Yes, the 2022 flood has some benefits for Nigerians

I know many of you reading this will wonder what kind of writer this is. How can you write about the advantages of an epidemic that has killed more than 600 persons, taken away the livelihood of residents, destroyed properties worth billions of naira, and left hundreds of thousands, including children, homeless? Are you insane? Do you even know what you’re writing about?

Of course, I know this is weird to think of but yes, there are advantages which I have figured out from the current flood in many states of the federation. Every bad situation, be it an epidemic, pandemic, or whatever that affects humans negatively, is also good news to some people.

Take, for instance, the COVID-19 pandemic that crippled the world for almost a year at a stretch. Many lives were lost, and many families lost their grandpas and grandmas, and elderly parents. It was hard to get food as supplies were limited, our movement was restricted, and many people lost their jobs and may have not been able to get another up until now. Others got a pay cut at work and still earn that same salary two years after. Some are deep in debt they are yet to recover from.

In the midst of all these, there are some who made money, big money, during that same period. Top on the list is government officials who got COVID-19 grants from international organisations and refused to disburse them accordingly. They are still enjoying the proceeds two years after.

Similarly, we all saw how relief materials were hoarded in warehouses in many parts of the country – Lagos, Jos, and others. The relief materials were meant to be distributed to the public to ease the pain of the lockdown, but Nigeria is unique, very unique. For the warehouses that escaped being exposed, I am sure these food items must have been ferried to Mile 12 market in Lagos or any other big grocery market and sold at ridiculous prices to the detriment of the public.

Also, the COVID-19 pandemic opened the eyes of employers to reduce the total cost of business by allowing most of their workers to work from home. Those staff, on the other hand, save transport expenses, spend longer family time, reduce stress, and feel much healthier. It was a global pandemic, but it came with some advantages.

Most professions exist today because of a problem and the need to solve them. For instance, if there was no sickness or disease in the world, there wouldn’t be medical doctors, nurses, and other health workers. While the disease is bad for human health, it is good for our fathers, mothers, uncles, aunties, brothers, sisters, and even children who are health workers, otherwise they will be jobless. The same thing goes for the legal profession, if there was no crime in the world, there would be no need for lawyers, magistrates, judges, and other workers in that field. While they return home with good money for a job they did, someone else just suffered a loss for a crime they committed.

Now back to my point, the flood ravaging parts of Nigeria is a bad omen for the country coming at a bad time, as a matter of fact, there is never a good time to experience a flood. Over 2.5 million people have been affected so far in Nigeria. 1.3 million are displaced, 2,407 persons are injured, and 603 persons are dead at this time, according to the Nigerian government. Expectedly, these figures will far exceed the real numbers on the ground. It is Nigeria’s worst flood in more than ten years, but some think it is the worst ever.

I have seen an unconfirmed video of former president Goodluck Jonathan’s house in Otuoke covered by water. I saw another video of inside the sitting room of an apartment believed to be that of former senator Dino Melaye in Kogi covered with water almost to the rooftop. The flood did not spare the rich or the poor. More than 200,000 homes have been completely or partially damaged.

The 2022 flood occurred in about 25 states. Kebbi Adamawa, Anambra, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger, Delta, Benue, and Nasarawa are some of the states where farmers suffered losses, and some even lost their lives. In some cases, the plantations and livestock were lost completely, while in others, sizable quantities were lost. Victims of this flood could be affected by diseases, just as the food shortage crisis looms in 2023.

However, there are a few advantages of the 2022 flood in Nigeria. Before the flood, almost all the states affected by the disaster suffered various terrorist attacks in large numbers. Jigawa, Kaduna, and Niger are hotbeds for terrorism. Attacks here and there with little or no resistance leaving residents to die almost on a daily basis. Rival terrorist groups have also attacked each other and killed themselves, many people have been displaced as they are forced to run for their dear lives and leave behind their livelihoods.

But the flood has hampered the activities of these terrorists, their environment has now become an unfamiliar terrain overnight, they can not ride their bikes and vehicles to launch attacks anymore, and even if they try, escaping will not come easy if they face confrontation from either government forces, local vigilante or rival group. They are now forced to lay low, temporarily sheath their sword, catch their breath and wait for the coast to clear before returning to business again.

An added advantage to that is the fact that the military, especially the navy and airforce, now has the opportunity to launch attacks into their hideouts and clear them up or capture them. They are not used to the torrential reality they are being faced with and that means they are losing steam, they are now easy targets.

Also, there is a flood in Anambra, one of the worst affected states by insecurity in the southeast. We barely hear of kidnap or killing at the moment because their hideout in the forest has been washed by the flood. Those perpetrators have now relocated to the town and are living with the people. They should be tracked down and arrested by security intelligence so that peace can reign again.

Another advantage of the flood is that it has exposed one of our aspiring leaders. He is seriously running for the number one seat on the land but appears not to understand what climate change means. How could we have known his abyss about climate change if there was no flood at the time, in Nigeria? We would still be thinking that he can face world leaders and talk about climate change without reading from a script. So you can see how the flood opened our eyes.

I will not bore you with other weird benefits of the flood. But normally, floods can deposit rich, fertile alluvium in agricultural areas. Flood water can replenish irrigation channels and this water can be stored and used by nature and people. They also filter pollutants out of rivers and nourishing lands to support ecosystems and fertile areas for farming. Flooding creates islands and channels and other habitats that are home to fish, birds, and other wildlife.

It is well oo.

Ojoko, a writer and content editor, can be reached via [email protected]