Nasarawa: Addressing emergencies through enhanced response mechanism
Many nations face one form of humanitarian crisis or another. Such crisis can be natural or man-induced.
They may range from earthquakes, landslide and famine, to flooding, displacements caused by wars and communal clashes and farmers–herders conflicts.
Whatever shape it takes, humanitarian disaster impact is always physically, mentally and materially devastating on their victims. Women and children are usually the worst hit.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report says humanitarian crises are singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or wellbeing of a community or large group of people.
According to the report, such conflicts may be internal or external which usually occurs throughout a large land area.
Nasarawa State, like many other parts of Nigeria, has been experiencing one form of humanitarian crises or another arising majorly from flooding and farmers-herders clashes.
These have led to the displacement of a large number of people from their original abode to internal displaced persons camps.
In an effort to effectively and promptly manage disasters related occurrence in the state, the Nasarawa state government during the administration of former governor, Alh. Aliyu Akwe- Doma in 2009 established Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA)
The agency is to, among other functions, formulate policies and guidelines relating to the management of emergencies in the state.
It is also mandated to carry out sensitisation activities on disaster prevention measure and control.
Other functions of the agency include the procurement of relief supplies from local and international sources; and collation of data from relevant agencies on disaster and risk areas in the state.
Gov. Abdullahi Sule recognised the challenge of humanitarian crisis in the state in his inaugural speech in 2019.
“Our strategy for addressing the security challenges will be to eliminate the problems of idleness, low level of education, misinformation, rumour mongering, ethnic chauvinism and religious bigotry”, Sule pledged.
Mr Zachary Allumaga, Director-General, NASEMA, said under the present administration in the state, the agency had been strengthened to effectively manage disasters.
Allumaga said NASEMA inaugurated Local Emergency Management Agency (LEMA) in the 13 Local Government Areas of the state.
According to him, the agency in the last three years of Sule administration, distributed food and non-food relief materials to 562, 886 victims of various disasters.
He said about 469 235 persons, who were displaced this year as a result of flood in five local government areas of the state, Awe, Doma, Lafia, Toto and Nasarawa received relief materials.
Allumaga said the flood destroyed the victims’ farms and submerged their homes, forcing them to take shelter temporarily in neighbouring communities and government facilities.
“We sensitise the public against building or dumping refuse on water ways. The intervention by this present administration is excellent and very satisfactory,” he said.
Allumaga said the state government had procured five speed boats for five Local Government Areas along the River Benue for the purpose of evacuation in the event of flood.
Agriculture and water resources are two of the sectors always hit hard by disasters.
Mr Nuhu Oshafu, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Water Resources said that peaceful co-existence was key to minising humanitarian crisis in the sector.
Farmers-herders clashes have always resulted in displacements and food shortages.
The commissioner, therefore, appealed to the people of the state to learn to coexist peacefully and to exercise restraint when provoked to avoid taking the law into their hands.
“Recently, when farmers and herders clashed in Keana and Obi, the governor went there to donate relief materials and cash to the three camps at Kadarko, Giza and Agyaragu respectively”, he said.
Mr Mohammed Yahaya, Managing Director, Nasarawa Urban Development Board, says Nasarawa state is known for always being quick in responding to humanitarian challenges.
“This present administration is doing well in this regard, government is on top of the matter to ensure that in the event crisis, damage is minimised”, he said.
said the government has been proactive in ensuring that relief assistance is given to farmers and herders clashes as well as flood victims to cushion effect of hardship that accompany such disasters.
“My assessment of the intervention by the Nasarawa State Government under Gov. Abdullahi Sule’s administration in terms disasters management, is that the state is doing well, said the president of Tiv Development Association, Mr Peter Ahemba.
Ahemba appealed to the state government to increase funding of emergency intervention agencies to further enhance their service delivery.
“The government has been trying but there is room for improvement, government can do better by ensuring that more relief assistance is promptly delivered to IDPs camps,” he said.
