Victoria Mbangwa
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari has raised alarm over Nigeria’s increasing vulnerability to climate-related disasters, following the devastating flash floods that claimed the lives of at least 160 people in Mokwa, Niger State, last Thursday.
In a statement, the Minister described the flooding as “a natural disaster of a magnitude never previously witnessed in Mokwa,” stressing that its occurrence outside traditional floodplains underscores the urgent need for national climate resilience.
“I must admit that each rainy season in recent years has often left me with a deep sense of foreboding, as water-related disasters gain prominence in the news. Usually, they are boat mishaps in which scores lose their lives, and floods submerge farmlands, leading to significant crop losses and diminished livelihoods,” the Minister said.
He extended condolences to the victims’ families and commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his swift directive to emergency agencies to provide relief, noting that aid is already reaching affected communities. The Minister himself has supported the state government and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) by delivering food items to hundreds of displaced families.
However, the Minister emphasized that the disaster’s long-term implications go beyond immediate relief. He called for accelerated climate adaptation strategies, including widespread desiltation of water bodies and the construction of water-harvesting structures to reduce surface runoff damage.
“The flash floods in Mokwa last week are urgent reminders yet again of the effects of climate change and why all and sundry must take seriously efforts aimed at mitigation. It is worrisome that Mokwa, which is not on a floodplain, has suffered the horrendous damage from flooding caused by torrential rainfall,” he stated.
Referencing the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, which he co-chairs, the Minister highlighted the project’s success in states like Jigawa, where land restoration through desiltation has improved food production and created new farming and fishing opportunities.
He also called for trauma counselling support for survivors who have lost entire families, as well as efforts to restore livelihoods damaged or destroyed by the floods.
“Beyond the on-going immediate relief to survivors of the Mokwa flood disaster, there lies a greater challenge of trauma counselling for persons who lost nearly all their family members, as well as the restoration of livelihoods either compromised or wiped out by the deadly floods,” he concluded “I call on well-meaning citizens and organisations to weigh in with their support and help Mokwa, a critical transit route between the north and south of the country, regain its vitality.”
