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-The Rain Is Not the Problem. Our Failure to Prepare Is.

By Nze Emmanuel Ehirim | Guest Writer

Recurring floods and devastating erosion have become defining features of every rainy season in Imo State. In this guest feature, Nze Emmanuel Ehirim examines how climate change, poor urban planning, weak environmental governance and inadequate drainage infrastructure have combined to turn predictable rainfall into a recurring humanitarian and economic crisis, while proposing practical solutions for building a safer and more climate-resilient Imo State.

The rain has become one of the clearest tests of governance in Imo State.

Each time dark clouds gather over Owerri and neighbouring communities, anxiety replaces hope. Traders hurriedly pack their goods, motorists search for alternative routes, parents worry about children stranded in flooded schools, and residents brace for another familiar disaster. Within hours of a heavy downpour, roads disappear beneath muddy water, vehicles stall in flooded streets, homes are submerged, businesses shut their doors, and torrents carve destructive channels through neighbourhoods.

Sadly, this has become the new reality across the Eastern Heartland.

The painful truth is that rainfall itself is not our greatest enemy. While climate change has intensified rainfall patterns, decades of poor urban planning, inadequate drainage infrastructure, weak enforcement of environmental regulations and persistent neglect have transformed ordinary rain into recurring disasters.

The evidence is overwhelming.

Across Owerri Municipal, Owerri North, Owerri West, Mbaitoli, Ideato, Orlu, Njaba, Ikeduru, Okigwe and several other parts of Imo State, flooding has become increasingly predictable. Roads built with billions of naira in public funds deteriorate after only a few rainy seasons because they lack properly engineered drainage systems. Existing drains are often undersized, poorly interconnected or completely blocked by refuse. Plastic waste, nylon bags, construction debris and household garbage have become permanent obstructions in public drainage channels, forcing stormwater to create destructive pathways through communities.

The consequences are enormous.

Rainfall that should nourish farmlands now washes away fertile soil and crops. Roads built at great public expense collapse under the force of uncontrolled runoff. Families lose their homes to expanding gullies, while entire communities become isolated after bridges fail. Businesses suffer avoidable losses, schools suspend academic activities, and government repeatedly spends scarce public resources repairing infrastructure that should have been designed to withstand changing weather conditions.

Imo State has long been recognised as one of Nigeria’s most erosion-prone regions.

For decades, severe gully erosion has threatened lives, livelihoods and public infrastructure. Some erosion sites now stretch hundreds of metres and descend several storeys deep, swallowing homes, roads and valuable agricultural land. The state’s predominantly loose sandy soil naturally increases its vulnerability. However, natural geography should never become an excuse for institutional failure or governmental inaction.

Climate change has merely accelerated an already dangerous situation.

Scientists have consistently warned that rising global temperatures would produce heavier rainfall and more frequent extreme weather events. Those warnings are no longer theoretical. They are evident every rainy season across southeastern Nigeria. As the atmosphere warms, it retains more moisture, resulting in increasingly intense downpours that overwhelm infrastructure designed for yesterday’s climate rather than today’s realities.

Yet countries facing similar weather conditions have demonstrated that such disasters are not inevitable.

The United Kingdom, for example, experiences significant rainfall throughout the year, but its cities rarely descend into chaos after storms because climate adaptation has become an integral part of governance. Roads are designed with efficient drainage systems, flood plains are protected from indiscriminate development, drainage networks are routinely inspected before the rainy season, and modern housing developments incorporate sustainable drainage systems that slow stormwater and allow the environment to absorb excess rainfall naturally. Rivers are continuously monitored, flood-risk maps are regularly updated, and accurate weather forecasts enable emergency agencies to prepare before disasters occur.

None of these measures are beyond Nigeria’s capacity.

Nigerian engineers possess the technical expertise to design resilient infrastructure. Institutions such as the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), have produced generations of engineers, hydrologists, environmental scientists and urban planners capable of developing practical and sustainable solutions. What has often been missing is not knowledge or competence but the political will to prioritise long-term resilience over short-term projects.

Climate change must fundamentally reshape how infrastructure is planned in Imo State.

Road construction should no longer be judged solely by the smoothness of its asphalt surface. A beautifully paved road without adequate drainage is simply an expensive disaster waiting for the next heavy rainfall. Every road project should include properly engineered drainage systems capable of safely conveying stormwater during increasingly intense weather events.

Urban planning laws must also be enforced without compromise.

Too many buildings have been erected on natural waterways, wetlands and flood plains with little regard for environmental consequences. Nature eventually reclaims its course, and when it does, concrete offers little protection. Preventing illegal development today is significantly less expensive than rebuilding devastated communities tomorrow.

Waste management demands equal urgency.

Drainage systems cannot function effectively when they are treated as refuse dumps. Environmental sanitation should become a continuous civic responsibility rather than a monthly exercise. Government must provide efficient waste collection services, while citizens must recognise that every plastic bottle or nylon bag carelessly discarded into a drainage channel may contribute directly to the next flood that destroys lives and property.

The battle against erosion must also become a top development priority.

Existing gullies require immediate engineering intervention using modern erosion-control techniques, while degraded landscapes should be restored through aggressive tree planting, watershed management and ecological rehabilitation. Trees are far more than decorative features; they are among nature’s most effective flood-control systems, helping to stabilise soil, reduce surface runoff and protect communities from environmental degradation.

The private sector also has an indispensable role to play.

Companies whose operations affect the environment should invest meaningfully in sustainability through well-structured corporate social responsibility initiatives. Communities hosting major commercial activities deserve infrastructure that strengthens environmental resilience instead of increasing vulnerability.

Above all, climate adaptation must no longer be viewed solely as an environmental concern. It is an economic issue, a public health challenge, a food security concern and a national development imperative. Every flooded school interrupts education. Every destroyed farm contributes to rising food prices. Every collapsed road discourages investment, while every displaced family deepens poverty. Investing in climate resilience is therefore an investment in economic growth, public safety and sustainable development.

The people of Imo State deserve better. They deserve roads that survive the rainy season, drainage systems that function efficiently and communities protected from devastating erosion. They deserve governments that prepare for foreseeable disasters instead of merely expressing sympathy after lives and property have been lost.

The rain will continue to fall. Climate scientists warn that global warming is likely to make future rainfall even more intense. That reality cannot be changed. What can be changed is our level of preparedness.

Imo State stands at a defining moment. It can continue responding to every rainy season with emergency repairs, political promises and temporary interventions, or it can embrace the bold reforms that climate resilience demands.

History will not remember this generation for how much rain fell. It will remember whether it possessed the vision, leadership and courage to prepare for it. The heavens may send the rain, but human negligence transforms rainfall into catastrophe.

If Imo State is to protect its people, safeguard its economy and secure its future, climate adaptation must move beyond policy documents and conference speeches to construction sites, public budgets and practical implementation.

The era of excuses has passed. The time for resilience is now.

About the Author

Nze Emmanuel Ehirim is a corporate communication practitioner, community development advocate and social policy commentator with extensive experience in governance, leadership, social justice and sustainable development. He writes regularly on public policy, accountability, environmental justice, education, security, oil and gas governance, community participation and socio-economic development. His commentaries advocate transparent leadership, institutional accountability and inclusive partnerships that place people at the centre of sustainable development.

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9News Nigeria

🟢Call For Immediate And Prompt Action By Government

Following huge environmental challenges bedevilling Umudoche community in Umuoma Nekede Autonomous community in Owerri West local government area of Imo State Nigeria, Joint Council of Elders, office of the Elders council has issued out a serious warning restricting all firms of mining cum dredging activities in Otamiri Umudoche forthwith.

The restriction included all forms of dredging, mining, loading of tippers and their workers in Otamiri Umudoche. The public warning signal reads:

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

JOINT COUNCIL OF ELDERS UMUDOCHE, OFFICE OF THE ELDERS COUNCIL

ATTN: RESTRICTION ON THE ACTIVITIES OF ALL DREDGING COMPANIES, TIPPER OPERATORS AND LOADERS IN OTAMIRI UMUDOCHE UMUOMA NEKEDE OWERRI WEST LGA

It has come to the notice of the Joint Council Of Elders, Umudoche (J.C.E.U), the high level of devastation , degradation and pollution ravaging Umudoche Umuoma Nekede, caused by continuous mining and dredging of sand from Otamiri River in the area.

The mining of sand has persistently continued across Otamiri Umudoche, after several warnings by both the Federal Ministry of Mines and that of the Imo State Ministry of Mines and Environment to all the dredging firms to seize work.

Recall that Government has issued several warnings to dredging firms , companies, workers at Otamiri Umudoche Umuoma Nekede to stop work at non minable sites because of surrounding devastation, destruction, pollution and environmental degradation in the community.

Regrettably, miners returned to sites across Otamiri Umudoche River without recourse to humongous destruction of people’s Houses and the Community Land. Many roads in the area including residential houses, landed properties are seriously affected and some have collapsed as a result of devastating erosion while the remaining ones are in terrible condition.

The Joint Council of Elders Umudoche hereby caution miners to stop work with immediate effect to save the land. They also called for immediate security intervention from Imo State Government.

The Joint Elders of Umudoche further uses this medium to alert security agencies, DSS, Police, Vigilante groups, Office of the Commissioner for Environment & Mines and other relevant Government Task Force agents saddled with this responsibility to take necessary and prompt action.

To before warned is to before armed.

Signed:

Elder Boniface Obiyor
(Chairman)

Elder Solomon Amadi
(Secretary General)

Joint Council Of Elders, Umudoche Umuoma Nekede, Owerri West Local Government Area.

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Ali Mohammed Zanna (9NEWS NIGERIA, BORNO)

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has received the final report from the flood relief disbursement committee in Maiduguri .

According to the committee, about ₦18.08 billion has been distributed to over 101,330 families affected by the recent flood disaster.

Chaired by Engr Baba Bukar Gujibawu, the committee said that the funds were distributed in cash to displaced households, along with food and non-food items.

Some of the contributors of the relief funds are UNHCR, WFP, FAO, and UNDP who donated a total of ₦4.3 billion.

The flood disaster, which occurred in September this year, has affected over one million people and displaced over hundred thousand households.

While there are reports of several lost of lives, public and private infrastructures and farmlands were also destructed.

The committee received a total of ₦28.2 billion, including a ₦10 billion contribution from the Borno State Government.

The committee’s breakdown of allocations are as follows:

• Traders:_ ₦987 million to assist 7,716 traders in affected markets
• Worship centres:_ ₦313 million to 814 worship centres
• Private schools:_ ₦213 million to 267 private schools
• Youths:_ ₦89.4 million to 1,788 youths who contributed during the flood
• Private clinics:_ ₦12.5 million to 22 private clinics

At the presentation, the committee has recommended that the remaining ₦4.45 billion should be channelled to rehabilitation of earth roads in flood-hit areas and distribute the remaining food and non-food items to host communities.

Responding, Governor Zulum assured the committee that all recommendations would be implemented.

He directed the activation of a permanent disaster response structure and the reconstruction of road networks destroyed by the flood.

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Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has urged the federal government to speed up the reconstruction of the collapsed dyke at Alau Dam, which resulted in the devastating flood that nearly sweeps the state capital, Maiduguri and its surrounding local government areas.

He decried that with about four months to another rainfall, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources needs to speed up efforts to reconstruct the dam to avoid any eventualities.

The Alau Dam is situated in Alau, a community under Konduga local government area of Borno.

It was constructed between 1984 and 1986 to control water floor and minize potential flood disaster and provide excess water for irrigation and domestic use in Maiduguri.

Zulum made the appeal on Monday after receiving the report of the assessment committee that investigated the root cause of the dam’s collapse.

He lamented that the reconstruction of the dam is taking longer than it should, hinting of taking the matter to the presidency.

“By next week, we shall be in January, and rainfall will set in some parts of Borno State by March. We have limited time! The earlier we begin something, the better for us. The federal government assessment team was in Maiduguri, and they had a consultation with the committee we inaugurated.”

“On our part as state government, we shall push this matter to the latter; I am of the view that in a few days, if there is no action on the ground, I will go and see Mr. President and beg him to allow the Northeast Development Commission to take over and start the reconstruction immediately.

“If we decide to wait for the bureaucracy, I am afraid we will run out of time. If we can start on time, I am sure with the serious commitment we can rebuild the substantial part of the dyke, which has collapsed,” Zulum explained.

The governor noted that the committee inaugurated by the state government had taken temporary measures to stop the water from spilling from the dam.

Zulum also assured that despite limited resources, his administration would partner with the federal government to ensure that such a devastating flood would not occur again in Borno.

“As a responsible government, we will not fold our arms and wait for the federal government until another disaster occurs, despite the flooding having seriously affected our financial capacity,” he said.

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The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and Sapphire Platform Foundation, a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) have partnered to donate emergency relief materials to people of Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State.

The beneficiaries are flood victims who were devastated by the natural disaster in October, few weeks after the September flood in the state capital, Maiduguri.

The donation was conveyed in December by Alhaji I.M Abba on behalf of the organizations.

The items includes 50 clean cooking stoves, 150 bags of rice, and other essential items. Mr Abba also personally donated one million naira to support the victims.

The donors’ joint effort aims to support widows, the elderly, and children in the flood-affected communities.

Expressing his gratitude on behalf of his people, the Shehu of Dikwa, Alhaji Ibrahim Ibn Umar Ibrahim El-kanemi, commended NASENI and Sapphire for the donation.

He said that the support is timely and essential to the recovery of the people, some of whom have lost their food stuffs and other means of livelihood.

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Khadija Ngulde (9NEWS NIGERIA, BORNO)

Three months after the devastating September flood that ravaged Borno State’s capital Maiduguri and other parts of the state, the state governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum and World Bank delegation have visited Alau Dam, the source of water that caused the flood and Fori Bridge.

The tour of these places was part of a courtesy visit by the World Bank county director for Nigeria, Dr. Ndiame Diop, to Governor Zulum on Monday and to assess the damages caused by the natural disaster.

According to a release by the governor’s spokesman, Dauda Iliya, Dr. Diop was first hosted at the Government House in Maiduguri.

While speaking at the event, Governor Zulum called on the World Bank to assist in reconstructing bridges destroyed by the recent flooding and dredging the silted Alau Dam.

Highlighting it’s devastating impact, Zulum said it has destroyed critical infrastructures, blocked waterways, and damaged farmlands across the state.

“Flooding has significantly affected our farmers. Without comprehensive dredging, we cannot solve this problem. We need increased support to address these challenges,” he said, emphasizing the urgency for additional assistance to dredge waterways and acquire desilting equipment.

Zulum also detailed the broader challenges facing Borno State, including the damages caused by the Boko Haram insurgency.

While terrorizing people and destroying their properties in over a decade long period, the terrorist group has caused an estimated damages of over $6 billion in infrastructure losses in the Northeast region.

According to Zulum, Borno accounts for more than half of these damages.

“Out of the $6.9 billion losses incurred across the Northeast, Borno accounts for about two-thirds.

“The insurgency destroyed critical infrastructure and disrupted livelihoods, but with support from the World Bank and other partners, we are rebuilding,” he said.

However, the governor praised the impact of World Bank-supported initiatives such as the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP), Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACRESAL), and the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).

He also appealed for additional support for projects like the South Chad Irrigation Scheme and other agricultural programs to revitalize Borno’s vast arable land, critical for food security and economic recovery.

Zulum further urged the World Bank to expedite the implementation of the Health Resilience Project to strengthen healthcare services and ensure residents’ well-being.

In his remarks, Diop commended Borno State government for its achievements in education and post-insurgency recovery efforts.

He noted that to enhance development across key sectors in the state, the bank is pledging its sustained support.

“We have observed significant progress in technical education and infrastructure rehabilitation. Borno’s recovery efforts are commendable, and we are happy to support these initiatives,” Dr. Diop stated.

He also highlighted the impact of ongoing World Bank projects like the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) and the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), which are rebuilding schools and empowering vulnerable populations.

“Borno is critical to Nigeria’s development, and we will continue to support your efforts in education, health, agriculture, and recovery from insurgency and climate-related challenges,” he affirmed.

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