“The flood is coming” Environmental Biologist Warns
“The flood is coming” Environmental Biologist Warns
Safiu Kehinde
An Environmental Biologist, Owolabi Azeez, has, on Friday, raised fresh warning on the possibility of Lagos State experiencing similar flood situation as Benue during his lecture at the departmental day celebration of Lagos State Polytechnic’s Biological Science students.
Speaking as the guest lecturer on the theme of the programme, “Biology: The Face of Nature”, Owolabi decried the deteriorating state of nature due to human activities and the consequences, citing the flood situation as example with reference to poor dredging of river Benue.
“We have built houses on the river line. We did not take time to dredge our rivers. River Niger and river Benue are so shallow which now affects us in Nigeria. Even we Lagosians should prepare: By December, the water that is disturbing them will be coming to Lagos either it rains or not.” He said
He stressed further that Lagos is the point of convergence for most of the water before getting deposited into the Atlantic Ocean.
“According to research, the flood from River Niger to Lagos usually take six months. That is why you see that they are trying to clear drainages and issuing warning to those living in flood-prone areas. As an environmentalist, the flood is coming. Though Port Harcourt and Calabar will also receive a portion of the water, but most of it is coming to Lagos. There is no sea to take the water. Thus, all water that come from either Lake Chad or Sokoto are coming down here to the Atlantic Ocean.” He added.
Meanwhile, according to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Mrs. Sadiya Umar-Farouq, over one million persons have been displaced by the flood situation in Nigeria.
In a effort to resolve the flood crisis, Mrs. Sadiya, had earlier this month- according to The Guardian, revealed the intention of the Federal Government to partner with the World Bank to conduct a post-disaster rapid impact assessment.
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