastructural damage and the lives of hundreds every year.

The cause of this yearly devastation is popularly attributed to the 40-year unfulfilled promise of a ‘Dasin Hausa Dam’ to keep in check the Lagdo Dam’s excess. While such should be investigated, Suleiman Adamu (Nigeria’s minister of Water resources) informed the senate committee on water resources in Abuja last year, that heavy rainfalls are to blame. Additionally, Mansar Matazu, the Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency informed journalists in a workshop last August that the flooding that year had been caused by intense rainfall. In any case, it is evident that the link between these natural disasters and the poor management of our environment is blaring.

As for the heavy rainfall, they are products of our man-made contribution to climate change. These heavier rainfalls are caused by the increased intensity of precipitation in Nigeria. This causes moisture-laden air to condense into torrential storms. This phenomenon both desiccates the higher northern regions and, sadly, floods the other nations due south as a result of the higher precipitation rates.

The source of this increased precipitation: global warming. Although the topic of climate change in Nigeria, our current environmental crisis, is rarely brought forth for discussion.It has, however, caught the attention of researchers from the World Weather Attribution as during their consortium on the 16th of November 2022. As they studied floods in our region in Africa, they recognised that the countries Nigeria, Niger, Chad and other neighbouring countries had some of the deadliest on record. To make matters worse, the cause of these floods have been directly linked to human activity contributing to climate change.

When compared with the data collated and presented by Chidera Henry Mbanyeude in a Linked In article published in June 28th, 2023 which included an increase of almost 100 million tonnes of CO2’s equivalent (of emitted greenhouse gases) between 2010-2018 and a general emission of 209 million tonnes since 2018, 60% of which was contributed by energy related waste production; Nigeria truly appears to be the architect of its own misfortune. The carbon emissions from our local vehicles in combination with the destructive practice of mankind in other regions has culminated into our overflow dilemma.

Though the effect may be dastardly, we Nigerians can still make an impact. Recycling and environmental care may not be popular Nigerian practices but with the calamities we are currently facing and the possibility of dilapidation stark and staring, push has come to shove and we must act swiftly.

We Nigerians can confront our climate crisis in small but meaningful ways. We can reduce our carbon emissions by using energy-efficient appliances such as LED lights or solar panels in our various homes and businesses. We can even conserve energy by switching off lights and appliances at work or at home. We can walk to nearby destinations or patronise public transport to avoid the excess emissions that come from our personal cars. By simply reducing our food wastage, we can make an impact on the environment by reducing the amount of methane produced by our rotting remains. There are numerous ways we Nigerians can fight against climate change without looking for big policies or quantum leaps in technology (although those won’t be too bad to have either).

The dangerous flood threats in our nation are one of many issues which Nigerians tend to feel they lack the power to change. I hope this article encourages all who read it to remain informed on the environmental state of our nation and empowered to do something about it.