Nigeria Faces New Flood Threat in 11 States

Once again, Nigeria's hydrological services agency has warned of potential flooding in 11 states, including Morris' state Bayelsa, after Cameroon said it was starting to release water from one of its largest dams following recent heavy rainfall in West and Central Africa.

The warning comes as Nigeria is already grappling with severe floods in northeastern Borno state where a dam burst its walls after heavy rains that have also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger - all part of Africa's Sahel region that usually receives little rain.

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency said it had been notified by authorities in Cameroon that they had started controlled water releases from Lagdo dam.

It urged federal and state authorities in Nigeria "to step up vigilance and deploy adequate preparedness measures to reduce possible impacts of flooding that may occur as a result of increase in flow levels of our major rivers at this period".

Morris, who is the Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Defenders Network, says he wants the "federal government to go beyond predictions of doom, they should proffer solutions, lasting solutions."

"The senate has urged President Tinubu to go back and work on the Hausa Dasin dam, to ensure the conclusion of that dam, so that by now that Cameroon has released water, the Hausa Dasin dam will be able to serve as a shock absorber," he added.

In 2022, Nigeria lost more than 600 people and farmlands to the worst flooding in a decade following heavy rain and after Cameroon released water from Lagdo dam.

Experts said then that Nigeria's failure to complete a dam of its own that was supposed to backstop the Cameroonian one worsened the disaster.

Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, is prone to flooding but critics say defective infrastructure and poor planning worsen the situation.