The Nigerian government says it is considering empowering flood-prone communities across the country to manage their own safety.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who disclosed this, said no amount of preparedness will produce tangible results if communities are not empowered to take charge of their safety.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja during the 2025 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR), VP Shettima said this is part of measures aimed at addressing the growing threat of flood-related disasters across Nigeria.
He noted that while resilience cannot be guaranteed by government alone, it is reflected in how cities are planned, how businesses protect their workers, and how communities share information and look out for each other.
Partnership
Accordingly, he demanded a strong partnership with the private sector, saying the sector “must see itself as a partner in prevention, embedding risk reduction into corporate planning and investment decisions.”
Stressing the need to empower communities to manage their own safety, he said, “Our academia and research institutions also bear the responsibility of helping us generate the data, innovation, and practical research we need to prepare for a safer future.
“We count on them to shape the knowledge that guides our decisions. And we expect our civil society to hold us accountable, to raise awareness, and to mobilise citizens around the shared responsibility of preparedness.
“But none of these efforts will yield results unless we empower and support our communities to take ownership of their safety. They are the foundation of whatever strategy we adopt and the heartbeat of our national resilience.”
The Vice President applauded the theme of the 2025 International Day for IDDRR, “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” saying it speaks to an often overlooked truth that “it is far wiser, far cheaper, and far more humane to prepare for disasters before they strike than to rebuild after they destroy.
“Every naira we spend today on preparedness saves many more tomorrow on response and recovery. Every investment in resilience is, in truth, an investment in the lives and futures of our people,” he added.
Priorities
VP Shettima, however, pointed out that commitment alone is not enough. “We must match our words with action and our policies with funding,” he stated.
To fund resilience, the VP identified certain priority areas to invest in, including “drainage systems, not relief camps; building stronger schools and hospitals, not temporary shelters; to support farmers with climate-smart tools, not just food aid after floods; and to train and equip our first responders before the sirens start to wail.”
He said this is the shift required to move “from reacting to crises to anticipating and preventing them.”
The Vice President explained that following President Tinubu’s emphasis on the need to treat resilience as a national policy, the government is ‘integrating disaster risk reduction into every sector—from agriculture and infrastructure to education and health—while expanding early warning systems to ensure that communities receive timely alerts before floods, droughts, or disease outbreaks occur.”
The Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Dauda Lawal, commended the commitment of stakeholders led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to strengthening Nigeria’s disaster management framework through the launch of the 5-year strategic plan.