On October 13 2014, the world will mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR). It is a day set aside to promote how people and communities reduce the risk of disasters and also for raising awareness about the importance of disaster reduction. It is meant to encourage citizens and governments to take part in building more disaster-resilient communities and nations. The recent reports of floods in parts of Kwara and Benue states that rendered residents homeless and destroyed property are a reminder of the 2012 floods and how many of the victims are still languishing, despite the billions voted for them as a relief fund. The 2012 flood was the worst in the country’s recent history. It ravaged 13 states, affected seven million Nigerians, displaced at least 2.3 million people, killed about 363 people and destroyed property including 597,476 houses.
In response to the plight of the victims, the federal government set up a presidential committee that was to complete its assignment within a year. The committee, headed by businessman Aliko Dangote, mobilised N11billion to assist victims and after one year, it was able to raise the funds to N18billion. This was apart from the initial N17.6billion intervention from the federal government, N13.3 billion of which was released to the affected states and N4.3billion to federal government ministries and agencies. It is however disturbing that two years after the incident and more than one year after the committee was expected to have completed its work, many of the victims are yet to receive any tangible assistance. Some have died, while some who lost their homes live in despondency in makeshift buildings. This is really sad.
The question we are asking is what happened to the money? What did the states given the federal government funds do with their allocations when in almost every state, victims say they either did not receive support or what they got was negligible. In some states, flood victims reportedly got as little as N200 and utilities such as mattresses and blankets. States got between N250million and N500million, depending on the extent of damage suffered. We hear that some of the private organisations and individuals who made pledges to the committee are yet to redeem them. This is not only irresponsible but also fraudulent. A member of the committee reportedly said recently that part of the funds was used to settle victims of other disasters, including the ongoing insurgency. We find this appalling. Such was not within the purview of the committee.
The auditor general of the federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, recently said his office was planning an audit of the flood funds to enable government know how the money was used. This is a welcome development and a good job must be done, at the end of which anyone found to have misappropriated the funds should be prosecuted and made to refund it. The government can take it a step further by compelling organisations and individuals to redeem their pledges.
It is high time people learnt how not to make a fortune out of others’ misfortune.
