The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development says there is need for Nigerians to take climate predictions and flood outlooks seriously.
Sadiya Farouq made the call in Abuja at the 2022 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The Minister said communities must recognise that all Disaster are local hence the need to collectively take safety precautions.
Farouq said; “We can’t outrightly eliminate flood, but we can keep people safe. That responsibility is collectively ours.”
According to her, the primary goal of disaster risk reduction is prevention and mitigation, but when that is not possible, it becomes important to minimise the harm it does to people, assets and livelihoods.
She said; “That is the reason we must acknowledge that the focus on Target G is apt, considering the magnitude and degree of disasters confronting us now.”
The Minister further stated that the scale of devastation can only be compared to the 2012 floods.
“More than 500 lives have been lost, more that 1.4M persons affected, about 90,000 homes either partially or completely destroyed; and still counting. And also destroyed are thousands of hectares of farmland; thus, worsening fears of a disruption of food supply in Africa’s most populous country. These widespread cases are in 27 out of 36 States and the FCT” She explained.
The Minister was represented by the Director, Humanitarian Department of the Minister, Ali Grema.
The Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed said as government agency responsible for the generation and dissemination of early warnings, the Agency would continue to review the progress and trends in strengthening effectiveness of early warning and early action.
Ahmed said; “Review contributions from different approaches and the applications of the lessons learned through the lenses of anticipatory early actions.”
He said the day was set aside to promote culture of risk awareness and disaster reduction to enhance community resilience.
“This is achieved through effective early warning and early action to reduce impacts of disaster and emergencies.
” I therefore call on all tiers of government, private individuals, business organizations and development partners to embrace, support and take practical actions in promoting multi-hazard early warning systems in Nigeria,” Ahmed said.
He said; “This is the time we must take collective responsibility at various levels of governance to invest in the early warning system, early actions and preparedness that are people centred, community oriented and popularity driven.
“It creates access and make early warnings available at national and sub-national levels with a view to enhancing the resilience of our communities.”
Also speaking at the event, the Director General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET Bako Matazu said in as much as emergencies cannot be totally stopped, resilience can be built.
Matazu said; “The objective is to build resilience.”
The theme of this year which is “Early Warning and Early Action for ALL” is drawn from Target G of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030 “Substantially increase the availability of and Access to Multi-hazard early warning systems.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
