Mr Idowu Salawau, an environmental consultant to the Ministry of Environment has called for the construction of ‘buffer dams’ along the plains and tributaries of River Niger to address the over-flow of the river that has led to devastating flood in settlements along the river.

Mr Salawau claimed that the dam will absorb the excess water that will be released from the major dams. “The federal government should look at the pathway of River Niger and look for where buffer dams can be constructed to absorb the water that will be released from the dam.”

The environmentalist made the recommendation on our breakfast morning show; Sunrise Daily, where he noted that the ravaging flood in central Nigeria is caused by both man-made and natural disasters that can never be averted but well managed.”

According to Mr Salawau, the water released from the dams must be released because if the dams are allowed to burst, the devastation will much more overwhelming that what we have now, “so buffer dams should be constructed along the flood plains to absorb the excess water.”

He enjoined the federal government to permanently relocate the displaced people who were residing along the flood plains and come-up with “a serious 10-years flood management programme” for the flood plain areas.

He also decried the poor funding of the Environment Ministry, saying “the Ministry of Environment is poorly funded due to its inadequate budget.” The environmentalist revealed that the cost of the cheapest buffer-dam will cost between N6-N8 billion.

Also speaking on the programme from our Abuja studio, the Chairman Senate Committee on Environment, Mr Bukola Saraki, noted that while calls are being made increased funding for the Ministries and Agencies, “laws must be enacted to strengthen the capacity and funding of rescue agencies” he said.

“This will allow them to be better funded and operate better”, adding that “they cannot perform miracles if they are poorly funded” he stated.

The lawmaker decried the situation where officials of the Nigeria Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) have to wait for oil companies to give them helicopters and boats before they can move to disaster zones.

Senator Saraki also called for issues of the environment to be featured on the front burner of national issues and not relegated to the back until disasters as this strike. “We must re-prioritise our allocation of resources” he added.