YET another avoidable natural disaster has necessitated this question once again: How much do the government and people of Nigeria value the lives and dignity of Nigerian citizens?
A recent spate of heavy rains led to the release, by the Republic of Cameroun of excess water from its Lagdo Dam, which occasioned deadly flooding down its course, wreaking havoc as it claimed no less than 10 lives and rendered over 20,000 Nigerians homeless in Adamawa State.
The tragedy could have been minimised if prior warnings issued by the authorities in Cameroun and Nigeria’s own National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had been heeded and acted upon. On August 23, 2012, the Deputy High Commissioner of Cameroun in Abuja, Ambassador David Sinou, wrote the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, NEMA and Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, informing them of a dangerous rise in the level of water at the Lagdo Dam, saying Cameroun would have no choice but to release water from it to prevent the dam from collapsing. Sinou wrote the letter in line with article III paragraph 3 of the Fifth Session of the Joint Commission of the Nigeria/Cameroun Convention on exchange of information on natural activities in the Lagdo River and Lake Nyos in Cameroun, which had always transferred spillover disasters to Nigeria.
Accordingly, NEMA transmitted this warning to its zonal headquarters in the North-East and North-Central and the state chapters thereof.
No action was taken by either the Adamawa State Government or the state emergency authorities, and when the flood came it victimised the uninformed and unprepared citizenry.
This is not only another clear case of failure of leadership but also dereliction of duty by an elected governor, who swore upon the constitution to protect the citizens and cater for their welfare. Time has come in this country when elected officials and government employees saddled with the responsibility of looking after the lives and property of Nigerian citizens are strictly held to account whenever they fall down on their responsibilities.
We commend the Camerounian authorities for standing up to their obligations to issue timely warning and information on the myriad of natural disasters that frequently emanate from their end due to no fault of anyone. It is a sign of responsible neighbourliness.
We recommend that the victims of this disaster should engage a competent lawyer and slam punitive class litigation against the governmental authorities and individuals for their dereliction of duty that resulted in grave losses of lives and property. It will be a useful lesson to others in the future.
We must start respecting the constitutional right of Nigerians to life, property and human dignity, and those who violate them must be made to pay dearly for their negligence.
