Notes for File
The federal government last week broke its deafening silence about the plight of Nigerians ravaged, killed, and rendered homeless by floods when President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, to find a solution to the calamity.
With the raging disaster of a national magnitude, the government had maintained a worrisome and unfeeling silence and rather jetted out of the country a few days ago to London and Seoul. With the death of over 600 citizens, over two million displaced persons, and hundreds of thousands of lost homes, Buhari only spoke through an aide, prompting Nigerians to ask what extent of damage would move him to address the country and assuage the feelings of the distressed citizens.
It is indeed sad that it took the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi to call out the federal government over its disturbing silence before it realised that this was a serious issue.
Obi’s message was that the magnitude of the flood disaster was more than what would be left in the hands of state governments to tackle. He specifically called on President Buhari to step up action on what needs to be done to intervene for the distraught Nigerians.
The message from Obi and the reactions of the people of Nigeria expressing anger at the federal government over the neglect seem to have boxed the government into a corner.
Not even at the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting was anything concrete heard from the federal government on a wide-scale intervention or sympathy visits envisaged.
But last Monday, he had directed the Minister for Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, according to a statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu to find a solution to the calamity.
Though the president didn’t give details of what concrete actions he wants to be taken, he directed the minister to map out plans within 90 days on how to find a lasting solution to the floods that have become regular in the recent years.
Regarding assistance to the victims, the president never uttered a word. Not even a word of comfort until last Wednesday when Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development said it had distributed relief items to 21 states.
