● “Issues of erosion, roads being washed away as a result of flood, and activities of miners, but the state government would fold its arms saying there are no funds to address those issues, meanwhile there are ecological funds”
The recent flooding disaster in Maiduguri has left most in anguish, desperation, and loss. It is even worse to the residents of Maiduguri because the flood could have been prevented, and its effect minimised.
The destruction of the Alau Dam and overflow of water from the dike affected almost 80% of Maiduguri city according to reports. Thousands of inhabitants have been displaced, NEMA reports loss of estimated 30 lives, inmates of the Maiduguri prison including those prosecuted for insurgency and banditry escaped, wild animals have been released into the city as Sanda Kayarimi Park Zoo in Maiduguri reports deaths of 80 percent of its animals. The report from the region is quite sad and unpalatable.
The most devastating flood which last occurred 30 years ago has repeated itself just as history always repeats itself when lessons are not learned. The already fragile situation of the region due to the ongoing security issues and displacement from insurgency has been exacerbated. It is however dismal to know that over N400 million naira had been budgeted for the rehabilitation of the dam between 2020 and 2024. What happened to this money?
According to reports by Daily Trust, defects in the Alau Dam were discovered over nine years ago. The Federal Ministry of Water Resources had even budgeted over N432 million for the rehabilitation of the dam between 2020 and 2024. The Alau Dam was constructed almost 40 years ago between 1984 and 1986. While the dam had poured out its content back in September 1994, the current damage is unprecedented and never been witnessed in the history of Borno state.
As there are valid reports that show provisions were constantly provided for the maintenance of the Dam, there is no evidence that shows any maintenance or repairs have been done. The 2024 appropriation bill shows the ministry budget N30 Million for the dam. That is clear. What is not clear is if the money was released for its maintenance.
The dam, a source of potable water and irrigation activities in Maiduguri and environs receives water from Yedzram and Gombole rivers which meet at the Sambisa Forest and flow through the Ngadda river into the dam, contains 112 million cubic litres of water. It is expected that maintenance would be done periodically, especially as money was allocated for such purposes.
According to Adeola Fayehun, a social commentator and journalist, she said the biggest scammer and murderer in Nigeria is the government. This position she holds because the people of Maiduguri had been complaining for a long time that the Alau Dam was collapsing. But government officials disregarded the complaints.
In late August and early September, the Borno government had sent a ‘high-powered’ delegation to assess the impact of the water overflow at the dam. Present were the Secretary to Borno state government, Bukar Tijani, the acting Managing Director of Chad Basin Development Authority Engr Muhammed Zannah, the Borno Geographic Information services, State Emergency Management Agency, and other engineers to assess the dam and present a report to the government.
According to the report, Engr Zannah is quoted to have said that “despite the high-water level in the river which led to overflow, the present conditions do not pose a severe threat to the city… Maiduguri is safe.” The Borno SSG assured on September 5th. Well, the sad result of the assessment is being faced by the displaced residents facing extreme hardship especially in the current harsh economic conditions.
What would be unfair is if no one is held accountable for the disregard and wrong decisions taken on the dam. The question on everyone’s mind remains what happened to all the monies allocated and disbursed for the rehabilitation of the Alau Dam?
Fairview spoke with Mr Jide Ojo, a social analyst and he said that “The ecological funds are meant to solve ecological problems in the country, and a percentage of natural resources are dedicated to them. However, they have been seen as slush funds by political office holders. They see these funds as a bonus and hardly account for it. In many states such as Anambra, Plateau, Zamfara where environmental degradation, mining activities, excavations etc happens, they should be sorted using the ecological funds. But that is not the case,
“If I can remember clearly, the former Governor of Plateau state, Joshua Dariye just shared out the funds among the political leaders of PDP rather than fix ecological issues in the state. This was even in the media. Respective state governments have not been able to account for these funds, and maybe it is because there are no monitoring and evaluation mechanisms put in place. The ecological funds are just given as a percentage allocation without a matrix for how such funds should be used which is why it cannot be accounted for.
Concerning the mechanisms that can be put in place to monitor and evaluate the performance of these ecological funds and to ensure transparency and accountability in the disbursement, Mr Ojo said:
“People need to know how much every state gets monthly. There needs to be publications in terms of percentage derivation. Since the money is allocated from the federal government as it is not a state internally generated fund, what I would suggest is the Federal Government needs to publish what it pays the state for ecological issues, that way the citizens of those states, particularly those affected can call the government to order.
“There are many communities facing environmental issues. Issues of erosion, roads being washed away as a result of flood, and activities of miners, but the state government would fold its arms saying there are no funds to address those issues, meanwhile there are ecological funds. So, the best way is to publicise the amount, the frequency of payment and the locations being paid to. That way citizens can hold their state government to account.
“Media organisations and civil societies should also help torchlight those areas lacking and help the citizens to demand for accountability and transparency in the management of these ecological funds.”
After the sad disaster in Maiduguri, the state government has continued to receive donations from various individuals and the government. According to Bashir Ahmad on his X handle, the Borno Government received $6 million from the United Nations, 3 billion naira from the federal government in addition to other cash and non-cash donations from states and well-meaning Nigerians. It is already enough that the ecological funds are yet to be accounted for, who would be held accountable for these donations to the people of Maiduguri?
People are sleeping on the streets, food prices have tripled, there are no medicines, the water is toxic due to the radioactive exposure from the newly commissioned cancer facility which was also unfortunately flooded. The people of Maiduguri need help, rehabilitation, and reconstruction not N10,000 cash gifts.
Not surprising that SERAP has asked the federal government to probe the spending of billions of ecological funds by Borno government. According to them, “suspected perpetrators of allegations of corruption and mismanagement of ecological funds should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any proceeds of corruption should be fully recovered.”
As there is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice for the victims of the flooding, there needs to be accountability for the previous funds collected and other monies donated to the state.
Dams across Nigeria need desilting. Desilting is the removal of fine silt and sediments that has collected in a river in order to restore its natural capacity without widening or deepening of the river. Notwithstanding, Alau Dam is not the only dam that needs desilting.
Increased rainfall and climate change which this present government preaches needs to be matched with the same force. Other dams need to be evaluated to avoid such occurrences in other states. States like Kano, Gombe, Katsina, Adamawa, Bauchi, and Sokoto have dams that are at least 3 to 4 decades old. There are places in Nigeria that experience flooding yearly. These are locations the ecological funds are expected to reach. It is hoped that history ceases to replicate in Nigeria and we eventually learn from our past.
