The Nigeria-Cameroun MoU On Flood Control

Recently, it was reported in the Nigerian media that a Memorandum of Understanding would soon be signed by Nigeria and Cameroun on the management of water from Ladgo Dam. Release of water from the reservoir in Cameroun was one of the causes of flood that affected many states in Nigeria, leading to loss of properties, death and crisis of internally displaced persons.

A technical mission from Cameroun on the flood problem is expected to visit the country to discuss details of how to solve the problem. In fact, experts on both sides have begun drafting the document which, after thorough examination and brain storming, would be signed. The teams will deal with Lagdo and Lake Nyos. While Ladgo Dam is located 50km south of the City of Garoua on the Benue River, in Cameroun, release of its water resulted in flooding in Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Cross River and other states. In other words, Nigeria suffered a colossal loss from its effects.

But another disaster waiting to happen, according reports, is that Lake Nyos (which is not far from the Cameroun volcanic line, stretching for over 1,500km from the Gulf of Guinea through South-Western Cameroun and into Northern Nigeria and Northern Cameroun)would collapse in the next five to 10 years! That was one of the 2005 findings of the United Nations Environment Programme.

From available facts, the flood disaster in the aforementioned states could have been avoided, if a solution drawn up over 30 years ago had been followed. In fact,When Lagdo Dam was built in 1980 on the Adamawa Plateau in the Northern Province of Cameroon along the course of the Benue River, water from it usually flooded many communities in Borno, Adamawa and Taraba. This prompted an agreement by Nigeria and Cameroun that the former would build similar dams along the river to suck whatever excess water was being released from Lagdo. Nigeria, in 1981, actually designed a shock-absorber which it called Dasin Hausa Dam located in Dasin Village of Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

Apart from reducing the effect of flood from Ladgo, it was designed to generate some 300mw of electricity and irrigate about150,000 hectares of land, thereby providing employment opportunities for 40,000 families. It was also meant to provide navigational route through the Benue River to the Niger Delta.

Unfortunately, Nigeria ignored its own plan while its territory suffers its consequences.Our position is that the current federal administration should exhume the file on this project and execute it fast before Nigeria starts to deal with flood disaster again.

We advise that only one shock absorber dam is not enough to contain excess water from Cameroun. Nigerian experts should study the Benue trough and come up with others. Moreover, we submit that the 1981 feasibility report that brought out the idea of dam on the Nigerian side should be revised and updated to accommodate current realities.

There are now more villages along the Benue route and old ones are expanding. The experts must take cognizance of larger volumes of rainfall as a result of global warming.

A lesson to be learnt from what happened this  year is that when scientific studies and forecasts are made, a government ignores it at its own (and citizens’) peril. The life of ordinary Nigerians is as precious as those who are highly placed. It is not only when big people are affected by problems that government should act with speed.

Government should also bring out similar technical reports on proactive measures  on how to avoid disasters and do things about them.