IS NIGERIA'S BRAIN BOX LOST IN THE FLOOD?
Many Nigerians may know River Nun. They are more than likely to know whatever is in their president’s home state of Bayelsa. Gabriel Okara, the renowned poet, however made the river popular with his poem titled, The Call of the River Nun. It was written in 1953. And it won an award, long before Nigerians heard of a Goodluck. The river called again recently, when it overflowed its bank. But Nun is not the only river that comes calling in the flood which assails the nation at the moment. Every river does, including River Niger and the Benue, causing havoc across the country, thereby making many to pass comments. State governors belong here. There are cabinet ministers and lawmakers, all of whom are saying flooding is a headache in their constituencies, expressing plenty of emotion in the process. If care is not taken, comments of how monumental a disaster this is, is all that Nigerians will hear, and everyone goes to sleep, when the rains go away. The manner in which the current situation is being handled gives reasons to be so concerned.
First, from the presidency. When the worst of the flooding happened, and something was done at the presidential level, it was to send cabinet ministers out, headed by the Environment Minister. They were to assess what had happened across the country. That was the mandate. They fulfilled it, and in whichever state governor’s office they found themselves, they made political statements of how concerned the president was. Summary: These politicians returned and reported to the president what they saw from what should essentially be political perspectives, not technical, not with the technical know-how that only those so-trained could have, and thus make the most out of what must have been expensive trips from the perspective of the nation’s treasury. And now the president has taken his decision and addressed the nation based on what he heard. There are fears, and this is where they are: Sending out political representatives, without making those with technical capacity and understanding of the matter at hand the core of the mission, is a fault line. The entire exercise may turn out to follow the usual pattern of putting up grand fronts, taking high-sounding steps that yield nothing effective or sustainable in the end.
Of course, ministers talk funds, they talk big-time money, and so they did with the state governors in attendance at a meeting the president had before he made his latest broadcast to the nation. But these were the same class of people who had managed funds released to deal with environmental issues in the past. State governors had been collecting ecological funds for years, and now they were the ones that sat to discuss it with the president when ecological disaster happened. It is good that governors sit and discuss a matter with the president. But to what extent had technical input been made into that discussion and the decisions reached before the president went on air to address the nation on the same matter? This question will resonate with anyone with an understanding of the dynamics of climate change, environmental and natural disaster such as the nation confronts at the moment. And it is a reasonable question when it comes to mind that climate change issues are not going way soonest.
Strangely, some government of officials have been going about making strange pronouncements. In a northern state, an official stood before flood victims to say what happened to them was an act of God. And on another occasion when the Environment Minister sat and spoke with the press, she made statement to which informed, discerning listeners could only shake their heads, 2 being what some of her comments could be rated to worth, on a scale of 0-10 in term acceptability and technical depth. Flooding happened all over the world because it is the fallout of climate change, she had said. Right on point. But she went on to say no one could have done anything to prevent the kind of disaster witnessed in the country. Is that? She was referring to flooding that had wasted lives and properties in areas where people built close to rivers, officials sold pieces of land to developers in known flood plains, government officials approve the handing over and payments for major roads constructed without drainages, ecological funds that could have been expended constructing huge channels that could take excess water were mismanaged or diverted, and every step that serious nations take to mitigate disaster under such circumstances have been overlooked. At, least one former state governor once told Nigerians how his party hierarchy instructed him to share ecological funds to party officials.
Incidentally, only one state governor, Adams Oshiomole of Edo State, has been categorical in asking that ecological funds released to state governments, or kept in reserve for state governments, be released for the purpose it is meant. He is also the only state governor known to have taken a paddle and moved himself in flooded areas of his state like the victims, while others flew in helicopters. Means of moving around for some is not so exotic, but no less amazing. The ex-senator and currently a state governor in the South West - the one whose high-rise cap can touch the sky - while inspecting a flooded area in his state sometime ago stood in a canoe with his high-rise cap and flowing long-sleeved agbada , while a teenager waded barefooted in the flood, pulling the canoe for the governor whose reason for coming was to inspect their misfortune. A national newspaper published that telling picture on its front cover at the time. A most ridiculous image, one that captures the extent of un-seriousness of rulers where disasters-waiting-to-happen is at issue.
The president has said he would go around to see the damage by himself. And his administration will dole out billions of naira to take care of victims, and state government would be involved in expending the fund. It’s alright, except the governors too may go the way the federal government is going about it – without obvious input of technical expertise, assessment impact and analysis, they too will set up committees, and funds are more than likely to be will be frittered. When the question arises as to the empirical basis of how the amount set aside is arrived at, it’s a sign of how it would be expended. And much of what was in the president’s broadcast had not answered the question of how sustainable the steps to be taken will be, in view of the fact that climate change and its effect it brings is not a one off thing. That, is one step away from wondering: Who are the nation’s brain box.
Who does the thinking for the country? Who strategizes, and counsels the man at the top on steps to take in the current challenge confronting the nation? Who came up with the idea of Ministers going around without expertise tagging along. Has anyone seen the list of the National Committee of Flood Relief and Rehabilitation that the president set up? Chief Executives of high-sounding organization, local and foreign, who would not have time to attend meetings and move and shake things are in it. Any official who would do the rough job, those who can roll up their sleeves and carry the clipboard? None was listed. As for civil society which activities can help in the areas of sensitization and awareness, it is nowhere to be found.
Consistently, reactions to occurrences here appear like series of missteps. It cannot but be because nothing is ever handled as it should. Till this moment, no government official is giving statistics, none is taking any from the different perspectives that involves, as important as it is, but fund is on its way out of the treasury. Sometimes, what flows from those who should be the nation’s brain box, men and women at the highest level, from an observer’s standpoint, casts them as incapable of thinking strategically, thinking with the whole picture in view, the end in mind, and with the nation as a reason for a course of action rather than some unstated short term emotional or political motives.
At the moment, most politicians who make recommendations on the way out of perennial flooding talk about their areas, and some mention the need to dredge rivers filled with silt in their areas. There’s no talk of linking any remedies to include reforesting vast deforested areas across the country where silt originates. The military that helps in disaster situations in some other climes has not been called in for assistance in this age when most military formations take pride in being prepared for duties other than war.
No health official is talking about the health implications of flood that brought contaminated waters to residential areas, and none has been mobilized for assessment. In fact, health officials and health considerations did not feature in the composition of the team sent out on inspection. One wonders if health officials and technical experts on both environmental and climate change matters sat when the president met with the political movers and shakers ahead of his address to the nation. In that case, the effectiveness as well as the sustainability of whatever outcome the government wants to implement this time is suspect. When scenario such as this repeats itself in major national issues, it raises questions, making one wonder if the nation really has any brain box, where it is if it has, and the quality of those in it. It’s time the president adds depth to the quality of those that offer him counsel.
Written By Tunji Ajibade
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