In response to the flash flood in Mokwa Local Government Area, Niger State, which claimed over 200 lives and displaced more than 4,000 residents, the state governor Umaru Bago has advised governments at all levels to adopt water harvesting as a strategic measure against climate-related disasters.
During a recent television interview, Bago stressed the urgent need for a shift from reactive disaster relief to proactive infrastructure development. He remarked that Nigeria faces extreme weather patterns, with months of heavy floods followed by prolonged droughts.
“You will have three months of heavy flood and it will wash away everybody’s resources and houses, and you have nine months of drought,” he said.
He called for investment in water harvesting structures like tube wells that can store excess floodwaters and replenish underground reserves.
Bago explained that Niger State is already implementing infrastructure projects that will mitigate the effects of flooding and drought.
He said ongoing efforts are being made to improve irrigation systems and create canals that enable farming during dry seasons.
“We are investing in a lot of irrigation facilities and have opened up lands which used to be ravaged by floods. We have created canals that we are using to now do irrigation during the dry season and you can see wonderfully what we are doing,” he said.
Relief Efforts and Infrastructure Reconstruction
To support flood victims, the Niger State Government announced a ₦1 billion donation. Additionally, ₦7 billion has been allocated for the reconstruction of the Mokwa-Raba Road and four bridges that were destroyed by the disaster.
The government also pledged to provide food supplies to affected communities, including 10 truckloads each of rice, beans, maize, millet, and sorghum.
Bago expressed confidence in the state’s ability to overcome climate challenges, stating that both short-term interventions and long-term strategies are being implemented.
“Niger State is doing very well in terms of addressing these issues in the interim and in the long term, it will be a story of the past,” he assured.
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