FLOOD: ERECT CAMPING SITES IN HIGH-RISE AREAS — MURIC URGES STATE, LOCAL GOVTS
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By: Sefiu Ajape
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on state and local governments across Nigeria to urgently establish camping sites in high-rise areas to accommodate residents displaced by flooding.
The group said it is not enough for authorities to issue evacuation warnings without providing designated safe havens for affected communities.
This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday, September 20, 2025, by MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
Professor Akintola noted, “The concern of the Muslim Rights Concern in this conversation is that although people are told to go to high rise areas as flood is being expected, they have never been told where to go exactly. Fear and anxiety rent the air as citizens wonder where to evacuate to.”
He stressed that proactive measures were necessary to prevent a repeat of devastating incidents such as the May 2025 flood in Mokwa, Niger State, where at least 151 people lost their lives, 265 houses were destroyed, and more than 3,000 were displaced. The death toll later rose to 700 in June.
Akintola recalled that between September and October 2022, Nigeria also recorded one of its deadliest floods in decades, with over 600 deaths and 1.3 million people displaced nationwide.
“We assert clearly, categorically and emphatically that it is not enough to send warnings to residents. They should be directed to safer places prepared by the government. That is good governance,” he said.
He further appealed, “We therefore call on both the state and local governments in Nigeria to set up camps with mattresses and other essentials and to direct people to go there in times of floods. Such camps should be ready before heavy rains begin. The time for this is now. To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.”
MURIC emphasized that responsibility for disaster preparedness should not rest on the Federal Government alone, urging Nigerians to demand concrete action from their state and local governments.
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