Daniel Akande

The tally of flood disasters that have affected different parts of the country most especially in the northern and eastern part of Nigeria since July 2021 has run into tens and the numerous fatalities that trail each flood culminating in a series of disasters with poor must worst hit.
On the 15th of August, 2021 a tragic accident occurred after two vehicles crashed into a bridge that had collapsed as a result of a flood that happened in Jigawa state, where 21 people lost their lives. In Taraba, 300 homes were reportedly damaged. In Bauchi, 5 people died and in Adamawa, over 60 houses were either destroyed or submerged in Shelling LGA.

Furthermore, “over 100 homes were destroyed by flooding in Gashua town, Bade LGA, Yobe State, after flash floods on 12th to 13th July 2021.” as reported by the world organization Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA). On the 16th of July 2021, heavy rainfall was reported in various parts of Lagos and Ogun State which resulted in flooding, with a considerable number of products and buildings reportedly affected by the incident.

Also, Floodlit reported that “on 21 July, flash flooding from heavy rainfall destroyed dozens of homes in Jakusko town, 140 km north-west of Damaturu, the Yobe city – at least 200 residents were directly affected. Property, valuables and vital supplies like foodstuffs were washed away and crops damaged.”

While on 27 July 2021 flood resulting from heavy rains damaged over 800 shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Monguno government area, Borno State, according to a report by reliefweb.I want. Finally, Osogbo, the state capital of Osun, on the 3rd of August reported floods ravaged through her metropolis, damaging property and livelihoods.

All these reports indicate a devastating spate of environmental disasters that Nigeria is confronted with in the last three to four months and the inability of the Nigerian government at all levels to mitigate the effects of the flood crisis, or put in place policies and actions to prevent a reoccurrence.

CAPITALISM IS TO BLAME

The capitalist exploitation of the working people and the environment has continuously amassed enormous profits for big businesses. And Deregulation and Privatization true to the same principle of reaping super-profits for Big businesses have further worsened economic and infrastructural development.

For instance, the intervention funds allocated to states for the construction of drainages and bridges that will serve to mitigate floods go directly into the pockets of contractors who in most cases are fronting or engaged in joint profit sharing with top officials in both state and local governments department of Environment and Sanitation.

Unsurprisingly and as is the case with most privatized sectors, these funds are largely misappropriated, stemming from a deliberate lack of accountability from any government outfit. It becomes obvious that the drawback of privatization and contract system for execution of projects has increased corruption within the rank of both the state and the federal government.
While the super-rich can easily relocate to other choice properties they own and effect for themselves the necessary cushions to mitigate the effects of flood and environmental disasters, it is not the same for low-income earners who suffer from the consequences of these disasters.

Flood as a prominent part of Nigeria’s environmental disasters has continued to expose the decadence of the capitalist system and its political representatives at all levels.
Basically, flood disaster is a direct consequence of the climate crisis helped by a capitalist profit-making system, taking no due responsibility for the impact of its own industrial actions, which causes extreme unfavourable weather situations and rising sea levels that threaten the survival of humans, other living organisms including plants on the planet.
For over a decade, scientists and climate campaigners around the world have predicted that “more water vapour in the atmosphere will lead to more precipitation. Global average precipitation increases by 1% to 3% for each degree of warming, which means we are looking at a future with much more rain and snow, and a higher risk of flooding to some regions”, this is according to scied.ucar.edu.

However, the Nigerian Government at all levels, including the previous governments has refused to take any fundamental steps in preventing the consequences of climate change, a phenomenon that continues to prey on vulnerable Nigerians because intervening would demand that government plays the leading role in putting in a policy framework that would impact on the construction industry, manufacturing industry, even up to the point of its energy policy as it affects both oil and gas industry and electricity generation. To take this direction which is the only way forward would automatically undermine the greed for super profits of members of the ruling elites and the capitalist bosses for who they wield the instruments of power on behalf.

Flood occurrence in Nigeria has increased the risk of illness or death from water-borne diseases like cholera. According to Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), “on 15 August, 23 out of 36 states in Nigeria had suspected cholera cases, with a cumulative total of nearly 47,600 suspected cases and 1,768 deaths since January 2021.”
To make worse a recurrent tragic situation, the health, works and environmental sector responsible for adequate medical care and implementation of infrastructures such as drainages and bridges have been consistently underfunded for years. In most cases, the infrastructures are non-existent and where they exist, they are in a state of utter shambles.

In addition, the lack of competent medical personnel and Environmental Health Officers in most of the affected states have further worsened the case, this should have provided the opportunity to contrast the rising rate of unemployment in the country since more skilled hands are needed but as the case indicates instead of hiring, the few available are either retiring, sacked or quitting to seek greener pastures in other fields. How then do you expect to tackle rampant floods and other environmental disasters with such dysfunctional systems at the helms?

SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE TO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

The struggle to mitigate flooding and every other environmental disaster including climate change could be resolved through political engagement. It is the only effective pathway that counts with the present caste of public servants.

The working class including the impoverished poor farmers and young people in Nigeria must draw lessons from the continued passiveness of the Buhari led government and his cohorts at the state levels as regards the ongoing flood crisis.

This is a potent opportunity to make it known that capitalism is increasingly causing poverty and environmental degradation to the planet earth, as it only serves to enrich the purses of the rich and deplete the scanty resources of those on whose backs the country is built.
We must be unequivocal in stating that the government’s ineffective response to the recent floods devastating most states in Nigeria reflects their lack of interest in making our environment safe for us all. It is not accidental that capitalism is a system blindly driven with the aim of making super-profits at the expense of the working people and the environment.

The remedy to flooding disaster then requires that a revolutionary organization like ours must take on the task to objectively mobilize within the ranks of the working class inside of the trade unions and outside of it, and other poor strata of the society against capitalism. We are saddled with the responsibility to let the Workers, Farmers and young people understand that their future and collective survival would constantly be negated by the economic principles and ideas of capitalism which permanently seeks to profit from the tragedies and disasters that its neoliberal policies of deregulation and Privatization inflicts on citizens and the environment.

To make headway, the fight for a socialist transformation of Nigeria is an imperative task to achieve any durable form of economic advancement and a green environment for all. But this is only possible if the working-class joins with peasant farmers and youths of this great country in a single political organisation to fight to end the rule of capital over the economy of the country.

Win power and install a Workers’ and poor Farmers government that will genuinely democratically manage our collectively owned resources for a better and sustainable environment for all. Join the movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) today and help fight against capitalist exploitation and the destruction of our planet.