11 STATES IN FEAR AS RELEASE OF LAGDO DAM BEGINS
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Following torrential rains and the recent devastation of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, caused by the collapse of Alau Dam, Nigerians in the country’s littoral states are concerned about a re-enactment of similar tragedies in the wake of the reported release of excess water from Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam.
Recall that the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA, issued a warning on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, of possible severe floods that may affect around 11 states throughout the country by releasing water from Lagdo Dam.
Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Rivers are among the states bordering the Benue River.
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The NIHSA further asked residents in these states, as well as government officials at all levels, to “heighten their vigilance and implement appropriate preparedness measures to mitigate potential flooding impact that may arise due to an increase in flow levels of our major rivers during this period.”
Although the flood disaster in Maiduguri and other parts of Borno State was not caused by the release of water from the Lagdo Dam, there is concern that the discharge of water from the dam will have much more disastrous consequences than it did in 2022.
According to reports, the water levels in the Niger and Benue rivers are already increasing, despite what Cameroonian authorities have described as a progressive release of water from Lagdo Dam.
Residents in some towns, such as Irri in Delta State’s Isoko South Local Government Area, are already evacuating from floodplains to higher land as water levels rise in impacted areas.
Emphasising the need for people to relocate from flood plains, NIHSA’s Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Umar Muhammed, warned in a statement: “The water discharge is anticipated to progressively escalate to 1000m³/s over the next seven days, based on the inflow from the upstream Garoua River, which serves as the primary source into the reservoir and a significant tributary to the Benue River.”
His warning has put individuals in the affected states into a frenzy, as administrations are scrambling to transfer people and provide internally displaced persons, IDPs, and camps.
Confirming the development, Ezekiel Manzo, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, stated that the flow of surplus water from the Lagdo Dam was still underway, swelling the water level of the River Benue.
He stated that the discharge protects the dam from potential damage that could occur if its capacity is exceeded.
“A breakage of the dam would cause much damage in Nigeria as we have witnessed recently in Maiduguri with Alau dam, a much smaller dam compared to the one in Cameroun,’’ he said.
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