Buhari blames climate change as flood kills 612, affects 3.2m Nigerians

By Muideen Olaniyi, Maureen Onochie, Idowu Isamotu & John C. Azu

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the flooding in different parts of Nigeria as well as encroaching desertification and drought from the northern part which the country are negative fallouts of climate change.

This is just as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, said flood has so far killed 612 Nigerians and affected over 3.2 million others this year.

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Buhari spoke yesterday in Seoul, South Korea, at an audience he granted the former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, on the sidelines of the First World Bio Summit 2022.

He expressed delight with the cooperation existing between his country and the Republic of Korea especially in the area of energy supply, citing gas exports to the Asian country.

The president described education as a key investment in addressing unemployment and underdevelopment, saying health challenges must be equally addressed.

Ki-Moon sympathized with Buhari over the flooding.

He called for more investment to improve education, avert environmental degradation and preventive diseases in order to meet the core Sustainable Development Goals.

has confirmed the distribution of relief items to 21 states affected by the ravaging flood. 

The minister, at a briefing in Abuja yesterday on the flood situation across Nigeria, said as of October 24, a total of 3,219,780 persons were reportedly affected by flood out of which 1,427,370 persons had been internally displaced, approximately 2,776 injured, approximately 612 killed.

She also said 181,600 houses were partially damaged, another 123,807 houses totally damaged, 176,852 hectares of farmlands partially damaged and 392,399 hectares of farmlands totally damaged.

She said relief materials had so far been received by Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Enugu, FCT, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe States.

She said search and rescue operations had been ongoing since the flooding started, with victims evacuated, relocated and referred to hospitals for immediate care.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force has begun the airlift of relief materials to riverine communities in Bayelsa State affected by the recent flooding. 

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, yesterday directed all operational units and commanders to ensure they were actively involved. 

NAF spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, said the materials were airlifted from Enugu State to Igbogenne community in Bayelsa State via Port Harcourt. 

He said the materials were airlifted by the C-130 aircraft from Enugu to Port Harcourt and subsequently ferried to Igbogenne in Bayelsa State using the Mi-35M and EC-135 helicopters where they were then redistributed to affected communities and villages. 

The president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), in a statement by the NBA national publicity secretary, Akorede Habeeb Lawal, yesterday, directed the chairmen of the 125 branches to compile the list of NBA members directly affected by the flood so that NBA could offer some help and bring succour to them and their families.