Benue floods: Beyond human control or human caused?

by Alexander O. Onukwue

Mr Terver Akase, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, was not entirely sure whether the Benue flood was a disaster beyond human control or caused by humans.

On one hand, Mr Akase says “it is a natural disaster” because “water is beyond human control; it must come whether we like it or not. It is a natural disaster in the sense that it is rain. We can’t prevent rain from coming”.

On the other hand, “It is man-made” says Mr Akase “because perhaps we neglected some of the things that we should have done as a people. I am not blaming Benue people. Perhaps, the government failed to do something before now. That is why it has become an emergency”.

Benue State lies within the lower river Benue trough, with rainy season lasting from April to October with annual rainfall in the range of 100 – 200mm, according to a description of the state on Wikipedia. The state has quite a number of rivers, with River Benue being the dominant geographical feature in the state. The small rivers and the flood plains in the state give it a high drainage density, but dry season brings with it acute water shortage in some Local Government Areas.

The heavy rains that have provided the vast quantity of water flooding parts of the state may appear to be naturally occurring but the science of global warming suggests this could be part of the ongoing effects of climate change. Similar occurrences of flooding and natural disasters in other parts of the world at this period would appear to support this clamour for more attention to be paid to the actions of man in atmospheric changes and seasonal patterns.

There are the more Nigerian-specific problems of improper sanitation and lack of drainages which aggravate the impact of floods and overflow of water bodies. But the Benue flood calls to mind the more global phenomenon of global warming to which no particular country is immune from its effects. Though in different time zones and climatic regions, being under the same gaseous envelope and the connection of seas and oceans means there is a good chance that Benue is undergoing the effect of the accumulation of environmentally unfriendly activities of many industrialized nations over the past half-century.

 

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