Editorial- Make local Government proactive in flood mitigation

Local Government councils in Nigeria is the third tier of executive Government which are not allowed to be financially autonomous to the point of being able to carry out their statutory responsibilities towards social economic activities’ development through infrastructural provisions at their own levels to eradicate poverty.

No wonder the case of flooding negative impact is increasingly damaging our economy from the levels as billion of naira worth of agricultural produce is being lost to the process unabatedly at last in the last ten years.

The big concern here about this challenge is knowing the root of our problem, and not being able to take proactive action to checkmate it. Why should the money for local government councils be held back by majority of our states’ governors knowing full well that 80% of agricultural activities in the country are done in the rural areas with a few portions in the cities?

The evident of the recently occurred flood across the states of the federation revealed how many rural communities farm lands, poultry, animals and fish ponds were being destroyed and submerged thereby deepening our already challenged economy. And yet some governors still held on to the allocation meant for local authority.

We are calling attention of Governors in particulars to this so as to create their consciousness to the need why serious attention must given to allowing money meant for local government to go directly to them, and also hands off from the electoral process in these areas for normal electioneering to take place for the appointment of the local government without interference for credible leaders while they concentrate on their own mandates at the state level to thereby adhere to the principle of separation of power towards achieving same development goals.

It is obvious unless this issue is seriously given astute attention through direct appropriations of local government allocations to the concerned authorities without any further delay that the best of our fight against flood can be felt against further destruction during rainy season as action are taken against flood occurrence through constant clearing of drainages and canals with water been properly deplored for farming activities for all the year round farming.

We commend the effort of President Mohammedu Buhari’s effort to ensure that the funds of local government council go directly to them, but it is crystal cleared that all the state Governors must see reason in this, and allow the process to be well accomplished for the purpose of our rural economy development as the local government council chairmen cannot do anything with meagre running cost that are being given to them in the face of many challenges of drainage clearing that need to be constantly done without ceasing.

Majority farming activities are done in the rural areas where impact of the flood on agricultural produce is being felt as many farm lands are submerged with animals, fisheries and crops are all destroyed without any compensations more so when they are not insured.

We cannot continue doing the same wrong thing and at the same time expect any good result in returns in the last ten years with the 2012 flood disaster that one would have expected the appropriate things to have been done to avert further incidence.

It far understatement to say the less that except we agree to help ourselves by doing the needful with direct release of local government allocations to the council’s chairman to be able to do so much in terms of infrastructure provision to checkmate or mitigate flood disaster, then we should be ready to face the worst scenario in the years ahead.

Doing this will not only enable the local council authorities to be able to checkmate flood disaster on agricultural activities at that levels, but also control influx of young people migrating from there to city centres looking for illusory greener pasture thereby ending up being stranded to themselves without finding anything to do thereby ending up in criminal activities.

The local government must be made function through through appropriate structures of where money is budgeted and got approval for accountability and local criticism by the locals just the way President Buhari and any other governor can be asked to give account of his stewardship. Let us take the incidences of flood to do the needful for our local government development in Nigeria.