28 October 2009
editorial
Lagos — It is for the sake of avoiding possible calamities or dangers that warning bells are sounded. In such circumstances, danger or the hazard eventually comes to those who ignore the warning. It is against that backdrop that we are worried that several months after the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) alerted some northern states of an impending drought, the states concerned have not heeded the warning.
In what now looks like shouting from the roof top, NEMA, has complained that it had written to the concerned states to alert them of the impending drought which could have severe consequences on farming and thus food production in the northern belt of the country.
According to the DG of NEMA, Mohammed Audu-Bida, the alert was meant to serve as a"precautionary measure to guide the states to make adequate planning including sensitization of the farmers, contingency stockpiling and networking with local institutions for effective mitigation on likely negative consequences of the climate condition."
The affected states, according to NEMA include: Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Jigawa and Kano. Others are Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa. In the advisory the agency had given details of the particular local government areas that are likely to be affected in the anticipated drought, as well as the populations that are likely to be so affected.
NEMA lamented further that only a few states took heed of its earlier alert on impending flood, especially in the coastal states. The result of the negligence was that many such states suffered severe flood leading to loss of properties and in some cases, human lives.
That is why we are concerned about the seeming indifference of the concerned states to the NEMA warning. So far, no state has challenged NEMA's claims. It is surprising that in an age when the world is concerned about environmental threats, and in spite of the fact that the desert is on a visible march in some of these states NEMA's warning would be ignored.
Incidents of desert encroachment and drought have worsened in the North, erosion and flooding have remained the lot of the South-east while environmental degradation as a result of perennial oil spillage and gas flaring have continued to threaten the lives of inhabitants of the Niger Delta.
Indeed, one of the vital sectors that will suffer the drought is food production in those areas and in the country in general. With drought, there will be crop failure and death of livestock. Food crops like vegetables , tomatoes, pepper, millet, onion, etc, consumed in the country are mostly grown in the northern part of the country.
Obviously, it is in recognition of the threats to the environment that the Federal Government set up the Ecological Fund. But the Fund has not been judiciously applied.
We commend the Federal Government's introduction of fresh guidelines to henceforth ensure prudent use of the fund as against the misappropriation and outright embezzlement that had hitherto been its lot.
Minister of Environment, Mr John Odey, who unfolded the new guidelines recently said 60 per cent of the funds meant for ecological projects will be used for drought and desertification control and for afforestation programmes, 25 per cent will be spent on soil and gully erosion control, five per cent for pollution control while 10 per cent of the fund will be reserved for administration of the Ecological Fund Office (EFO), NCEP and other emergencies.
Yet, there is still more for the affected states to do themselves.
We advise that NEMA's warning be taken seriously. We believe that besides making contingency plans on how to survive the drought, as suggested by NEMA, there is need to improve storage capabilities - for cereals and even for water.
But more importantly, we call on the affected states to begin intensive farmer education in the said areas, so they too would be aware of the impending danger. The identified states owe their people a duty of making life meaningful and less traumatic, especially when the cause of such trauma had long been foretold.
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I commend NEMA for their findings and also prompt information and suggested solutions on how to possibly reduce the extend of calamity this can pose to these states and the nation at large passed to these governors. I am sure that The Chief Security Officers of these states are men of integrity who have swore to protect the boundries of their states as well as lives and property of her.To this end,I am sure they will do everything humanly possible to avoid this impending and well informed tragedy.I am also very sure that they are not of the school of thoughts that 'it will only affect the poor masses',hence the rather snail pace of reaction.A stitch in time saves nine.
I commend NEMA for their findings and also prompt information and suggested solutions on how to possibly reduce the extend of calamity this can pose to these states and the nation at large passed to these governors. I am sure that The Chief Security Officers of these states are men of integrity who have swore to protect the boundries of their states as well as lives and property of her.To this end,I am sure they will do everything humanly possible to avoid this impending and well informed tragedy.I am also very sure that they are not of the school of thoughts that 'it will only affect the poor masses',hence the rather snail pace of reaction.A stitch in time saves nine.