The floods are here again, wreaking havoc across the country. Every year, the surging waters sweep across Nigeria, affecting mostly states where the Niger and Benue Rivers converge. Farmlands and houses in states are submerged following heavy rainfall, which threatens people’s means of livelihood.
The country is experiencing its worst flooding in over 40 years, because of heavy rainfall across the country for some days.
Also, the Lagdo Dam in Northern Cameroon used for electricity generation, and irrigation, released its excess water, but the Federal Government clarified that the dam was not fully responsible for the heavy flooding.
When the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, reeled out the grim and horrendous statistics of victims, properties, farmland affected by devastating floodings across the country so far, it raised questions about the status of the country’s Ecological Fund.
This is an immediate response fund established to provide handy resources for the amelioration of environmental problems such as soil erosion, flood, drought and general environmental pollution.
It was created in 1981 through the Federation Account Act. At inception, one per cent of revenues in the Federation Account was set aside for the fund. In 1992, the allocation was increased upward to two percent of earnings and is only released with the approval of the president.
Consequent on the directive of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in July 2002 for a review of the Modification Order of May 2002, the two percent Ecological Fund and one percent derivation hitherto under special funds were shared among the three tiers of government along existing revenue sharing formula as follows: federal government (1.46 percent), state governments (0.72 percent) and local governments (0.60 percent).
Many observers have been asking what happens to the funds? Are they being used to address relevant concerns and if so, why then do floods always wreak havoc? All of these strong posers have become more strident in the light of the death of hundreds and displacement of over one million people by the disaster.
There seems to be incongruence between these funds and the state of the ecological devastation that has become recurrent decimal. Many communities have been deserted as a result of the damage caused by flooding.
