Mohammed Fall, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, has announced that $6 million from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund would be allocated to support flood victims in Borno State, as the humanitarian situation takes a critical turn.
The devastating flood was caused by the collapse of the Alau Dam, located just over 10 miles south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno. The dam collapsed on September 10, 2024, killing at least 30 people and displacing nearly one million people, exacerbating the existing challenges faced by the region.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, in a press conference held on Monday in New York, shared details about the unfolding crisis and the joint mission to Maiduguri led by UN agencies, NGOs, and the Nigeria Red Cross Society. The mission was aimed at assessing the damage and coordinating relief efforts.
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“We and our partners are providing them with hot meals, we are facilitating air drops of food in hard-to-reach areas cut off by floodwaters, and we are also trucking in water,” Dujarric said. “We are also providing water and sanitation hygiene services and water purification tablets to stem disease outbreaks. This is in addition to supplying hygiene and dignity kits to women and girls, as well as emergency health and shelter services.”
Dujarric further added that the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is working closely with donors to secure additional funding to ensure the continuous provision of aid.
The collapse of the dam and the resulting flood have had far-reaching consequences. More than 125,000 hectares of farmland have been damaged across Nigeria, and this happened just before the harvest season, at a time when 32 million people in the country are already facing severe food insecurity.
Emmanuel Bigenimana, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) office in Maiduguri, shared his firsthand experience, having conducted a rapid assessment of the damage.
“What I have seen is really heartbreaking,” he stated, describing submerged homes, schools, hospitals, and other essential infrastructure.
He highlighted that over 200,000 to 300,000 displaced people are overcrowded in several Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and even on the streets.
The WFP confirmed that the dam collapse resulted in river water overrunning 50% of Maiduguri. In response, state authorities issued evacuation orders to residents in affected areas and appealed for international humanitarian support.
Bigenimana noted that WFP, in collaboration with local authorities and other partners, had managed to establish soup kitchens in three IDP camps: Teachers’ Village, Asheikh, and Yerwa. These kitchens aim to provide hot, nutritious meals to around 50,000 of the most affected children, women, and men who have lost their homes.
However, he stressed that the situation requires further assistance, noting, “This is really an additional burden to already existing crises. This region has been facing conflict for a decade.”
Borno state has been one of the regions most severely impacted by the Boko Haram insurgency. Although the conflict has been somewhat controlled, the recent flooding compounds pre-existing challenges. Bigenimana further elaborated on the difficulties the region faces, particularly in terms of rising food inflation and the skyrocketing prices that have worsened the food insecurity for millions in the region.
The WFP revealed that as of September 2024, some 800,000 people in 29 states across Nigeria have been affected by floods, while over 550,000 hectares of cropland have been inundated. Given that as of March 2024, 32 million Nigerians were already facing acute hunger, the current flooding presents an even greater challenge to the country’s food security.
The UN’s food agency estimates that $147.9 million is needed to support food-insecure people in Nigeria’s northeast over the coming six months. As for the flood-affected populations in Maiduguri, Bigenimana said, “recovery will take long.”
He concluded with a pressing call for more resources: “We need more resources to save lives and to put together efforts to respond to the crises – and also think of longer-term recovery and solutions.”
Heeding the call for help to boost the relief efforts, other players have also stepped in. The United Arab Emirates contributed five tonnes of food. Closer to home, business magnates Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu Dantata each pledged N1.5 billion in aid, while Senator Bala Mohammed donated N250 million. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi also made contributions, with Atiku giving N100 million and Obi donating N50 million.
However, as the donations pour in, there are murmurs of doubt about whether the funds will reach the intended beneficiaries. In a country where corruption is systemic, the fear is that a significant portion of these donations will be siphoned off by unscrupulous middlemen, leaving those in desperate need with little to nothing. For the displaced in Maiduguri, who have already lost their homes and livelihoods, such theft would be another cruel blow.