…Sympathises with Mokwa, Niger State flood victims
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has declared that communities and cities in flood-prone areas in the country, could seize to exist if nothing is done to urgently address the menace.
HOMEF which stated this while expressing sympathy for the families of the victims of the recent flood that struck Mokwa – a transit town for traders in Niger State, North Central Nigeria, said there is no time for excuses, stressing that this is the time to declare an environmental state of emergency across board.
A statement by the Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, noted that there was no word to describe the lack of preparedness and our ill-maintained infrastructure, stressing that the situation is further combined with insecurity and the fact that more rain is expected, thus, displacement problems will be compounded.
It noted that flooding has become a persistent nightmare in Nigeria, adding that in 2012, floods affected 33 out of the 36 states following the rain that fell between July and October that year.
HOMEF also stated that floods displaced over two million people, resulting in more than 400 deaths and other associated destruction in the same year 2012.
“In 2018, the Benue and Niger rivers overflowed due to heavy rainfall, causing flooding in 12 states, including Kogi and Niger. Four years later, in 2022, another severe flood killed over 600 individuals, displacing more than 2 million others. The impacts of these floods have been catastrophic for communities and states,” it said.
As earlier reported, at approximately 3:00 am on Thursday, May 29, 2025, an intense rainfall followed by a hazardous flood, displaced over 3000 residents, destroyed properties, and claimed over 100 lives, with many individuals still unaccounted for.
While mourning this tragic loss, HOMEF emphasised that the government must take proactive measures to prevent similar or worse incidents from occurring in the future.
HOMEF Executive Director, Dr Bassey said; “This is a horrendous recurring decimal. This national emergency can impact our national wellbeing by leading to food scarcity, environmental degradation, mass displacement, increased poverty, water-borne diseases and exacerbate insecurity”.
Dr Bassey noted forecasts and early warnings from different agencies, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and expressed disappointment, saying that the warnings will become meaningless if provisions are not made to move people and settle them on safe and higher ground.
According to Bassey; “Nigeria needs to be proactive; our government needs to have emergency preparedness and be able to relocate people when these warnings and forecasts are made, to avert the kinds of disasters we see when flooding events like this occur.
“We sympathise with the families affected by the floods and stand in solidarity with the communities that have been impacted,” he said.
Speaking along the same line, Stephen Oduware, Programme Manager of Fossil Politics at HOMEF, noted that flood damage continues to escalate, making recovery challenging and problematic.
Oduware said; “The rains are just beginning, and there are signs of more flash floods. Apart from the usual palliative measures and reactionary responses, what plans are in place to ensure that the already predicted localised heavy rainfalls do not result in the kinds of catastrophes we witness during
floods?
“What is the Nigerian government doing to address the issues of flooding holistically? When floods occur, they leave a trail of destruction, causing damage to properties, loss of lives, livelihoods, and other socioeconomic impacts,” he stressed.
HOMEF said it believes that flooding is both a consequence of climate change and a result of poorly planned urban areas and inadequate emergency preparedness, adding that while the effects of climate change are widespread, many Nigerian cities and towns are also beset by the latter.
HOMEF therefore called for immediate measures to address the root cause of climate change, for improvement on practices that preserve natural habitats and wetlands, and investment in infrastructure that can help reduce the frequency and seriousness of flooding.
HOMEF also called on all relevant agencies to work together in a fully synchronised manner to ensure that every facet of the disaster is addressed and succour is extended to the impacted people.
